Wingham United Church

January 4, 2026

Bringing Back the Light

Isaiah 60:1-6

Matthew 2:1-12

Because I was planning to take the week after Christmas as vacation time, I began working on this service before Christmas. In fact, I first started my preparations for this Epiphany service on the day following the winter solstice, and I read a devotion that morning that connected the two events in my mind.

Cameron Trimble pointed out in her blog on December 22 that the winter solstice marked a limit. Until that day, the nights keep getting longer and the days shorter until we reach a point where the darkness can gain no more. The earth begins to tilt the other way, and, in this part of the world, we begin to see a little more light each day.

It isn’t noticeable at first. Days increase by a minute or two at a time, almost imperceptibly. Then, one day, you suddenly realize that it’s daylight when you sit down for supper. In my case, I notice that I no longer need to take a flashlight with me when I take my dog out for our evening walk. Then you realize that the days are getting longer and it somehow makes you feel a little lighter yourself. Spring is still a long way off, but there is a greater sense of hope that the darkness is loosening its grip.

          It seems to me that it has been that way throughout human history. For a time, humanity tilts ever further away from the Light until it reaches a point where we say, “Enough. That is as far as you go.” At that point, we begin to turn back toward the Light. Rarely is it a sudden shift. It happens almost imperceptibly. People start being a little more kind and considerate. The generosity so evident at Christmas carries over into the new year. A prayer vigil is held. A group of people stage a peaceful protest in support of another marginalized group. A case of injustice is overturned. Someone makes a seemingly extraordinary act of kindness and generosity. A corrupt government falls. Somewhere, a declaration of peace is announced. People turn back to God.

          Before that can happen, however, we must reach the point where we will refuse to allow any more darkness in the world.

          It was at one of those dark periods in our history when God entered our world as one of us, a child born in a borrowed stable in a time of empire and oppression, and the world began to turn back toward the Light. At Epiphany, we mark the day when wise men came before him and knew that he was the Light they were seeking. They brought him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh, but the gift he gave them was far greater than those. He gave them the gift of hope for the world, a vision of a new era for the world in which the Light would drive back the darkness. The weeks following Epiphany are often referred to as the Season of Light.

          The winter solstice is a turning point when things begin to move in a different direction. Epiphany is a revelation of the divine, which is also a turning point. One cannot encounter the Messiah and keep going the same way they have always gone. That is perhaps the point of Matthew’s noting that the Wise Men returned home by another road. After meeting the Christ Child, they could not go back to the way things were before.

          This is our first Sunday of the New Year. Resolutions are still fresh, some perhaps still unbroken. It is a chance for us to change our direction, go forward in a different way, and allow a little more of the Light into our lives, and allow a little more of that Light to shine from us into the lives of others.

          It’s our chance to respond to Isaiah’s call to let our light shine. We’ve been reading from Isaiah and Matthew since the end of November, the first Sunday of Advent. As I have mentioned before, Isaiah is thought to actually be three different prophets. First Isaiah called out to God’s people during a time of darkness in which they had turned away from God and acted by earthly standards of selfishness, greed, and pride. Isaiah warned them that unless they changed their ways and turned back to God, disaster would befall them. They didn’t listen, and found themselves conquered, exiled, and oppressed.

          Second Isaiah comes during that time of exile. He comes with a message that if they would change their direction, turn back to God, seek justice, and act with kindness and compassion, God would lead them home again.

          Third Isaiah arrives after the people have been released and many have come home. Things aren’t quite as good as they had hoped. Their homeland lay in ruins. Poverty and hardship still faced them every day. Yet, there was still a Light glowing in the darkness. Little by little, they were rebuilding. They were becoming community again, working together, helping one another. Into this reality, the prophet spoke words of encouragement. “Arise! Let you light shine for all to see.”

          God’s Light had shone upon them, but they must share that light. Like mirrors, they needed to reflect God’s Light so that those still living in darkness could see. Then, little by little, almost imperceptibly, the Light would shine brighter, and the darkness would become less.

          That is our challenge. As God’s Light shines upon us, we must share that light with others. Then, like a room full of candles, each being lit in turn, we can drive out the darkness a little at a time.

          An act of kindness today. A call to someone who may need encouragement tomorrow. Every day, a prayer. Each day, light another candle. Each day, move a little closer to God. Alone, none of us can solve all the world’s problems. Together, we can bring the full light of Christ back to the world.

          In that reflection from Cameron Trimble, she wrote about a woman who lived in a housing complex where the power went out frequently. People became used to it. Rather than curse the darkness, though, this woman kept a candle on a shelf in her kitchen and matches in a drawer near the stove. When the lights went out, she lit her candle and placed it in her window. People saw her light and began to follow her example. One evening, when the power went yet out again, she lit her candle and placed it in her window, and noticed that all around the courtyard, there were candles glowing. It didn’t bring the power back on. Nor did it generate enough light or heat to resolve their problems, but those little lights gave people a sense that they were not alone in the darkness, and that, together, they could make things a little brighter for everyone.

          Every day I pray that this is our solstice, that the darkness in our world will reach no further and we will turn back toward the Light once again. I can’t make it happen on my own, but I can do my part. Instead of allowing the darkness to overcome me, I can light my little candle and let my light shine, and hope that others do the same, and little by little, perhaps almost imperceptibly, we can dispel the darkness that pervades our world and bring back the Light.

Rev. Colin Snyder, MDiv