The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light. (Isaiah 9:2a ) by Jason Edwards
In 2007, before I came to serve at Second Baptist, Christy and I lived and worked at the Upland Holistic Development Project in northern Thailand, a Cooperative Baptist Fellowship ministry among hill tribe refugees. Years later, it was my joy to introduce several of you to that work and to the friends we came to love there.
One night, I woke to what sounded like cannon fire. The air was alive with shouting, dogs barking, and the echo of ammo rolling through the hills. For a moment, I thought something terrible had happened.
When I stepped outside, I saw men from the village firing old muzzleloaders into the sky. A lunar eclipse had begun, and they believed a great frog was swallowing the moon. (A myth present in some way in several cultures) The gunfire, I learned, was their way of protecting the light.
Only later did I understand what I had witnessed: the deep, human longing to hold on to what is good and bright in a darkened world. Isaiah spoke to that same longing when he wrote, “The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light.” Advent begins there, in the half-light, where fear and faith mingle, and even our confusion becomes a cry for what is true.
As we enter this holy season, may you listen for the same thrill of hope that stirs the weary world to rejoice. May light find you again in the shadows of this world and the hidden corners of your own heart. And when the night feels long, may you remember: the dawn is already on its way, and heaven’s light still finds its way through every shadow. The weary world will rejoice.
Jason Edwards
Senior Pastor