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Open my eyes, that I may behold

wondrous things out of your law.

—Psalm 119:18

And God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light.

—Genesis 1:3

“the Lord make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you”

—Numbers 6:25

When the angels went away from them into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, “Let us go over to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has made known to us.”

—Luke 2:15

This is the message we have heard from him and proclaim to you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all.

—1 John 1:5

The light shines into the darkness, but the darkness doesn't get it.

The books of Genesis and John and 1 John all begin with beginning. And beginnings begin with light. Light is the way that information moves through our universe. I know that the wind is moving through the tree at the edge of our yard because I see the leaves fluttering and the branches swaying. The light entering the window near me brought that information. Therefore, both Scripture and our everyday language are filled with uses of the word "light" to represent knowledge and understanding. And truth.

A person who hears an explanation and comes to understand may say, "I see now." Light and glory and a message of joy came to shepherds in a dark field one night. And they went to see.

As this new year dawns, may the Light shine into all the dark places, illuminating them and cleansing them.

May all the Lord's people bear witness to the Light.

All of it.

He makes peace in your borders;

he fills you with the finest of the wheat.

He sends out his command to the earth;

his word runs swiftly.

He gives snow like wool;

he scatters frost like ashes.

—Psalm 147:14-16

Then the LORD said to Cain, “Where is Abel your brother?” He said, “I do not know; am I my brother’s keeper?”

—Genesis 4:9

And Solomon said to God, “... Give me now wisdom and knowledge to go out and come in before this people, for who can govern this people of yours, which is so great?”

—2 Chronicles 1:8a, 10

It pleased the Lord that Solomon had asked this.

—1 Kings 3:10

“Hear another parable. There was a master of a house who planted a vineyard and put a fence around it and dug a winepress in it and built a tower and leased it to tenants, and went into another country.”

—Matthew 21:33

“It is like a man going on a journey, when he leaves home and puts his servants in charge, each with his work, and commands the doorkeeper to stay awake. Therefore stay awake”

—Mark 13:34-35a

The importance of “keep” can be seen not just from the number of times it is used in direct instruction from the Lord to His people, but also in the way that its extended meaning finds expression in other ways.

The first use of “keep” appears in connection with the human's responsibility for the garden of Eden, given by the Lord. Tragically, it appears again just a little later, when Cain tries to dodge responsibility for murdering Abel by asking, “Am I my brother's keeper?” If we are tempted to ask the question, “Who is my brother?”, we should take warning from Luke’s account of a legalist who tried to justify himself by asking Jesus, “Who is my neighbor?”

And, just in case the conversation and following parable weren’t emphatic enough, Luke later records Jesus rebuking the greedy Pharisees who ridiculed him by saying “You are those who justify yourselves before men, but God knows your hearts.” That interaction and rebuke came right after Jesus told a parable about a dishonest manager who was fired by the one who hired him. Jesus concluded by calling for faithful service, whether over much or little. And that points back to Eden and around to the many parables of Jesus that featured the obligation of managers or tenant farmers or servants to their employer.

In the coming year, may all of the Lord’s people be faithful servants in the world that He created—faithful to do all the good works that He created and appointed.

As faithful as the elements of nature that keep and obey His word.

Good and upright is the Lord;

therefore he instructs sinners in the way.

He leads the humble in what is right,

and teaches the humble his way.

All the paths of the Lord are steadfast love and faithfulness,

for those who keep his covenant and his testimonies.

—Psalm 25:8-10

The Lord will keep you from all evil;

he will keep your life.

—Psalm 121:7

The Lord God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to work it and keep it.

—Genesis 2:15

And God said to Abraham, “As for you, you shall keep my covenant, you and your offspring after you throughout their generations.”

—Genesis 17:9

“You shall keep my Sabbaths and reverence my sanctuary: I am the Lord.”

—Leviticus 19:30, 26:2

“The Lord bless you and keep you”

—Numbers 6:24

The casual, everyday usage of "keep"—as in "keep the change"—simply indicates retaining possession. But that is far too weak to explain uses that imply care, responsibility, and protection—as in “the grandparents will keep the kids this weekend”. And that is much closer to the usage in Scripture.

The first use appears in connection with the human's responsibility for the garden of Eden, given by the Lord. It appears hundreds of times in the Hebrew Bible, often in familiar contexts such as the Lord's commanding Abraham to “keep my covenant” or commanding Israel to “keep the Sabbath”. Despite the behavior of some in Israel, when the Lord commanded them to “keep my statutes”, that didn't simply mean to possess a written copy of a rulebook. We might get a better understanding when we look at the roles reversed.

