Monday
Isaiah 2.4-5 “He will judge between the nations and will settle disputes for many peoples. They will beat their swords into plough-shares and their spears into pruning hooks. Nation will not take up sword against nation, nor will they train for war anymore. Come, descendants of Jacob, let us walk in the light of the Lord.”
“The Spirit lives to set us free, walk, walk in the light.” That celebration song is about despair eclipsed by hope, light displacing darkness, peace overcoming war. Advent is about such hope, light and peace, and each of them embedded in the promises of God. “Lighten our darkness Lord, restore our hope, and let there be peace on earth.”
Tuesday
Isaiah 9.2 “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.”
In every life, there are times when we walk through valleys of deep darkness, shadows of anxiety, grey depths of depression, leaden skies of grief and loss. None of these are final. The birth of Jesus was under a star, and a choir of luminous angels. The noonday darkness of Calvary gave way to the pulsating light of the resurrection. Christians are people who look into darkness knowing, “a light has dawned. “Lord when we walk in darkness, lift up our eyes to see the Advent of Christ the Light. Shine, Jesus, shine!”
Wednesday
Isaiah 42.6 “I, the Lord have called you in righteousness; I will take hold of your hand. I will keep you and will make you…a light for the Gentiles.”
Isaiah is the prophet who tells of the coming Servant of the Lord. When Jesus said, “I am the Light of the world”, God’s promise through Isaiah was in his mind. God doesn’t hide his light under a bushel; it blazed in glory on Calvary, and the good news of the risen Jesus spread out of the tomb, and floodlit the world, a light to the peoples, all peoples, even us. “Lord, kindle a flame of sacred love in our hearts, making us irradiated servants of the Servant King.”
Thursday
Isaiah 49.6 “I will also make you a light to the Gentiles, that you may bring my salvation to the ends of the earth.”
From Bethlehem, to Calvary, to the Garden tomb and to Pentecost. That long line of promises is fulfilled only when the Good News illuminates a dark world with the light of the love of God in Christ. Advent is the time that takes us back to the greatest truth the world has ever received, “That God was in Christ reconciling the world to himself.” Christians are filaments through which the power of Christ the Saviour shines on a darkened world. “Lord, energise and illuminate your church, a city on a hill that no one can miss. Make your Church a landmark of love, unmistakably there, for all to see.”
Friday
Isaiah 53.11 “After he has suffered, he will see the light of life and be satisfied; by his knowledge my righteous servant will justify many, and he will bear their iniquities.”
Isaiah 53 is the Holy of Holies of Isaiah’s visions. Easter is implied in Advent. The road from Bethlehem leads to Calvary, and beyond. You will call his name Jesus, Joseph is told, for he will save his people from their sins. Light is essential for life, and endless darkness would be fatal. So God comes in Christ as the light of life, and through the darkness of suffering comes the light of new resurrection life. “Lord, this Advent, we confess our own sins all over again; may the Light of Life renew our hearts in love.”
Saturday
Isaiah 60.1-3 “Arise, shine, for your light has come, and the glory of the Lord rises upon you. See, darkness covers the earth and thick darkness is over the peoples, but the Lord rises upon you and his glory appears over you. Nations will come to your light, and kings to the brightness of your dawn.”
If ever there was a time for people of hope, it’s now! A whole News Bulletin could be summarised in Isaiah’s words: “Thick darkness is over the peoples.” Advent is when we defy despair, insistently hope, persistently pray for peace and justice, and look for light wherever it struggles to shine. The Advent heart-cry echoes the summons of the prophet, “Arise, shine, your light has come.” “Lord, fuel our hearts with hope, ignite us with the fires of compassion, and make us radiant radiators of your grace and glory.”
Sunday
Isaiah 60.19 “The sun will no more be your light by day, nor will the brightness of the moon shine on you, for the Lord will be your everlasting light, and your God will be your glory.”
Christ is all the light we will ever need. “In him was life, and the life was the light of all people.” (John 1.4) Advent is the celebration of God’s coming to us in Christ, as the Light of Life. In the Christ child, the ministry of compassion, the sacrifice on the cross, the triumph of resurrection, God has spoken his final, defining Word. This is what God is like. “This is our God, the Servant King, He calls us now to follow him.”
“Lord, we live our lives in the contrasts of light and darkness, hope and despair, comfort and anxiety, joy and sorrow. May the light of Christ come into our hearts this Advent, instilling hope from the God of Hope, communicating the comfort of the Comforter, stirring joy in hearts becoming too used to sorrow. You, O God, are the Everlasting Light; shine on us now, and guide our way forward, Amen.
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