1. Please pray with me. May the words of my mouth and the meditation of our hearts be pleasing in Your sight, O Lord, our Rock, and our Redeemer. Amen. The message from God’s Word on this wonderful Christmas Day is taken from Isaiah 9:2, it’s entitled, “O Come Dayspring,” dear brothers and sisters in Christ.
2. Have you ever asked an older person what he wanted for Christmas only to have him tell you, “Don’t get me anything. I have everything I need”? When I heard that as a child, it puzzled me. How could someone not want anything for Christmas? I understand now. If you have the love of family and friends, along with food, clothing, shelter, clean water, soap, heat, light and your good health—you know, the basics—you really have everything you need. Well, almost everything. We need God in our lives. You can have lightbulbs every room of your house, but it’s not like having the sun come up in the morning. You still want the real light of day. What’s more serious, you can have a glorious sunrise, a sunny day, and still walk in darkness—spiritual darkness. You can have a roof over your head, clothes in the closet, and food in the refrigerator, and still be afraid of death. Without God’s sunrise in our lives, his Son, Jesus Christ, the darkness can be frightening.
3. An elder from another church was counseling a member of his congregation. She told him about her grown son and his wife. “All they do is watch TV,” she said. “They don’t talk to each other. They never eat meals together at the table. They don’t know where the other one is half the time, and they don’t care. They don’t pray or read the Bible. They never go to church. And they’re so depressed.” “They really need Christ, don’t they?” the elder replied. He was right. That family, like every family, really needs what we pray for in today’s stanza from “O Come, O Come, Emmanuel.” “O come, Thou Dayspring from on high,” we pray, “And cheer us by Thy drawing nigh.” Thou Light of Day, Thou Rising Sun, come! Isn’t that what you and I need at Christmas—Jesus, the Sunrise from God who casts out our darkness? Yes! So that’s what we pray for. Come, Jesus, Dayspring from on High, and Cheer Us.
4. When our prayer is answered and Jesus comes to us in his Word and Sacraments, all the dark things that depress and frighten are shined away, just like the sun shines away the shadows when it rises in the morning. This is what the dear old priest Zechariah was talking about when the birth of his son, John the Baptist, signaled the birth of Jesus, the Christmas Child: “Through the tender mercy of our God . . . the Dayspring from on high has visited us” (Lk 1:78 NKJV). Zechariah was recalling the words of the last Old Testament prophet, Malachi: “For you who fear my name, the sun of righteousness shall rise with healing in its wings” (Mal 4:2).
5. Think about the difficulty of God’s people in the latter centuries of the Old Testament. Think about the verses from Isaiah that we read at Christmas: “The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light; those who dwelt in a land of deep darkness, on them has light shined” (Is 9:2). Isaiah’s words shine as a beacon for all who live in fear of their enemies. Isaiah is literally describing Israel after the Assyrians invade and destroy the land. A few survivors struggle to hang on in the desolation. The northern tribal lands of Galilee are ruined; the people there live in the darkness of despair. But then, when all hope seems lost, God’s promise comes. A Light will dawn upon them! It’s so certain it’s even described in past tense. They “have seen a great light,” and “on them has light shined” (Is 9:2).
6. But this Light is not just for those who despair in Israel; it’s for all people, Jew and Gentile alike, Holy Scripture assures us. That means when you and I see our nation growing morally and spiritually weak, when we see what appears to be the last days of our national greatness, the Dayspring rises on us, the Light shines for us. But let’s be careful; the Light, the Dayspring, is not a promise of national resurgence, of the rebirth of national greatness. That might or might not happen. This is a promise of Light shining from Jesus showing us that he is the way to the kingdom of God. He is the Light who keeps us safe through faith no matter what happens to our country. When you and I have faith in Jesus the Light, guess what happens to our fears of death and darkness? They melt away! They’re replaced with joy! Hence, the words of our song as translated by Rev. John Mason Neale: O come, Thou Dayspring from on high, And cheer us by Thy drawing nigh; Disperse the gloomy clouds of night, And death’s dark shadows put to flight. Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel Shall come to thee, O Israel! (LSB 357:6)
7. This is wonderful news! But its fulfillment took a while. Israel had Isaiah’s promise of the Light for over 700 years. Isaiah said the Light would come as a Child, that the government would rest on his shoulders, that he would be the Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, and Prince of Peace. Isaiah said he would be the heir to David’s throne and rule with justice and righteousness forever (9:6–7). He would be everything a world shrouded in darkness needs. Well, 700 years after the promise, the Light, the Dayspring, dawned! The fulfillment comes in the birth of Jesus. That’s the message of Christmas. But who receives him? At first, it’s just a few shepherds, rejected by most people because they had a reputation for being dishonest, for being thieves, for seldom if ever attending services at the synagogue or visiting the temple during the feasts. They knew they were sinners who needed the Dayspring, so they welcome Jesus.
8. Later, a few Wise Men receive Jesus the Dayspring; Magi, Gentiles from Persia who probably heard about the Messiah from exiled Jews living there. From the Old Testament, the Magi would have learned that the bright star they followed was something special, the fulfillment of prophecy, “a star shall come out of Jacob, and a scepter shall rise out of Israel” (Num 24:17). Gentiles had always been excluded, but this star promised the Magi welcome. So they come. But it wasn’t a star the leaders of Israel who loved the darkness wanted to see shining. Herod the king rejects Jesus. The priests, the Pharisees, the Sadducees—for the most part, these reject Jesus. In fact, despite the crowds that sometimes flocked to him, not that many people really welcomed Jesus as the Light. Most people liked things the way they were. After three years of Jesus’ ministry, how many were there in the Upper Room on the Day of Pentecost? Only about 120!
