Sunday, January 25, 2026, Third Sunday after the Epiphany
“A Light in the Dark”
Scripture Readings: Ps. 27:1-9; Isaiah 9:1-4; 1 Corinthians 1:10-18; Matthew 4:12-25
Service Order: Order of Holy Matins
Hymns: “The People that In Darkness Sat” #412; “From All That Dwell Below the Skies” #816; “I Want to Walk as a Child of the Light” #411; “O Jesus, King Most Wonderful” #554
Dear Friends in Christ,
Grace, mercy, and peace to you, from God our Father and from our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Amen.
We all know the song, “This little Gospel light of mine, I’m gonna let it shine,” right?
I’ve always complained when people sing it, “This little light of mine” and leave the Gospel part out. It turns out I was wrong about that, for which I now apologize. “This little light of mine” (without the word Gospel in it) was how the song was originally written. It’s we Christians who have added the word Gospel to it. (Not that there’s anything wrong with that; I like the “Gospel light” version much, much better, and I’ll go on singing it that way)
We’re not the only ones to add to the song or adapt it to our own purposes, either.
“This Little Light” was used as a civil rights anthem back in the sixties, and it’s been appropriated for various other social causes over the years. Everyone from socialists to communists to BLM, and even white power groups, have made use of some version of it. Funny how a leftwing group can sing that song, and a rightwing group can sing it, and mean totally different things. Change a few words, I guess, and you can use it for anything. There’s even an ad for a new depression pill on TV right now that says, “This little light of mine has been dark for quite some time.” Given the state of things in this world of ours, I think we Christians really ought to stick with the “Gospel light” version, don’t you? We are called to be the light of the world, after all.
Darkness vs. light has been the way of things in the world forever, ever since God back in Genesis “separated the light from the darkness.” In the light is God’s goodness and grace and truth, and the darkness is the realm of sin and lies and hatefulness. “What has light to do with darkness?” Jesus said.
In today’s Gospel reading, Jesus heard the terrible news that John the Baptist had been arrested and thrown in King Herod’s prison. John was a preacher of grace and truth, alight sent to shine in the darkness of the world to point people to Jesus; but now the darkness had him. It was dark as could be in Herod’s awful prison, and poor John was very soon going to die in that terrible place. Sometimes it seems like the darkness is going to win and cover us all. But folks, the darkness cannot win. St. John says in the first chapter of his Gospel, “The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not been able to overcome it.” It’s not that Jesus just showed up one day to be the Light; it’s that He’s always been the Light. God promised from the beginning, and from the fall into sin, that the light of faith and hope and truth would always shine in a dark world, no matter how hard Satan might try to “poof” it out.
Prophet Isaiah, 800 years before Jesus was born, told us how our Savior would be born, and who He would be, and where He would live, and what He would do: “Land of Zebulun and land of Naphtali, by way of the sea, beyond the Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles -- the people sitting in darkness, have seen a great light, and to those sitting in the land of shadow and death, a light has dawned upon them.” God made a promise, and the promise was kept. A Light in all the darkness was promised, a great and wonderful Light has now been given – a Gospel Light that no power in heaven or on earth can ever put out.
What was the Light that Jesus brought into the world? What was the nature of it?
The word “Gospel” means “good news.” Jesus began with a spoken Word; with preaching, with proclamation, with a Word of Gospel Good News to put in the people’s ears. Again from John’s Gospel, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning… In Him was life, and that life was the light of men.”
Jesus’ message, when He began to preach, was, "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is near." “Men loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil,” John’s Gospel says -- which is why this world is in the shape it’s in. That word “repent” means “to turn around” -- to turn away from the darkness and come into the light of God’s truth. Jesus’ call to bring our sins into the light and openly confess them certainly isn’t an easy thing; but in the light is truth, and forgiveness for our sin. Light is a cleansing agent, a purifier. God in His mercy wants to take away the darkness in us, and fill us with His holy light, so we can live our lives in peace and joy and hope.
