God’s plan for banishing the darkness

By Dean Collins

When will the light come on?

It’s not a trick question. It’s an ages-old question. Light and darkness are central to God’s story and to ours as well. Starting in the second verse of Genesis chapter 1, we learn that darkness was present and pervasive, and then God spoke: “Let there be light and there was light.” Physically there would be a separation of light and darkness. There is benefit and beauty in the daily rhythms of night and day, sunset following sunrise followed by sunset anticipating sunrise, day after day after day.

I wake up early and after I’ve poured my first cup of coffee, I walk to my home office and, weather permitting, to my deck just outside. I turn on a small light that reveals a painting of a path on a North Carolina mountain. I’m not ready for all the light, because it would shock my eyes. I could force the situation and turn on the main switch, but I choose to allow the light from outside to awaken me as it awakens the birds.

Technology has changed the ways we can on a light. Just now I told Siri, “Let there be light.” She pulled up a list of songs, quotes, and films about light. I received information about light but no light. I then said, “Siri, turn on my flashlight,” and my iPhone flashlight came on. I reversed the command and she magically turned it off. I didn’t have to touch or do anything with my finger on a switch. We can clap or speak, and lights come on.

Light from God

There is another light in Scripture. John speaks of it in the first chapter of his Gospel. This light was with God in the beginning, and his life is the light of men. We soon discover this light has a name, Jesus. All through the ministry and teachings of Jesus we learn that we who accept him are called to join him as lights of the world, a city full of light that all can see from their darkness. Our light comes on when we choose to believe in the one God sent into all darkness, including the darkness of our hearts. At the point of our surrender of self and acceptance of Jesus, our light begins to shine.

As chapter 58 of Isaiah opens, some in the Jewish community who have returned from exile have wondered why God isn’t helping more, answering their prayers, available in their urgent need. God’s answer is for them to cry out and complain. He also reminds them that their sins have something to do with their predicament. Yes, they have kept rituals of fasting and worship, but they have failed to participate with God in matters of justice.

Fasting from food for a few hours or even days may be a good discipline, especially when offered to God. But if you ignore the starving people in your community, then Isaiah basically says you have missed God’s point. Isaiah goes on to describe what gets God’s attention: focus on and participate in God’s behaviors that demonstrate compassion and provision for those in need. The needs may be physical, and they may have to do with removing various forms of oppression.

Fasting from food for a few hours or even days may be a good discipline,
but if you ignore the starving people in your community, you have missed God’s point.

It’s remarkable to see God’s consistency in Isaiah 58 when we read Matthew 25, written centuries later. The fasting God responds to? Hands and feet in motion doing the kingdom work Jesus has initiated. Isaiah describes the actions God desires: breaking bondage, providing bread, welcoming the poor, clothing the naked. And what happens, according to Isaiah, when we offer these actions? THEN God moves: “Then shall your light break forth like dawn....Then your healing comes. Then you call and the Lord shall answer.”

We may not want to read further. It seems that God might be on to us and has noticed some of our less spiritual actions.

“If you take away the yoke from your midst, the pointing of the finger, and speaking wickedness, if you pour yourself out for the hungry and satisfy the desire of the afflicted, then shall your light rise in the darkness and your gloom be as the noonday.”

Just serve

The pointing of our fingers with all of the negative and hateful things we say and post must have been seen even before our social media platforms existed. Sadly, many of the things we rant about and point the accusing finger at have to do with disagreements about policies and practices concerning those Jesus called “the least of these.” We can talk, fight, correct each other, elect the politicians who say they will fix it all, and yet what seems to get God’s attention is actually when we simply do the humble acts of service needed for those nearby.

I’m not against good or grand policy at any level. But we have centuries of evidence that suggest we still have trouble moving the needle in the issues of justice. Maybe instead of finger-pointing we could make some sandwiches like my friend Lisa does each week in Atlanta. She is up to about 1500 a week that she makes and delivers to hungry and homeless people in and around her community. She and her daughter, sometimes with friends, buy the supplies and make the sandwiches. Lisa to my knowledge isn’t connected to any group or nonprofit organization. But she is connected to Jesus and to the very heart of God. And I bet she would say that on those days when she is serving, the light around her is a little brighter. And I suspect, no, I am confident, that many of her prayers have been answered.

Holiness isn’t complicated. It’s practical and it is visible when the light of Christ shines through our words and our deeds. I think Isaiah would agree.

Forgive us for our noisy complaints about others. Forgive us for talking about what needs to be accomplished and failing to simply do the obvious things, the simple things we can accomplish each day. Refresh us as we refresh others.
Amen.

Your time with God’s Word
‭‭Isaiah‬ ‭58:1-14‬ ‭ESV‬‬

Photos by Arun Anoop and Taylor Young on Unsplash