“Arise, shine; for your light has come,
and the glory of the Lord has risen upon you.”
—Isaiah 60:1
One of the first things I do each day after I wake up is reach for my phone and play the daily Wordle. My starting word, almost every time, is ARISE. I’ve thought about using a different word to start but ARISE seems to be working for me. I recently had a 102-day winning streak, so I’ll stick with ARISE, thank you very much. One of these mornings ARISE will be the solution and I will achieve the elusive Immaculate Wordle.
One of the Scripture texts for the Epiphany of the Lord, January 6, is Isaiah 60:1-6, which begins with the declaration, “Arise, shine; for your light has come, and the glory of the Lord has risen upon you.”
In the person of Jesus of Nazareth, the glory of God has risen upon us! The Spirit of God dwells within us. The wonder of God’s creation shines all around us. And the light of God penetrates every corner of the earth, even the darkest ones. This is what Epiphany means to me.
My prayer for you at Epiphany, and in the new year, is that you will arise each day and shine with the light of Christ that dwells within you.
When I think of the work that lies ahead of me in the next few months, some of it doesn’t seem very shiny. But I have hope that God will bring it to completion to the honor and glory of Jesus my Lord. I may not know exactly what the future holds, but I know who holds the future. So, I will carry on and ARISE in hope every morning.
Peace,
Andy