The priestly blessing, “The Lord bless you and keep you”, the pleas in the Psalms for the Lord to keep his people, or the assurances that He would do so all imply more than simply ownership. They refer to the kind of loving protection, compassion, and attention that a child should receive from a parent.

And that is the same kind of “keeping” that the Lord's people should have toward the Lord's instruction, His creation, and all those whom He desires to have as His children.

His delight is not in the strength of the horse,

nor his pleasure in the legs of a man,

but the Lord takes pleasure in those who fear him,

in those who hope in his steadfast love.

—Psalm 147:10-11

Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion!

Shout aloud, O daughter of Jerusalem!

Behold, your king is coming to you;

righteous and having salvation is he,

humble and mounted on a donkey,

on a colt, the foal of a donkey.

—Zechariah 9:9

His disciples did not understand these things at first, but when Jesus was glorified, then they remembered that these things had been written about him and had been done to him.

—John 12:16

Then I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse! The one sitting on it is called Faithful and True, and in righteousness he judges and makes war. His eyes are like a flame of fire, and on his head are many diadems, and he has a name written that no one knows but himself. He is clothed in a robe dipped in blood, and the name by which he is called is The Word of God.

—Revelation 19:11-13

The Word put on flesh and blood to be born as the Child of Hope, the Son of Promise, the Son of God, and the Son of Man. As a helpless baby.

In Matthew's account, while Jesus was still a baby He became a refugee, taken by His parents to Egypt to escape a corrupt and violent king.

Matthew, Mark, and Luke all record that Jesus, after His baptism by John, was tempted by the devil in the wilderness. Matthew and Luke record more details, including the refusal by Jesus to make a public spectacle of His power or to seek control over the kingdoms of earth by accepting a lie.

All four gospels record what is often called "the triumphal entry" of Jesus into Jerusalem among the events shortly before His crucifixion. In that scene, Matthew and John explicitly identify the image of Jesus riding on a donkey as the fulfillment of a prophecy given by Zechariah: the counter-intuitive depiction of a king arriving to save His people, but humbly, riding a donkey.

John explains that the disciples didn't understand what was going on until after Jesus was “glorified”. Then, a few sentences later, John ensures that the reader doesn't miss the point, including the prayer by Jesus and the Father's response pointing to His sacrifice as glorifying the name of the Lord.

He came in helplessness, taught and demonstrated humility, and accepted humiliation and shame to save those who would trust Him.

His disciples did not come riding in on war horses to save him. The Word will return on a white horse to achieve final victory.

You have said, “Seek my face.”

My heart says to you,

“Your face, Lord, do I seek.”

—Psalm 27:8

Let them praise the name of the Lord,

for his name alone is exalted;

his majesty is above earth and heaven.

—Psalm 148:13

For God has done what the law, weakened by the flesh, could not do. By sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and for sin, he condemned sin in the flesh, in order that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not according to the flesh but according to the Spirit.

—Romans 8:3-4

...let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith... Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering... And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works...

—Hebrews 10:22a, 23a, 24a

By this is love perfected with us, so that we may have confidence for the day of judgment, because as he is so also are we in this world.

—1 John 4:17

The Lord spoke; will we listen? The Lord leads; will we follow? The Lord is; will we seek?

David's song is full of response. It begins by declaring that the Lord is light and salvation, then responds by renouncing fear of evildoers. It concludes by declaring faith, then responds with a call to courage. And, in the middle, when the Lord calls, “Seek!”, it responds, “I seek.”

The Lord lit the star that shone over Bethlehem. It was up to the wise men to respond by seeking.

The Lord sent the angels who proclaimed good news and glory over the field. It was up to the shepherds to go and seek and see.

The Lord sent a child, impossible by human means, to perform a task, impossible by human strength. The Son said, “Follow me!” and to those who followed He said, “I am with you always.”

Psalm 148 is an explosion of praise, as if preparing the Lord's people to anticipate and hear the praises proclaimed to the shepherds. It calls on heavens and angels and sun and moon and stars to praise the one who created them. It calls on the awe-inspiring aspects of nature and kings and nations and princes and rulers and people of all ages to praise the one whose “name alone is exalted”.

The writer of Hebrews also calls for response, replacing the “let them” of the ancient song with “let us”. Let us seek and trust and encourage, not for self, but in order to be children, following the Son, honoring the Lord, bearing His image in the world that He created and into which He was born.

Put not your trust in princes,

in a son of man, in whom there is no salvation.

—Psalm 146:3

He said, “Take your son, your only son Isaac, whom you love, and go to the land of Moriah, and offer him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains of which I shall tell you.”

—Genesis 22:2

Then he said to me, “This is the word of the Lord to Zerubbabel: Not by might, nor by power, but by my Spirit, says the Lord of hosts.”

—Zechariah 4:6

But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God, who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God.