9. John tells us in his Gospel that Jesus “the true light, which gives light to everyone . . . came to his own, and his own people did not receive him” (John 1:9, 11). How grieved our Lord is that the very people who need him don’t receive him; people whom he made and loves, people lost in darkness of sin, people afraid of death! He came as Light in the darkness, the Sunrise of a new day, and they don’t receive him. Oh, how everyone needs his light!
10. A pastor once called on a woman who was very ill. She wasn’t going to get well, and she knew it. But she made it even more likely that her health wouldn’t improve because she refused to turn out her bedroom light and go to sleep at night. Her thinking was: if I can just stay awake and see the lightbulb shining, I won’t die. So she exhausted herself trying to stay awake. And of course, staying awake couldn’t possibly work; like everyone, sooner or later she was going to die. But on a spiritual level, one she didn’t understand, she was right. If she could just see the Light, Light with a capital L, she wouldn’t die. She didn’t need a lightbulb; she needed the Light of Christ. If she could just see his Light by faith, she would live, even when she took her last breath. That’s the message that shines for us in the Gospel, the Good News that Jesus is the Light, the Dayspring shining away the darkness of death.
11. How is Jesus that Dayspring? Here’s how: he shines for us through the light of his resurrection! On Good Friday and Holy Saturday, the disciples and friends of Jesus are wallowing in a chasm of darkness, sorrow, self-loathing, death, and despair. Their hope that Jesus is the Messiah has faded. Jesus has been crucified and buried, his tomb sealed. For the followers of Jesus, there is nothing but the depths of misery. And they stay miserable until one by one they meet the risen Lord. First it’s Mary Magdalene. Then two disciples who talk with Jesus on the road to Emmaus. Then, we’re not sure exactly when, Peter meets Jesus. Then the Ten. Then a week later, the Eleven. One by one, glimmer by glimmer, the Dayspring of the risen Jesus rises in their hearts and drives away their darkness and fear.
12. I love the story of the disciples who meet Jesus on the road to Emmaus. Jesus starts walking along with them and asks them what they’re discussing. They’re so down in the dumps and don’t recognize him. They even insult him, saying he must be the only person in Jerusalem who doesn’t know what’s happened. They walk. They talk. Jesus, who must be disappointed with their unbelief, opens the Scriptures to them and explains how his suffering, death, resurrection, and final entrance into glory are all foretold by Moses and the Prophets. Slowly, the light dawns in their hearts. The spark of faith begins to glow. It’s evening when they reach Emmaus, so they persuade Jesus to stay with them and share a meal. As Jesus breaks bread and gives thanks, the light of faith is switched on. The Bible tells us. “Their eyes were opened, and they recognized him” (Lk 24:31). Then Jesus vanishes as abruptly as he appeared. The disciples, suddenly unconcerned about the lateness of the hour or how dark it’s getting, run all the way back to Jerusalem, afraid of nothing. They burst into the Upper Room and proclaim, “The Lord has risen indeed!” (Lk 24:34).
13. There’s another woman whose story is completely different from that of the one so afraid of death that she kept her bedroom light on. This other woman’s name is Ilse. In her eighties, Ilse was in and out of the hospital. Her world had become very small, but she still had a heart filled with the joy of faith. She was always giving—to church, to her favorite charities, to children. One day, Ilse was taken to the hospital after yet another health crisis. Her pastor rushed to the hospital to see her. She was barely conscious. As he usually did, he read Scripture and prayed. He prayed that God would spare her, that she’d get better, that she’d improve enough to go home. Then he left, not sure if she was even aware that he’d been there. A few days later, the pastor called on her again. This time, she was clearly much better; she was sitting up, talking. My, was she talking! She scolded her pastor! She said, “I was ready to go and be with Jesus. But you prayed for me, and I got better.” That’s a woman who didn’t need lightbulbs to keep her awake. She’d seen the light in Jesus and could go to sleep peacefully in his arms any time.
14. I’d like to read you the literal English translation of the Latin of what was originally stanza 5 of “O Come, O Come, Emmanuel.” O Dayspring, splendor of light everlasting, Come and enlighten those who sit in darkness And in the shadow of death. When do you suppose this verse was sung? At night in pitch darkness as part of the Vespers service! The monks would get up in the middle of the night in the cold of winter and walk from the dormitory where they slept to a dark chapel. How fearful an experience that must have been! Fearful, that is, until they lit candles one by one and sang this prayer. Then with candles glowing, God’s Word would be read and fear would be replaced by faith in Jesus, the Light of the world. That’s what God wants for us, faith in Jesus the Light, our Dayspring from on high. We don’t have to stumble around in the dark to find him. On Christmas Day and every day, Jesus the Light is God’s gift to us through his Word. Hear the Word with faith, and the Light will dawn. We pray: Lord Jesus, Dayspring, holy Light, shine away our fears of death and fill us with the assurance of faith in your resurrection, even on this day as we celebrate your birth. In your name we pray. Amen.
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