Light

 Isaiah 9:2 ESV

 The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light; those who dwelt in a land of deep darkness, on them has light shone.

Jesus's home region of Galilee had been the first part of Israel to be swallowed up by Gentile oppressors. As such, a place that should have been filled with the light of God was a dark place. Yet that's the area the Light of the world chose to call home.

Jesus is the great Light who shone upon Galilee of the Gentiles. He didn't just heal Jews, but even Gentile settlers from the Gentiles settlements of the Decapolis. He blessed Samaritans too, a 'mongrel' mix of Jew and Gentile.

Judea was the region of Israel that basked in the light of the temple of God. They largely rejected Jesus in their religious self sufficiency. The heartland of Jesus's support was humble Galilee.

I'm reminded of saint Augustine. He has a quote where he says he used to have his back to the Light: focusing on things the Light shone on (sex was his big thing- a gift of God that he used to abuse). Finally, Augustine turned his back on his idolatry of sex and came into the Light of the Lord Jesus Christ.

'God of Light, please shine upon our darkened hearts, and give us hope in you we pray, in the name of your crucified Son, amen'.


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