—John 1:12-13

But the son of the slave was born according to the flesh, while the son of the free woman was born through promise. Now this may be interpreted allegorically: these women are two covenants. One is from Mount Sinai, bearing children for slavery; she is Hagar.

—Galatians 4:23-24

Abraham had more than one son, but only one, unique son of promise.

After Eden, humans have continually tried to seize control and have their own way. Sometimes it has been through bloodshed and violence and sometimes through arrogance and pride and deceit.

Cain murdered his brother out of jealously. He apparently saw killing his brother as quicker and easier than disciplining himself. Lamech boasted of his savagery. He thought that the way to remain safe was to hit back harder, taking his own revenge. Herod butchered all the baby boys in the area of Bethlehem to reassert and protect his own power.

The people in the plain of Shinar had delusions of their own greatness. They planned to build a tower reaching to the heavens, and to make themselves famous. Jacob swindled his brother Esau, but then was swindled by Laban. The Pharaoh of the time of Moses thought that he could defy the Lord as an equal.

Sometimes it was through putting flesh and blood in the way of the Lord and His Spirit.

The Israelites demanded a king “like all the nations”. Saul thought he could ensure that Jonathan would follow him as king. Many of the religious in the time of John and Jesus thought that being physical descendants of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob gave them special status. Even Abram and Sarai tried to acquire an heir in their own way: Ishmael, born to Hagar.

Isaac was the son of promise, not the son of human scheming. The only son of promise. So, when the Lord called Abraham to Moriah, He referred to Isaac as “your only son”.

The word of the Lord to Zechariah called the Lord's people to return to faith, reminding his hearers and readers that the Lord's Spirit is the only power of restoration. And both Joseph and Mary were given angelic reassurance that Mary's child was from the Holy Spirit, the Spirit of God.

John's gospel reinforces that becoming children of God is not through any human scheme or means or will. But—like the unique Son of promise—only through God.

When I look at your heavens, the work of your fingers,

the moon and the stars, which you have set in place,

what is man that you are mindful of him,

and the son of man that you care for him?

—Psalm 8:3-4

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...

For to us a child is born,

to us a son is given;

and the government shall be upon his shoulder,

and his name shall be called

Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God,

Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.

—Isaiah 9:2,6

And in the same region there were shepherds out in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. And an angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were filled with great fear.

—Luke 2:8-9

A corrupt king put his trust in negotiation with foreign powers. Not only did he not trust the Lord, he rejected a sign of the Lord's care for His people when it was offered, even urged, through the word of the Lord to Isaiah. But, like it or not, the Lord gave a sign, along with the warning that those who rejected, looking elsewhere for guidance, would find only distress and gloom, anguish and thick darkness.

But then there is a promise of the coming of light and joy to those lived in deep darkness. The Lord would give cause for rejoicing, “for” (because)...

The burden of oppression would be broken.

The equipment of war and violence would be destroyed.

A child would be born.

Instead of a yoke on the shoulders of the oppressed, He would bear the burden of righteous and rightful authority. Instead of bloodshed and chaos, He would be the Prince of Peace.

And the symbolism of people in darkness seeing great light and rejoicing was enacted in literal terms with the shepherds in the field witnessed the night sky bursting open with light and glory and praise.

And a message that began, “Don't be afraid”. Because the Child had been born.

He raises the poor from the dust

and lifts the needy from the ash heap,

to make them sit with princes,

with the princes of his people.

He gives the barren woman a home,

making her the joyous mother of children.

Praise the Lord!

—Psalm 113:7-9

Abraham said, “God will provide for himself the lamb for a burnt offering, my son.” So they went both of them together.

—Genesis 22:8

And Mary said,

“My soul magnifies the Lord,

and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior,

for he has looked on the humble estate of his servant.”

—Luke 1:46-48a

Hagar, Sarah, Rebekah, Rachel, Leah, the wife of Manoa, Hanna, Elizabeth: women for whom the the arrival of children went beyond the normal joy of childbirth. Promise or new hope or release from shame and desolation. In most cases, defying human expectation, in one way or another.

And then there's Mary. The most impossible, the most unexpected by human standards. But the most typical, the most expected from the Lord's perspective.

The complete fulfillment of His long-established pattern of compassion and care for the weakest, the poor, the unnoticed. Even the despised. His long-established pattern of doing for them what they could not possibly do for themselves. Fulfilled and represented by coming in the form of a helpless baby.

Elijah, refugee on the mountain of God, saw many things that appeared powerful: a rock-shattering wind, an earthquake, and a fire. But the Lord was in none of them. Instead, He spoke in a gentle whisper. The Roman army, the authority of the priests, and the influence of the Pharisees appeared powerful.

But the Lord came as a infant.