Rise & Shine, All the Saints

Isaiah 60:1-9

““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. “Lift up your eyes and look about you: All assemble and come to you; your sons come from afar, and your daughters are carried on the hip. Then you will look and be radiant, your heart will throb and swell with joy; the wealth on the seas will be brought to you, to you the riches of the nations will come. Herds of camels will cover your land, young camels of Midian and Ephah. And all from Sheba will come, bearing gold and incense and proclaiming the praise of the Lord. All Kedar’s flocks will be gathered to you, the rams of Nebaioth will serve you; they will be accepted as offerings on my altar, and I will adorn my glorious temple. “Who are these that fly along like clouds, like doves to their nests? Surely the islands look to me; in the lead are the ships of Tarshish, bringing your children from afar, with their silver and gold, to the honor of the Lord your God, the Holy One of Israel, for he has endowed you with splendor.”

Isaiah 60:1-9 NIV

What was God’s first command in the Bible? “Let there be light, and there was Light” (Genesis 1:3). 2 Corinthians 4:6 said that God, who said ‘let light shine out of darkness’, made his light shine in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of God’s glory displayed in the face of Jesus. That reminds me of Graham Kendrick’s song Shine Jesus Shine.

There are over 230 references to light in the Bible, including today’s passage. Light in the Bible and in Lent symbolizes holiness, goodness, knowledge, wisdom, grace, hope, and revelation. Have you ever thought of the desert season of Lent as a time of spiritual photosynthesis? The Father of Lights, referred to in James1:17, uses sunlight, water, plant life, and carbon dioxide to create the very oxygen that we breathe. I was surprised to discover that 70% of the oxygen we need to breathe comes from ocean plant life. No wonder that so many people find it energizing to go for a walk by Crescent Beach or on the White Rock promenade. Have you noticed when people most want to come to Crescent Beach, when it is full of light, especially in the summer? You can think about Lent as a 40-day photosynthesis season of learning to spiritually breathe more deeply before the explosion of resurrection light at Easter. Darkness and selfishness out. Light and generosity in.

 How many think that light is a particle? Raise your hands how many think that light is a wave? How many think that it is both? How many have no idea?

Speaking of Light, I had no idea that Thomas Edison’s family were United Empire Loyalists, refugees fleeing to Canada in the aftermath of the American Revolutionary War.  Thomas’ grandfather Samuel Sr. even took part in the Canadian conquest of Detroit during the war of 1812.  But frustrated with inequalities in Canada, his son Samuel Jr. joined in Mayor William Lyon Mackenzie’s 1837 unsuccessful plot to liberate Toronto from Canada.  As Samuel Edison Jr. fled with his family to Ohio, Canada lost one of the world’s greatest inventors: Thomas Alva Edison.

How many different inventions did Edison patent? 1,069!   Edison of course is best known for the creation of the world’s first usable lightbulb.  Realizing that a lightbulb needed a power source, he went on to create the world’s first electrical power station.  Edison was very close to Henry Ford. Their families went camping together each summer. Ford once commented: ‘To find a man who has not benefited by Edison and who is not in debt to him, it would be necessary to go deep into the jungle.’

His father & teachers saw Thomas as stupid because he was hearing-impaired and asked too many questions.

His mother Nancy, who always stood up for him, eventually pulled him out and home-schooled him herself.  Edison later said: ‘My mother was the making of me; she let me follow my bent’.  At age 12, he began selling newspapers and snacks from 6am-11pm to railway passengers.  one day he was fired for setting the train car on fire while conducting chemistry experiments.

Edison aimed to produce one minor invention every ten days and one major one every six months.  Inventing for Edison was as natural as breathing.

As Edison brought physical light, so Jesus brings spiritual light to the darkness and confusion that we all face on a daily basis.  God’s glory is another word for God’s manifest light. The word epiphany is another word for light breaking out in darkness. As God’s glory rises upon you, it is like a beautiful White Rock sunrise shining its light on our Christian walking group every Monday, Wednesday and Friday mornings. How many have ever walked in the Light with us? Walking is the healthiest exercise in our over-sedentary culture. A poster at my gym said: “sitting is the new smoking.” How many of you are willing to cut back on sitting and spend more time this Lent walking in the Light?

Jesus said in John 8:12 & 9:5: ‘I am the light of the world.  Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life’. John 1:4 tells us that in Jesus is life, and that life is the light of people. The good news in both Isaiah 60 and John 1:5 is that the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it. God’s Light is more powerful than even gross darkness. Have you noticed that our society’s darkness is getting more gross, losing all common sense? Even many non-Christians are being shocked by how dark and nonsensical our Canadian culture is becoming. Some non-christians are even so desperate that they are tentatively checking out the Light of God’s church. We need to be ready to welcome these unchurched people with open arms. As Is 60 vs. 3 predicts, Nations will come to your light, and kings to the brightness of your dawn.”

2 Corinthians 11:4 tells us that Satan hides his darkness by pretending to be an Angel of light. The devil is the great pretender. He loves to dress up in costumes. 2 Corinthians 4:4 says that Satan the god of this world has blinded the minds of unbelievers so that they cannot see the light of the gospel that displays the glory of Christ. That verse reminds me of Hank Williams’ song ‘I saw the Light’.

