“The people who sat in darkness have seen a great light.”
Matthew’s gospel often matches the events of Jesus’ life with prophecies from Israel’s past. So here he links the place where Jesus makes a home to a promise from Isaiah:
“He … made his home in Capernaum by the lake, 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.’
Thus the gospel writer can bring in the theme of darkness and light which we find so frequently in our sacred story. This metaphor is one of the most prominent by which the followers of Jesus, and those who came after them, sought to make meaning of this story that held so much life for them – and for us.
It is easy to envision a people stuck in dim light, just going about their business with little hope of transformation or power. I imagine living room after living room lit only by the flicker of screens, televisions, game consoles, computer monitors. I think of people disconnected from hope, from joy, from God, from one another, and in a profound sense from themselves. We all know “people who sit in darkness… in the region and shadow of death.”
And the narrative Christ-followers hold close is one that breaks into that dimly lit room with light - not only light, but a Great Light. The reality of what God is up to in the humanity of Christ shines a light bright enough to drown the deepest darkness. And we are bearers of that light – Jesus said to his followers, “You are the light of the world.”
When you think of “people who sit in darkness,” who comes to your mind? An individual? A community?
Hold that person or group in your mind’s eye, and imagine light shining on them. Not just a little light – a steadily growing light getting brighter and brighter, just bathing that person in its glow.
This is a way of praying for people, using our imaginations. It is a way of picturing God’s blessing. And, because when we pray we are inviting the power of heaven to be made real here on earth (“on earth, as it is in heaven…”), we can believe that God is blessing that person or persons. And us too, as we hold them up to the light. It shines on us too.
The light has not gone away. And it has not shined only on "the road by the sea, across the Jordan…" It shines in our own lives and communities. It shines through us.
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