We need light in the midst...
Illustration
Object:
We need light in the midst of our darkness our lesson proclaims. This point can be related to the Epiphany star that led the wise men to Christ in the midst of all the darkness.
Darkness is how we experience life. Seventeenth-century French scientist and Christian intellectual Blaise Pascal well describes this reality: "I look around in every direction and all I see is darkness. Nature has nothing to offer me that does not give rise to doubt and anxiety" (Pensees, p. 162).
Darkness even clouds the things of God. It is as Martin Luther once said: "This is our plague and wretchedness, that we are unable to recognize the exceeding greatness of the treasure because of its lowly appearance. Even though it hears this treasure, our foolish reason judges it on the basis of its lowly appearance and can be perceived only through the Holy Spirit" (Luther's Works, Vol. 17, p. 311).
John Calvin believes that the brightness referred to in the text (v. 1) refers to salvation (Calvin's Commentaries, Vol. VIII/2, p. 275). And John Wesley claims that the lesson promises that the gospel and its light attract all nations, bringing them to Christ (Commentary on the Bible, p. 337).
What is said about light by famed Jewish rabbi Michael Strassfield can be attributed to salvation: "Light gives itself freely, filling all available space. It does not seek anything in return; it asks not whether you are friend or foe. It gives itself and is not thereby diminished."
Darkness is how we experience life. Seventeenth-century French scientist and Christian intellectual Blaise Pascal well describes this reality: "I look around in every direction and all I see is darkness. Nature has nothing to offer me that does not give rise to doubt and anxiety" (Pensees, p. 162).
Darkness even clouds the things of God. It is as Martin Luther once said: "This is our plague and wretchedness, that we are unable to recognize the exceeding greatness of the treasure because of its lowly appearance. Even though it hears this treasure, our foolish reason judges it on the basis of its lowly appearance and can be perceived only through the Holy Spirit" (Luther's Works, Vol. 17, p. 311).
John Calvin believes that the brightness referred to in the text (v. 1) refers to salvation (Calvin's Commentaries, Vol. VIII/2, p. 275). And John Wesley claims that the lesson promises that the gospel and its light attract all nations, bringing them to Christ (Commentary on the Bible, p. 337).
What is said about light by famed Jewish rabbi Michael Strassfield can be attributed to salvation: "Light gives itself freely, filling all available space. It does not seek anything in return; it asks not whether you are friend or foe. It gives itself and is not thereby diminished."
