Light Into Darkness: A Meditation on Matthew 4 for the 3rd Sunday in Epiphany

Now when Jesus had heard that John was cast into prison, he departed into Galilee;

And leaving Nazareth, he came and dwelt in Capernaum,

which is upon the sea coast, in the borders of Zabulon and Nephthalim:

That it might be fulfilled which was spoken by Esaias the prophet, saying,

The land of Zabulon, and the land of Nephthalim,

by the way of the sea, beyond Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles;

The people which sat in darkness saw great light;

and to them which sat in the region and shadow of death light is sprung up.

From that time Jesus began to preach, and to say,

Repent: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.

 

There is a theme which emerges between our Gospel lesson in Matthew 4, the Epistle lesson in 1^st Corinthians 1, and the reading from Psalm 27:  the Wisdom of God is greater than the wisdom of men, just as the Light of God is superior to man’s darkness.  King David trusted in that Light and Wisdom to save him from the power of his enemies who conspired against him with evil intent.  Isaiah prophesied of this Light and Wisdom which would come upon the peoples who sat in the darkness of their own futile ideas, and Jesus fulfilled that through His Incarnation and preaching ministry.  St. Paul echoed that same message when he wrote to the church in Corinth, that they were sealed together in the Light and Wisdom of Jesus, not the earthly imaginations, pretentions, and associations of men.  The Wisdom of God With Us, Jesus Christ, is the Light of understanding and truth which pierces the darkness of man’s fallen intellect, and raises him up to fellowship with the Triune God.  This is why Jesus would preach, as His Apostles would preach after Him, that all people should Repent:  for the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand—with Jesus comes His Kingdom, and it is inaccessible by any means of fallen man’s devising, but alone received through the faith in Him, whose grace makes all things new.

 

While this revealed concept is absolutely true, and demonstrated as such in century after century since the foundation of the world, our time is not unlike others which have repudiated it.  In the West, once built upon the promise of God’s Word as the foundation of human society, where the obligations of duty and love are formed in the Law, and the freedom of the conscience is nurtured in the Gospel, many other earthly ideas have been contesting for power.  Today, ideologies of Atheism, Marxism, and a form of Secular Humanism which has merged with an almost messianic appeal to Science and Technology, are all competing for dominance in men’s minds.  Certainly there are other movements afoot, too—from the resurgence of old pagan religions, witchcraft, and occultism, to variations on militant Islam or the cults which hide themselves under Jewish or Christian mantles—but as evidenced in the last 60 years, the levers of power in this country and across the world have increasingly fallen in the hands of Atheists, Marxists, and those who think they can save the world through Technology and social control.  It is an odd nexus of authoritarian ideals, as if the aspiration were for man’s meaningless life (Atheism) to be made level and equitable to all through the compulsion of an enlightened ruling class (Marxism) and be executed most efficiently by turning individuals and societies into the likeness of computer chips and applications while fed their daily instructions by Artificial Intelligence devised by chief scientists (Secular Humanism and Scientism).  What could possibly go wrong?

 

Like so many dark ideas of man which sprout up apart from, or in direct rebellion against, the Word of God, these chief three of the last half century have brought much suffering and devastation.  Atheism has built nothing of beauty nor reflected any hope for man’s moral worth, and like many of its chief advocates, breeds only despair, depression, and selfishness unto a miserable, often suicidal, death.  Marxism must force the taking of labor and produce from those who work for it, so that it may be given to those who don’t and won’t work for it, often resulting in the slaughter of millions and the complete dissolution of any semblance of a free society, or one that honors human dignity in mind, body, or spirit.  Scientism, or the reliance upon Technology and technologists to save mankind and the world, has produced dehumanizing products and services which drain mental acuity, poison people through chemicals, and created weapons of war which can reduce the earth to a lifeless hellscape like Mars or Venus in matter of hours.  At least technology, which itself is neutral in so far as men seek to better understand the physical, chemical, and biological paradigms which are written into Creation, can produce useful tools for the betterment of mankind if the means to a good end are not turned into idolatrous ends in themselves; Atheism and Marxism, on the other hand, produce nothing good at all.  Blended together, they have the potential to make the wars and slaughter of the last century pale in comparison to what they may bring about in the 21^st.  A deep and noxious darkness, indeed.

 

Epiphany reminds us that we are not left alone in this darkness, and that the Word of the Lord still reaches toward us all with calls to repent, believe, and live.  Jesus still testifies through His Incarnation to the dignity and worth of man created in the image of God.  Through His Cross, Jesus testifies to the love of God for man which sacrifices all for the salvation of others, that man might live in that same sacrificial love toward their neighbors.  Through the Law of Love, Jesus defines the duty and obligations of all men, from the Commandments given at Mount Sinai through Moses, to the expounding of that Law through Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount.  By His resurrection, Jesus testifies to the truth that eternal life in fellowship with God is the goal of this earthly life, and that this gift of eternal life is made possible only in Him.  By His preaching and teaching, Jesus showed that He is the only Way, Truth, and Life, and that those who seek to save their life through selfish ambition and the dark machinations of man’s fallen intellect will most certainly lose it, while those who lose their lives in this world through the embrace of Christ and His Word will find it secure to them forever.  Jesus is still the Light which leads all people to abundant life in this world and the next, who appeals to all people in the dignity of their humanity with the persuasion of infinite love, that others might choose freely by His Word and Spirit to live in His love.  Where God has all power to compel and to control, He rather condescends to fallen men, that they might be won by the appeal of His Word, and live into the fullness He has intended for them since before the foundation of the world.

 

Here, even here in the darkening West, the Light of God’s Wisdom still shines.  To some, the preaching of Christ and Him crucified will sound like foolishness—a stumbling block to those who think they can save themselves through the works of their own weak bodies and corrupted minds.  But to those who are being saved by grace through faith in Christ alone, it is the power of God unto true salvation, true eternal life, and true human flourishing.  The Word of the Lord is still the Light and Life of all people, and it still comes to you and to me that we might abide in Him forever.  Like David over 3000 years ago, we have nothing to fear even if the armies of darkness surround us, and in their conniving plot against Jesus, His Word, and His people, for there is no darkness of men which can prevail against the Light and Wisdom of God With Us.  Amen.