Isaiah 9:1–4; 1 Corinthians 1:10–17; Matthew 4:12–23
Introduction
Light changes everything.
Light exposes what is hidden, interrupts what is wrongly comfortable, and reveals what was always there but never seen. One moment, we grope in familiarity, and the next, we are summoned into clarity. The Bible teaches that God’s redemptive work does not begin with human consensus or strategy. Still, with the Light breaking into our darkness and people being drawn together around that Light (Luke 8:12). Today’s Sermonette confronts us with a single, urgent claim that God calls a divided people out of darkness and binds them together for His mission in the world.
The Light Dispels Our Darkness
Contextually, Isaiah 9 emerges from a period of political devastation and spiritual despair. Zebulun and Naphtali, regions first ravaged by Assyrian invasion (2 Kings 15:29), symbolize humiliation and loss. Yet Isaiah dares to proclaim reversal, “The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light” (Isa. 9:2). Biblically, darkness signifies not only suffering but alienation from God (Isa. 60:2). Light, therefore, is revelatory and salvific, flowing from God’s decisive intervention.
The imagery escalates from illumination to liberation. The yoke is broken “as on the day of Midian” (Isa. 9:4), recalling Gideon’s victory achieved not by might but by divine initiative (Judg. 7). Thus, the text resists political triumph to make way for divine glory. God’s light does not merely improve circumstances in our lives, it also redefines power. Isaiah’s hope is not incremental reform but a radical reorientation of mindset of the people grounded in God’s own action.
United for Mission
The Gospel explicitly identifies Jesus as the fulfillment of Isaiah’s prophecy of the Light born unto us as a child (Matthew 4:12-16 ). Matthew carefully situates Jesus’ ministry in Galilee, the very place of former disgrace. When Jesus proclaims, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near” (Matt. 4:17), repentance is not mere moral correction but a reorientation of the mind toward God’s reigning purpose. The light announced by Isaiah now walks, speaks, and calls.
Crucially, Jesus’ first act is not teaching crowds but forming a community. “Follow me, and I will make you fishers of people” (Matt. 4:19). The call is immediate, disruptive, and community-based. Fishermen leave their nets, which are a symbol of livelihood and identity, and are united into a mission they do not yet fully understand, "fishers of men." When Christ calls a person, He bids them, "Come and die," to die to the old securities to live for God’s purposes. Have you died to your old self for the new birth?
This communal calling from Christ stands in sharp contrast to the Corinthian situation Paul sought to address (1 Corinthians 1:11–12). The church, already called into the light of Christ, is fractured by allegiance to personalities. Let us understand that Paul’s appeal is not for uniformity of opinion but unity of confession, “that there be no divisions among you, but that you be perfectly united in mind and thought." (1 Cor. 1:10) The Greek word, "schismata" (divisions) evokes tearing or ripping apart. A language that suggests violence against the body of Christ.
Paul’s correctional path is very profound to me. He does not propose compromise but recenters the church community on the cross. So he posed the question, “Has Christ been divided?” (1 Cor. 1:13). The rhetorical force in this question is devastating. Division is not merely unhealthy, but a strong denial of the Gospel Himself. The cross dismantles human boasting and reorders our identity (Gal. 2:20). Karl Barth indicates that the Church’s unity is not something it creates, but something it must continually receive and live into through obedience.
United: Mission Possible
Precious one, the Light breaks into darkness, calls individuals into a community, and unites that community (Church) for mission. Fulfillment of God’s mission proceeds from the Light of a united Church, without it, it is mission impossible. Jesus does not call disciples to private enlightenment but to a public shared participation in the Kingdom’s advancement (Matt. 28:19–20; Acts 1:8).
Division, therefore, is not a peripheral issue. It obscures the Light meant for the nations (John 13:35). Unity is not institutional survival but a missional necessity.
Conclusion
The light has come. Not to admire us, but to summon us. Not to confirm our divisions, but to expose them. Not to leave us where we are, but to draw us together and send us out for God's mission.
Christ still walks along ordinary shores, still interrupts settled lives, still calls fractured people into a single purpose. The question is no longer whether the light has appeared, it's already here. Now it is whether we will step out of the shadows of our comfort zones, lay down our nets of struggles, disappointment, rivalry, and fear, and follow Him together.
When we are called into the Light and united for God’s mission, the world does not merely hear the Gospel, it actually sees Him. Amen!
God bless Papa
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