November 25, 2002
BaptistWay Bible Study for Texas lesson for Dec. 22
Reflect the light that shines in the darkness
____By Brent Beasley
__Isaiah 9:1-7
___1 Nevertheless, there will be no more gloom for those who were in distress. In the past he humbled the land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali, but in the future he will honor Galilee of the Gentiles, by the way of the sea, along the Jordan-- 2 The people walking in darkness have seen a great light; on those living in the land of the shadow of death a light has dawned. 3 You have enlarged the nation and increased their joy; they rejoice before you as people rejoice at the harvest, as men rejoice when dividing the plunder. 4 For as in the day of Midian's defeat, you have shattered the yoke that burdens them, the bar across their shoulders, the rod of their oppressor. 5 Every warrior's boot used in battle and every garment rolled in blood will be destined for burning, will be fuel for the fire. 6 For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
___7 Of the increase of his government and peace there will be no end. He will reign on David's throne and over his kingdom, establishing and upholding it with justice and righteousness from that time on and forever. The zeal of the Lord Almighty will accomplish this.
___Once upon a time there was a little girl named Jeanne Marie who was afraid of the dark.
___As Andrew Greeley tells it, she wouldn't go to sleep at night unless all the lights in her room were on. You couldn't ever tell, she argued, who'd sneak into her room at night if it were dark. She absolutely refused to go into her closet because, like in the movie "Monsters Inc.," she thought monsters might lurk in the closet--especially at night. She claimed she could hear the monsters talking about what they were going to do to her.
___Although she liked snow, she hated winter because it was dark so much of the time. She didn't like to go off to the country for vacation because there were no streetlights and the dark was very scary indeed. The monsters that had hidden in her closet now wandered the streets of the summer village and lurked in the woods. She was frightened when she went to the movies because the theaters were too dark.
___Her mother said to her once, "Aren't you old enough now not to be afraid of the dark?"
___She said, no, the older she got the more reasons she could think of for being afraid of the dark.
___Walking in darkness
___Jeanne Marie has a point. There is a sense in which the older you get and the more responsibility you have and the more you know, you can think of more reasons to be frightened.
___Donald McCollough, in his book "The Trivialization of God," says: "Limping along toward the end of the 20th century, the problems that stagger our gait are many and large." Then he lists some of the multitude of problems we face in this modern world.
___He continues with this statement: "It ought to be difficult for any thinking person to sleep at night." That's a good, but disturbing, commentary on our world. It ought to be difficult for any thinking person to sleep at night. Especially if you are afraid of the dark. Because there is much darkness.
___Last year, we saw terrific tragedy in New York and Washington, D.C., and a field in Pennsylvania. And as a result, there has been fear and uncertainty around us. There has been a vague sense that something bad could happen at any moment--that evil may be lurking around the corner or waiting for us on the morning news as we awake in the morning.
___We also have witnessed economic darkness over the last year. The collapse of Enron is symbolic of the transitory, temporary nature of even our most powerful economic forces.
___The recent sniper murders in the Washington D.C. area made too many feel vulnerable and scared not just of terrorists outside our country, but also evildoers from within our boundaries.
___Some of us also have recently experienced darkness in our personal lives. Death. Major illness. Family tragedy.
___The people of Israel were walking in darkness as well. Jerusalem and its temple were under constant threat from the Assyrian king. The prophet Isaiah issues a warning that God's "vineyard" (Israel) will soon be destroyed (5:1-7) by a far-away nation (5:26-30), Assyria.
___Further threats and warnings of danger and destruction follow. The day was coming for Israel when they would be defeated by enemies, their temple in Jerusalem destroyed and they would be driven out of their homeland to live in exile in foreign lands.
___There is a lot of darkness in the world, then and now, and it could prove to be most difficult to get to sleep at night if you happen to be afraid of the dark. Little Jeanne Marie made a good point when she said that the older she gets, the more reasons she can think of to be scared of the dark.
___So Jeanne Marie continued to be afraid of the dark. She came home from school one day with the story of the midnight sun in Sweden in the summer. "Let's live there," she said.
___"But in the winter the sun hardly ever shines there," her mommy said.
___"Well, where does it go?"
___"To the South Pole."
___"Well, lets live there."
___"It's too cold."
___"I don't care, so long as it's not dark."
___Then one day her mommy and daddy took her to midnight mass in the church. It was totally dark inside--pitch black. Jeanne Marie was terrified. Then the priest flicked the switch and the church was filled with light. "Oh," said Jeanne Marie, "it's so pretty. Light always comes on, doesn't it mommy?"
___"If you wait long enough."
___The light that shines in the darkness
___Into the middle of the dark messages of gloom, doom and destruction, Isaiah sounds forth the hopeful call that the light is coming.
___"The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light; those who lived in a land of deep darkness--on them light has shined" (9:2). Here in chapter 9:1-7 is this brief encouraging word--inserted into the middle of warnings of the coming of night--that looks ahead to the time when the darkness of Assyrian destruction will end and a new era of peace and hope will dawn.
