First Light

 

First Light

Now when Jesus heard that John had been arrested, he withdrew to Galilee. He left Nazareth and made his home in Capernaum by the sea, in the territory of Zebulun and Naphtali, so that what had been spoken through the prophet Isaiah might be fulfilled:

    “Land of Zebulun, land of Naphtali,

    on the road by the sea, across the Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles—

    the people who sat in darkness

    have seen a great light,

    and for those who sat in the region and shadow of death

    light has dawned.”

From that time Jesus began to proclaim, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near.”

As he walked by the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers, Simon, who is called Peter, and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea—for they were fishermen. And he said to them, “Follow me, and I will make you fish for people.” Immediately they left their nets and followed him. As he went from there, he saw two other brothers, James son of Zebedee and his brother John, in the boat with their father Zebedee, mending their nets, and he called them. Immediately they left the boat and their father, and followed him.

Jesus went throughout Galilee, teaching in their synagogues and proclaiming the good news of the kingdom and curing every disease and every sickness among the people.

~ the Gospel According to Matthew, chapter 4, verses 12 to 23, from The Holy Bible: New Revised Standard Version. 1989, Nashville: Thomas Nelson Publishers. (Revised Common Lectionary, Year A: Third Sunday after Epiphany, 22 January 2017)

John the Baptizer has been jailed, and will soon be executed (Matthew 14: 1-12). He comes under the wrath of Herod because of the prophetic message God has given him. He is fulfilling his God-given call, and it gets him killed.

In today’s passage, Matthew lifts up Jesus’ withdrawal to the north as fulfillment of Isaiah’s words about a light dawning on Zebulun and Naphtali, Galilee of the Gentiles. Zebulun and Naphtali don’t get much press in the scriptures compared to, for instance, Judah, Benjamin, and Ephraim.

Zebulun and Naphtali were tribes of Israel on the northernmost border of Canaan. Thus, when the empire of Assyria arrived from the north with its devastating armies, Zebulun and Naphtali—far from the secure fort-cities of Jerusalem and Samaria—were the first to get pounded. (“Pounded” may be an understatement; with the Geneva Convention millennia away, war was more hellish than I think most of us imagine.) When the Babylonian empire usurped the Assyrian one, its military followed the same course through the Fertile Crescent, decimating crops and having its way with the inhabitants. Zebulun and Naphtali were again the first to be violated.

When the Persian empire sent its emissaries to take over the Babylonian lands, Zebulun and Naphtali were the first tribes to submit. And when the armies of Alexander the Great came marching in, guess who were the first ones to feel the spear points of the Greeks?

“The people who sat in darkness have seen a great light,” says Isaiah. Matthew points us to the fact that these words apply to Jesus’ arrival. “For those who sat in the region and shadow of death, light has dawned.” Jesus’ work will bring the kingdom of God first to the fraying fringes, the ones without power, the first ones to feel the crushing force of oppressive power. This is the good news, consummate with Jesus’ declaration that the meek and the oppressed are blessed (Matthew 5:3-10).

Instead of conquering people, Jesus conquers sickness. Instead of taking crops and children, Jesus takes away sin. Instead of a new kingdom of fear, Jesus brings a kingdom of redemption and freedom. All who are crushed under oppression—physical, social, and spiritual—take comfort in the person and presence of Jesus Christ. We ourselves may be grateful for the deliverance of Christ’s kingdom. As the Church, the bearers of Christ’s good news, we ask: Who is on the beaten edge of our society? Who are the first to feel the wrath of the bully at school? Who are the first to feel the effects of an economic downturn? Who are the ones continually left behind and left out because of something beyond their control? To whom are we called to offer the Great Light, first?

God of the Dawn and Bringer of Hope, shine on us again with your great mercy. Wash us in the warmth of your abundant care. Set in relief the dark corners of our world, and send us with courage there to shine. Put hope ever-present on our lips and in our palms for the offering. We ask it in the name of Jesus Christ, the Living Light!

~ emrys tyler

One of Sonlight’s Incoming Co-Directors, Emrys Tyler, served as a pastor for the last ten years. He can’t kick the habit of offering a word from the scriptures every week. The “Above Tree Line” blog posts are his meditations for the blessing of the wider Church.