Day 24 • The Week of Love

Scripture Readings:
Isaiah 9:2-7
Psalm 96
Titus 2:11-14
Luke 2:1-14, 15-20

I want to encourage you to read Isaiah 9:2-7 before continue reading today. This reading has become very significant for me. Following the liturgy of Christmas Eve services, I usually find myself reading it aloud in a quiet sanctuary of hushed people where the only light seen is candlelight from the Advent wreath. Hearing Isaiah’s words, “the people who walked in darkness have seen a great light,” in a setting like that has always been hauntingly beautiful for me. Especially when I think of how many of us see parts of our life and our world shrowded in what feels like perpetual darkness. Oh, how we long to “see a great light.”

I have found myself encouraging so many people to read the prophets of the Hebrew Bible, like Isaiah. They give us such a clear picture of how the church should function in our world today, especially when it comes to advocating for the poor and oppressed in the presence of political power.

Isaiah 9:2-7 is no exception. The birth of the Wonderful Counselor and Prince of Peace brings with it liberation, justice, and human flourishing. It isn’t a far-off reality that happens after we die that is spoken of here, but a very real, very present, and very tangible peace that is described here. Understanding the context in which these words are written helps us understand this.

Isaiah is writing during the ongoing oppression of Israel by the incredibly powerful Assyrian empire. The liberation and peace described in these verses were nearly improbable realities given how Judah had little to no chance of getting itself out from underneath such heavy oppression. This is why Isaiah compares the act of liberation in this context to the “day of Midian” (Isaiah 9:4)

The day of Midian is described in Judges 6, where the Midianites have caused unspeakable damage to the people of Israel. In response to their prayers, God raised up Gideon, who was sent with a mere 300 men to face the Midian forces, which spread like locusts across the valley they were so numerous (Judges 7:12). Against these impossible odds, Gideon and his men ended up not even fighting, but blew trumpets, broke pots, and screamed, which God used to cause the Midian army to turn on each other in confusion and flee (Judges 7:20-22).

This is the hope Isaiah has for Israel in their current circumstances under the Assyrian empire, too. Just as God had done in the past, the hope is that God will deliver them again. Not just a temporary peace either, but an everlasting and enduring peace. All through the child that has been born unto them.

This is the hope Christians have been carrying through our celebration of Jesus ' birth for centuries as well. In all the thick darkness that seems to be so impossible to overcome, both in our personal lives and situations of our world, there is always an assurance of hope that no matter how improbable our cercumstances may be, we may see a light. Even if it feels like the flicker of a candle at first, light has a powerful way of making the darkness flee not just in the future but here and now and forevermore.

Reflection Steps

I want to invite you to gather with friends or family this evening. When you do, whether it is in person or online, I want you to make the lights dim, light a candle, and then read this passage. Read it nice and slow, paying attention to each word. Then, when you are done, take some time for everyone present to share a place in their lives or the world where they only see darkness. A place where they long for light to come. Then, take some time to talk about places where you all have seen light come in dark places before. It doesn’t have to be a long time, but just long enough to encourage one another and keep your hope alive.