Messiah, Bass Aria: The People that Walked in Darkness

Listen: (3:56)

The people that walked in darkness have seen a great light,

And they that dwell in the land of the shadow of death,
on them light has shined. (Isaiah 9:2)

Reflection: 
This aria feels like a slow, gradual sunrise to me. The minor key and slow tempo meander their way toward a more confident and thrilling resolution. But it takes a while. I talked with our children in worship yesterday about the color blue as an Advent color: the color of a sky just as the sun is rising, when you can't yet see the light, but it's getting ever so slightly brighter each moment. It's too slow to really perceive with the naked eye, but it's coming.

From the post-exilic Isaiah 60, to get to Isaiah 9 we now rewind the clock by roughly 200 years. The political situation in Jerusalem is immensely complicated--it's a time of war, of multiple armies threatening Jerusalem, alliances on the table, and the question of doing the most expedient thing versus the most faithful thing is always on the mind of the king. In this context, Isaiah shares a poem about a new heir to the throne: a new generation taking leadership. Hope is coming, but it will take a while to grow and mature.

The gradual dawning of a new generation of leaders makes me think of the "Generation Z" youth, as they've been termed, making waves internationally. It calls to mind Greta Thunberg, recently named Time magazine's "Person of the Year," and the Parkland, Florida students striving for a change in gun policy. I also think of unnamed youth taking part in protests in Hong Kong, in Lebanon, and in Iran. The older generations may not always agree with what they have to say, but that has not stopped them from speaking their minds.

The light I hope to see dawn soon is a light of understanding, and a light by which we can gather together and take action on problems that have left us stumbling for far too long. I think a new generation of young people, if we choose to listen, can lend us a new kind of light--maybe to see something God has wanted us to see for a long time.

Prayer: God, shed some light on our world. Help us to see your light dawning among us, from people of all ages. Amen.

Discussion Questions: 

1) Have you ever had a "lightbulb" moment that was a very long time coming? is God's light more like an instantaneous light switch, or a long, slow sunrise? 

2) What can we learn from people born after the year 2000? How can we be better listeners?