? Have you ever driven in the dark of night, forgetting to put on your headlights? How did that go for you? Many Canadians often try to drive in the spiritual dark without the headlights. And we wonder why our country is in so much trouble. That reminds me of Psalm 119:105: Thy Word is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path

Many young Canadians have never even heard of the Ten Commandments, let alone try to follow it. The rules don’t matter any more. Right and right, good and evil are just about not getting caught. You may have seen the bumper sticker: “Don’t steal. The government hates competition.” Increasing political corruption leaves many Canadians tempted to despair about a future for their children & Grandchildren.

The theme for our four-week sermon series on Isaiah 60 to 61 is “Arise and Shine.” Where do you need to arise and shine more in your life?

How many of you remember your parents saying to you early in the morning ‘Rise & Shine’? Perhaps you in desperation even sang this to your kids. How did they react? Did they always want to arise? We desperately need a fresh awakening, an arising in our nation. Many of us want to hide under the cover, saying Go away Jesus, let me sleep, just ten minutes longer.

Jesus the Light of the world calls us the Light of the world in Matthew 5:14. He challenged us to not hide our light under a bushel. Let your light shine before others that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father in heaven. Would it be accurate to call Jesus the laser beam of the world? Light illuminates our darkest secrets. Lent is a season of self-examination, as we let God’s light shine on our foolishness: “we have done those things that we ought not to have done, and done those things that we ought to have done.” As AA puts it, denial is not just a River in Egypt. We are truly as sick as our secrets. Ephesians 5:13 tells us that all things become visible when they are exposed by the light, for everything that becomes visible is light.

In 1975, the Canadian politician Tommy Douglas said: “Israel is like a light set upon a hill – the light of democracy in a night of darkness.” It’s remarkable that more Jewish people, especially during the current troubles in Israel, are turning to Jesus the Light than at any other time in the last two thousand years. They are realizing that technology and science alone will not save them. During the revival time of the Jesus movement, many of my Jewish friends came to know Jesus personally. I sometimes joke that the Jesus revolution was so powerful that even Anglicans and Jewish people got saved. It is not easy for Anglicans like myself to get saved because we are often jaded with religion and think that we are already Christians in some vague sense.

Globally this year, antisemitism has gone up 235%. Sadly, in Canada, with the Oct 7th massacre, antisemitism has gone up 800%. I very much appreciate how Bishop Peter and our All Saints team sent letters to our two local Jewish synagogues expressing our care and support. Let’s all say hi now to Bishop Peter, Jenny, and their parents in Perth, Australia.

Marty Shoub who will again be leading our All Saints Seder supper, said that a recently released female hostage while in the dark Hamas tunnels kept praying out loud Psalm 27, ‘The Lord is my light & my salvation, of whom shall I be afraid?’ and the terrorists did not touch her sexually, because they could see that she was filled with light.

Canada today is at a crossroads morally, spiritually, really in so many ways. Jesus’ cross of light is at the centre of the Canadian road, the way that Canada needs to follow. There is true light and counterfeit light in our current culture. Not all light is true enlightenment. How many of you love to gaze at the stars? You may remember Pinocchio’s song Starlight, starbright, first star I see tonight. Stars come out most clearly when it is darkest. Similar to the Menorah of Israel, Jesus is our Light in the darkness.

1 John 1:5  & 7 tells us that God is light; in him there is no darkness at all. But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin.” To walk in the Light is to turn from fear to faith, from hate to love and from self-centeredness to other-centeredness.

Light is actually a spiritual weapon in the war against darkness. The Star Wars light saber is a pale reflection of God’s sword of the Spirit, the Bible. E Stanley Jones said that the only good weapons are those that overcome darkness by light, evil with good, and hate by love and the world by a cross of suffering. Martin Luther King Jr said “Darkness cannot drive out darkness. Only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate. Only love can do that.”

E. Stanley Jones said that ‘intrinsically love is light and hate is darkness.’ As 1 John 2:10-11 puts it, “Anyone who loves their brother and sister lives in the light, and there is nothing in them to make them stumble. But anyone who hates a brother or sister is in the darkness and walks around in the darkness. They do not know where they are going, because the darkness has blinded them.”

Ephesians 5:14 is calling us this Lent to awake from sleep and rise from the dead, and Christ will shine on you. Rise and shine all saints. Prepare your hearts for the coming revival.

In conclusion, I want to share with you a prophetic word from a LinkedIn associate Pastor Francis Bashir, Lahore, Pakistan, in the Punjab. He had no idea that I was preparing this four-week sermon series on Isaiah 60 to 61.

“Today shall mark the beginning of the ultimate breakthrough your destiny has been waiting for. The Lord shall do abundantly more than you can imagine. You will receive that good news you have been waiting for. People you don’t even know will speak and work for you. You shall not fail at the edge of your breakthrough. The promises of the Lord shall surely come to pass in your life. You shall celebrate for the rest of this year and beyond. You Are For Signs and wonders. The time for your glory to shine has come. Therefore Arise and Shine For Your Light Has Come. It is Well With You in Jesus Name Amen.”

How many of you want to rise and shine this Lent? How many of you are willing to let your little light shine in Crescent Beach, White Rock and Surrey?  Let’s pray, as we sing This Little Light of Mine.