Now, it’s good for us to keep in mind that the Light we’re talking about here is “the Light of the world.” When God sent His Son into the world, He didn’t have in mind just some local little campfire. Jesus had more in mind than being a light for little Galilee, or a Light meant just for Israel and the Jews. His aim was to break up all the darkness in the world. So He began to find disciples for Himself. A disciple is a student, a learner, a Gospel trainee. A disciple is someone Jesus teaches, someone He gives lessons in God’s truth; until (the hope of every teacher) the light comes on in them and they begin to understand. Jesus lights the blessed spark of faith in His disciples, and calls them to take “that little Gospel light of theirs” out into the world.
Jesus found Simon Peter and his brother Andrew, and called them to come and learn at His feet. (They were only fishermen, but Jesus knew they could be much more).
Then He called James and John, those sons of Zebedee, to follow Him and be His disciples; they were simple fishermen, too, just “working Joe’s”. But out of the darkness He called them; from the day-to-day life of a fisherman; from the world of “work all your life and then you die, and what was all of it for?” -- to a life of real and holy purpose. Jesus made them “fishers for men”, bringers of Good News, carriers of Light.
Very soon Jesus, who is the Light of the World, would point to them and tell them, "You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven.”
We who Jesus has put the Light in, we who by the grace of God have the light of faith in us -- we have the joy, and the privilege, and the holy responsibility, to shine our Gospel light wherever we are, and wherever we happen to go in the world. If you want to be a disciple of Jesus and a servant of God, this is how it’s done, simple working Joe’s though we may be. All those things it says about Jesus in the Creed? “Born of the virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate, crucified, died, and buried, raised again on the third day?” That’s the light! That’s the truth! So simple anyone can learn it, and so beautiful anyone who’s come to believe it can’t help but shining their Gospel light and telling everyone about it.
I know, not everyone is going to believe it. Some people aren’t going to want to hear it. Some people just aren’t ready to come out of the darkness into the light yet. Some might even laugh at us or call us deluded or foolish or crazy for leaving the nets and the boats and the things of the world to follow Jesus instead; but what can you do?
They crucified Jesus for shining the light of truth upon sin; some degree of suffering for His sake, at the least, shouldn’t be a surprise to us, if we’re going to shine His light in this world. We heard those words from St. Paul: “The message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.” For myself, I’ll take the Gospel light way of living my life over life in the darkness, no matter what it may cost me. “Lord, to whom shall we go,” St. Peter said; “You alone have the words of eternal life.”
Now the Gospel of Jesus, the Good News about Him, is good; it’s very good, as good a thing as there is or ever can be. Jesus walked all over Galilee, our Gospel says, “teaching in their synagogues, preaching the good news of the kingdom.” But He didn’t stop with only words. Words are necessary – the Good News is news, after all; but there’s more to letting our Gospel light shine than just talking. Jesus didn’t just stand at a distance and talk to people. He loved the people who came to Him, and He cared about them, so He wasn’t afraid to reach out and touch them. He didn’t do just a miracle or two every once in a while; He “healed every disease and sickness among the people,” everywhere He went, day after day. He had all the love in the world in Himself, and all the power of heaven at His fingertips. How could He look out on all the hurts and darkness and sin, and not be moved to do something about it? “Jesus had compassion on them, because they were harassed and helpless, like shepherdless sheep.”
So the news about Jesus spread everywhere; and why not? The world was so full of darkness, and hope was so hard to find. Our Gospel says the people brought Him their various diseases, and their pain, and their demons, and all the other things that can trouble human beings in mind or body or heart or soul. And He, in His compassion, shined the light of hope and healing on them all.
Lord Jesus, You are the Light of the world, our only help and our only hope. And now You turn to us, we disciples of Yours, and say, “You are the light of the world.”
This world is such a dark place, O Lord, and so often it looks like the light of God, the light of love and mercy and truth, cannot survive. Move us, fill us, and use us, O Lord, to shine the light of hope into all that darkness. Help us to shine for You, Lord Jesus, until everyone we know has come into Your light and has come to know and believe Your saving truth. In Jesus’ name; Amen.
Rev. Larry Sheppard, M.Div.
Trinity Lutheran Church, Packwaukee, Wisconsin
St. John’s Lutheran Church, Oxford, Wisconsin
pastorshepp@gmail.com