See darkness covers the earth,

and thick clouds cover the peoples;

but upon you the Lord shines,

and over you appears his glory.

Nations shall walk by your light,

and kings by your shinning radiance .

 

Raise your eyes and look about;

they all gather and come to you:

your sons come from afar,

and your daughters in the arms of their nurses.

 

Then you shall be radiant at what you see

your heart shall throb and overflow,

for the riches of the sea shall be emptied

out before you,

the wealth of nations shall be brought to you.

 

-Isaiah

 

Dear Community of Saint Joseph's:

 

In this passage, proclaimed at the liturgy on this feast of Epiphany, the prophet Isaiah is actually writing about the rebirth of Jerusalem.  But from the moment I began to study the readings for this weekend, the Isaiah passage transcended all the others in terms of its exciting challenge for us right now!   We are concluding this Christmas season of joy, of fulfilled promises, of light in darkness.  And in acknowledging the blessings of our faith we need to be a people of light and hope in the way we express ourselves and live our lives.  

 

I am often depressed by the amount of despair and self pity expressed by people of faith.  Although our liturgy and our tradition define us as a blessed and abundant people, we too easily slide into pessimism and negativity.  It is understandable as we return gifts, dismantle Christmas trees, put away decorations and prepare our taxes that we feel an anticlimax from the Christmas holidays.  However we must never confuse "understandable" with "appropriate."  In fact, that dominant reaction is a reminder of how much our society needs expressions of hope and encouragement from the Christian community.  

 

The deep winter aftermath of the Christmas season is not unlike that quote from Isaiah "darkness covers the earth and thick clouds cover the peoples."  But the following phrase is the one that should resound in our lives,  "but upon you the Lord shines, nations shall walk by your light and kings by your shinning radiance."   To choose to live one's life as a shinning, positive individual is to bring illumination into the darkness of winter.  When you "raise your eyes and look about," people will automatically be drawn to you and to the powerful attractiveness of a person who sees the infinite possibilities of our God and in the challenges of our lives.  

 

New Year's is a time for resolutions and perhaps a profound one for all of us is to enter this New Year with joy, and creativity, to be radiant at what we see and then perhaps right here in Capitola "the riches of the sea shall be emptied out before you, the wealth of nations shall be brought to you."

 

 

Father Matt Pennington

Pastor