The concluding words of the Revelation to John remind us of our calling in these days of waiting for Christmas: “I, Jesus, have sent my angel to give you this testimony for the churches. I am the Root and the Offspring of David, and the bright Morning Star.” (Rev. 22:16)
At the beginning of the Revelation, stars are the angels bringing God’s message to seven churches in Asia Minor. They point to a vision from the prophet Zechariah of a lampstand with seven bowls, with each bowl representing the faithful before God. In Revelation, God pictures each church as a separate lamp. Each congregation is a self-contained view of the universal church, so their lights are both distinct and indivisible. No one can bear that light but the one to whom it is given. We must tend to the light granted to us, and shine, as Jesus said, “like a city on a hill.” “Let your light shine before others,” he said, “so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father in heaven.” (Matt. 5:14-16)
Darkness describes many parts of our lives, though. Darkness is the distressing realization that your life is not turning out how you thought it would. Darkness is standing at a crossroads and not being able to discern the next steps into an unknowable future. Darkness is the estrangement from those you love that leaves you feeling alone. Darkness is the sin of your life and mine, the path of pain and death that keeps us from loving God and neighbor with our whole selves. Darkness is the grief that comes with loss, leaving us all groping and wandering.
The good news is this: the Scriptures proclaim God’s Lordship over our darkness. In the beginning, God calls light from the darkness. God makes the world bright in order for us to understand ourselves in relationship to the world, to perceive dangers and locate safe passage. During Advent, we wait together for the light to shine in the darkness. Admiring that light shining in darkness is not enough, though. We must turn toward it and walk in it. It requires effort, resolve, persistence and endurance to remain fixed to our guiding light. Peter reminds us that in these days, we must “be attentive to this as a lamp shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts.” (2 Peter 1:19)
The morning star is that star that precedes the arrival of morning. When this star rises, it pushes away the darkness and signals the dawn of a new day. Even if the morning has not yet fully arrived, it is surely on the way. We await the new day with joy, because we know that when light breaks across the horizon on God’s new day, the world will be seen in a new way. What is will disappear into what was, what we hope for will come to pass, the first will be last and the last will be first. God is bringing that new day as sure as the sunrise. The morning star that announces God’s new day is Jesus. Let us wait for him, work for him, strain to his light and persevere until the morning.
Grace and Peace,