A Pulse of Light

A Reflection on the First Reading for January 3rd, 2021:
The Solemnity of the Epiphany of the Lord

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Isaiah
60.1-6

Arise, shine, for your light has come,
and the glory of the Lord has risen upon you!
For darkness shall cover the earth,
and thick darkness the peoples;
but the Lord will arise upon you,
and his glory will appear over you.
Nations shall come to your light,
and kings to the brightness of your dawn.
Lift up your eyes and look around;
they all gather together, they come to you;
your sons shall come from far away,
and your daughters shall be carried on their nurses’ arms.

Then you shall see and be radiant;
your heart shall thrill and rejoice,
because the abundance of the sea shall be brought to you,
the wealth of the nations shall come to you.
A multitude of camels shall cover you,
the young camels of Midian and Ephah;
all those from Sheba shall come.
They shall bring gold and frankincense,
and shall proclaim the praise of the Lord.
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Pause. Pray.

And then read more...

When it’s had a large impression on me in the past, it’s hard to see a passage of the Bible like it’s new — to react to what God wants me to see today.  


A few years and a couple of churches ago, in a worship service, this passage fell on me like a ton of bricks. I think I may even have shouted it out over a musical interlude. Maybe somebody handed me a mic. It was that kind of place. I remember sitting down shaking afterward. And crying. From inside this little church in the north end, it felt like I was shouting it out from a high place, from Citadel Hill over the whole city. Shouting to Halifax: "Arise, shine, for your light has come!" This sense that our place was significant. That there was something happening here; that God was afoot here — shining — drawing nations to this small corner of Eastern Canada. Bringing a richness of new life to His Church. Bringing a wealth of His children coming home, to Him, full of radiance and new life. It was a tiny little church, less than 50 people.


Shortly after that I ended up attending DR16 with my husband. Funny story around that. He’s Mennonite and was studying at Tyndale Seminary, so I filled out on the registration form that he was a seminarian; that way he could attend the extra day. The net result was he walked around the conference wearing a ‘Father Barry’ name tag. Someone even asked him if he wanted to go vest-up prior to Mass. This was around when I first found Saint Benedict Parish. I had been sitting in Mass hearing all the stories of people in the parish and Jesus for the last month — sons and daughters coming home to Him, full of radiance and new life. Now at the first conference held by Divine Renovation — a parish renewal ministry that grew out of, and outgrew, Saint Benedict Parish — I was seeing something else. Nations being drawn to this small corner of Eastern Canada — a richness of new life spreading to His Church. The prayers of that tiny charismatic church in the north end were coming true a stone’s throw away, and they didn’t even know it. But God knew it. He didn’t see a Catholic, and an Anabaptist and a Protestant church in this city. He saw His Church. Like we say in the creed — one holy, catholic, and apostolic Church. Funny, with the small ‘c’, it means something bigger — universal. We are one, whether we know it or not.


So. Today. This passage. A jumble of words that dance around a pulse of light. The call to arise and shine is personal. It’s not the Church Universal, or the city of Halifax,  it’s me.  


Arise
Shine
Glory
Appear
Look
Gather
Radiant
Rejoice


All I can SEE is the JOY — because my Light has come and I am happily adrift in Him. Veni Jesu! 




​Noreen Smith

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