___If the people of Israel will wait long enough, the light always comes on. Advent, the four weeks before Christmas, is a time of waiting. And finally, on Christmas day, to a people waiting in darkness, there shines a great light--Christ the Lord. If you wait long enough, the light always comes on.
___The use of Isaiah 9:2-7 in Handel's "Messiah" has forever etched it into the Advent-Christmas season, although the verses quoted by Handel are not actually quoted directly in the New Testament (vv. 1-2 are quoted in Matthew 4:15-16). In its original context, this text is best understood as a hymn concerning the emergence of a new king in Jerusalem.
___Walter Brueggemann writes that scholars usually identify this hymn in one of two ways. First, it may be the birth announcement of a new heir to the Davidic throne. Second, this text may be a coronation announcement when the prince succeeds his father on the throne.
___In either case, it is a celebrative hymn proclaiming the new heir as the fulfillment of all the long awaited hopes and expectations of the people.
___With this understanding of the hymn's original meaning, it is not surprising the church has found it appropriate and meaningful for its announcement of Jesus.
___This is the role of the angels in the Bethlehem story (Luke 2:10-14). They are making an announcement (either birth or coronation) of a royal nature. A new heir to the throne has come who will be the fulfillment of all the long awaited hopes and expectations of the people.
___This new king will inaugurate a new creation. And the coming of this new king answers the basic questions that we all need answered.
___As Warren Carter puts it: Who's in charge? "Mighty God." Where is God? "Everlasting Father." What does God do? "Wonderful Counselor." What does God will and give? "Prince of Peace" (v. 6).
___Reflecting God's light in a dark world
___As stated above, there is no shortage of darkness in our world today. Wouldn't it be wonderful if each of our churches was a community of followers of Jesus so shaped by the light of God that has come upon them that people are drawn to the light of God by the light they see coming from the church?
___In our churches, we often worry ourselves to an almost neurotic level about how to get more young people in the church or how to get so-and-so to come to Sunday School or which program we want to try next. But I am more convinced now than ever that what we really need to be worrying about is the degree to which we are reflecting the light of Christ. Non-Christians are going to be attracted by what they see of our faith and practice as a community of Christians. Our task is to reflect the light of Christ and leave the results to God.
___Kenny Wood tells the story that when the artist Rembrandt sat down to paint the Holy Family in the manger, he had no trouble painting Mary and Joseph and the others in the stable. But when he came to the Baby, he couldn't get it right. He would paint the little face, only to wipe it out and start over.
___Finally, he stopped trying to paint the Baby's face. Instead, he let us see the Baby as he was reflected in the faces of those around him. So, we see Mary kneeling beside him, looking at him, and in her eyes, in the way she looks at him, we see the Child. All the way round the circle, we see the light of the Baby reflected in the faces of those who loved him.
___The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light. God's light always comes. There is no question about that. The only question has to do with how that light is reflected in the faces of those who love him--in your face and mine and in ours together as Christ's church.
Questions for thought and discussion
___ The names of Christ are many, several being mentioned in this text: Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Which of these has special meaning to you today? Why?
___ Darkness is often frightening or intimidating. Think of a time when you felt you were "in darkness." How did the light of Christ come and illuminate your darkness? If you are presently in darkness, reflect on Isaiah 50:10-11.
___ Donald McCollough, in his book "The Trivialization of God," says: "Limping along toward the end of the 20th century, the problems that stagger our gait are many and large." What is your overall picture of the world? Is it a place of darkness, or do you see hope? How can you help make the world seem less dark, not only for yourself, but for your friends and neighbors as well?
___ How do the words found in Isaiah 9 find meaning in your life? Do they give you the same type of encouragement they offered the original readers?
___ Some say this passage is a coronation song--does Christ reign on the throne of your life? Was he once there but has now been usurped by the busyness of the world? If you are spending your energies putting out the fires in your life, how do you go about putting Christ back in command of your life?
___ When non-Christians look at your life and how you live it, do they see someone whose life is as frenetic and out of control as theirs, or do they see a life that is different because hard times are dealt with in a different fashion? Is it possible to deal with hard times in a way that those circumstances serve as a witness rather than one more tragedy in the world?
___ How is the light of the Christ Child shaping you? Do people see his reflection in you? What do you need to do to yield to God in order to more clearly reflect the light of Christ?
___ Do you find Christmas to be a time of renewed hope or is it just more pressure financially and emotionally?
___ If Christmas is a time of pressure rather than rejuvenation, could it be that a wrong focus has been put on the holiday? How can you go about changing that focus?
The Baptist Standard
News of religion, faith, missions, Bible study and Christian ministry among Texas Baptist churches, in the BGCT, the Southern Baptist Convention ( SBC ) and around the world.
Contents/ Masthead / Why We're Here / Links / Archive / E-mail us/ SUBSCRIBE!/ Signup for FirstLook