Good Things From Galilee
Scripture Reading — Isaiah 8:16-9:2
There will be no more gloom for those who were in distress… In the future he will honor Galilee of the nations.
—Isaiah 9:1
Every country seems to have a state, province, or town that has a reputation for being less than upscale. Galilee, in the northern part of Palestine, was a place like that. When Jesus began his ministry, people said things like “Nazareth! Can anything good come from there?” (John 1:46).
It is good that God does not follow some magazine’s list of “10 Best Places to Live.” Through Isaiah, God promises that light will come from the “backwoods” region of Galilee. About 700 years later that light did come when Jesus lived in Galilee and began his ministry near Capernaum. As Matthew 4:12-17 describes the start of Jesus’ ministry, it also quotes Isaiah, saying, “On those living in the land of the shadow of death a light has dawned.”
That was a long time to wait, and even then the light was “dawning”—just beginning. Anyone living there could have missed the light if they were expecting something flashier or from a more prominent place, like Jerusalem.
When Christmas comes next week, we could also stumble at the sputtering of a light in a stable, expecting something more flashy or sophisticated. Jesus’ very humanness remains part of his humility and hiddenness. Surprisingly, Galilee, where different nations meet, is part of his glory.
Thank you, Holy Spirit, for showing me that it takes time to keep a promise, and time to know it was kept. Help me to celebrate the dawning of the light in faith and hope, in Jesus’ name. Amen.
About the author — Morris Greidanus
Beginning in 1964, Morris Greidanus served churches in Alberta, Ontario, and Michigan. He was campus pastor at the University of Toronto from 1968 to 1974. After retiring in 2002, he served on various interim tasks in churches and educational institutions until he passed away in 2017. Morris and his wife, Alice, were married 58 years and had three children, five grandchildren, and a growing number of great-grandchildren.
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