I led morning prayer again this week and gave the following reflection on the Sunday readings. The texts for today are Isaiah 9:1-7, Psalm 36:5-10, Romans 15:8-13, and Matthew 4:12-17. In the first lesson today, we read:

But there will be no more gloom for the land that was in anguish! In the past, God humbled the land of Zebulun, the land of Naphtali, but in the future, God will bring glory to this Road to the Sea, this Land Beyond the Jordan, this Galilee of the Nations. The people walking in darkness are seeing a brilliant light—upon those who dwell in a land of deep shadows, light is shining! God, You have made the nation greater—You have brought them abundant joy! They celebrate in Your presence as with the harvest celebrations. (Isaiah 9:1-3)

This statement that “the people who walked in darkness have seen a great light” reminds me of the Advent O Antiphon that includes the Messianic title of Rising Dawn for Christ. The text is “O Oriens, Rising Dawn, splendor of light eternal and sun of justice: come and enlighten those who dwell in darkness and the shadow of death.” This short phrase is chanted before and after the Magnificat during vespers evening prayer every year on December 21, which also happens to be the winter solstice. At the solstice, we celebrate the longest night that gives way for the seasons to proceed in the direction of increasing light and longer days.

And we need to remember that the phrase “people who dwell in darkness” does not just refer to the people of the Old and New Testaments.  It also refers to us and the gloomy corners of our own souls. 

It reminds us that, even though we may currently be walking through difficult times in utter darkness, that we will surely find that, in Christ, “a brilliant light is shining.” And of course, we are all aware of the verses in Psalm 23 that reassure us that, even though we walk in “darkness and the shadow of death,” God promises to be with us throughout our journeys.

Moving on to our gospel reading for today, we find a direct reference to this reading from Isaiah. Following the birth narrative, Matthew’s story of Jesus skips ahead to the baptism of Jesus, the story we read last week. Now, this week, after being tempted in the desert (Matthew 4:1-11) and upon hearing of the arrest of John the Baptist, Jesus moves from Nazareth to Capernaum, a fishing village on the north side of the Sea of Galilee. There are times in the ministry of Jesus when He retreats from one place to another more remote place to find rest and safety, and this is one of those times. Rejected in Nazareth, Jesus settles in Capernaum, the place where He meets his first apostles and begins his public life. Part of the reason Matthew mentions this withdrawal to Capernaum is to emphasize the fulfillment of the prophecy in Isaiah from the first lesson that the Messiah will come from Zebulun and Naphtali. Matthew writes:

Land of Zebulun, land of Naphtali, the way to the sea, on the far side of the Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles—the people who lived in darkness have seen a great light; on those living in the land of the shadow of death, a light has dawned. (Matthew 4:15-16)

Nazareth is located in the land of Zebulun, and Capernaum is in Naphtali, so it seems right that the fulfillment of the prophecy, that the light is shining, is something that occurs in both places. Another reason Matthew includes these verses is to highlight that there were Gentiles living in the region. Matthew’s gospel may have been written to specifically address Gentiles and so it emphasizes that salvation is for the Gentiles too.

But the main point of this passage is just to say that the light of the world that comes into existence is Jesus. Jesus himself is the Christ Light, which he acknowledges in the gospel of John:

[Jesus] said, “I AM the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness but will have the light of life.”  (John 8:12)

Light was the first element that God created for the carefully ordered universe, as written in Genesis chapter 1, and we know that light is fundamental to life. Wisdom/Jesus/God prudently set the sun, moon, and stars in the dome of the sky to separate the light from the darkness and to govern the days and nights and seasons.

Light can also be seen as a metaphor for knowledge—knowledge that comes from revelation given by God. In the same way that light allows us to see through the dark, so knowledge allows us to understand what was previously unknown. And crucially, from this place of illumination, we ourselves are called to spread this light to others. Both Old Testament and New Testament texts make this clear. For example:

It is not enough for you to do my bidding, to restore the tribes of Leah, Rachel, and Jacob, and bring back the survivors of Israel; I will make you a light to the nations, so that my salvation may reach to the ends of the earth. (Isaiah 49:6) 

And in the sermon on the Mount, Jesus tells the people:

You (plural) are the light of the world…  Let your light shine before others so that they may see your good acts and give praise to your Abba God in heaven. (Matthew 5:14-16)

How can we walk in the light instead of the darkness? When we come upon any new spiritual understanding, as symbolized by the light that comes out of the darkness, the sun of enlightenment necessarily moves us into the sun of justice. As written in this verse of Malachi, we will see the dawn of justice and healing when we love God and neighbor:

But for you who revere my Name, the sun will rise, a sun of justice with healing in its rays. (Malachi 4:2)

And we must respond by being this light of justice and healing unto the nations. On this Sunday, as we read about the beginning of the ministry of Jesus, we ask for Radiant Dawn, Jesus the Light of the World, to illuminate even those darkest recesses within ourselves.  Focusing on God’s light can help bring us out of any emptiness of depression or anxiety or fear or despairing into proximity to a space of light and rejoicing.  And then, in the sure knowledge that love is everything, we in turn are called to be light for the world.

Readings: The Inclusive Hebrew Scriptures, Volume 2: The Prophets, Priests for Equality, Altamira Press, Walnut Creek, CA, 1999 and The Inclusive New Testament, Priests for Equality, Brentwood, MD, 1994.

Image 1: Anonymous, image widely circulated on Facebook and Pinterest, accessed January 17, 2026.

Image 2: Michael Nukular, Red Candle in the Dark, flickr.com, CC BY 2.0, December 25, 2013.

Image 3: Matthew 4:15-16, Full of Eyes website, https://www.fullofeyes.com/matthew-415-16/.

Image 4: Creation of Light, inscription reads “God said, ‘Let there be Light’ and there was light,” icon written by Michael Kapeluck, available for purchase at https://archangelsbooks.com/products/jesus-christ-creation-of-light.