Matthew 4:12-16: a reflection

As Jesus begins his public ministry, settling in Galilee, Matthew sees it as the fulfillment of Isaiah's ancient prophecy about that very region. The land of Zebulun and Naphtali, Galilee of the Gentiles, is described as a place of darkness: the people who sat in darkness have seen a great light; and for those who sat in the region and shadow of death, on them a light has dawned. Into a region regarded as dark and marginal, the light of Christ dawns.

Notice where the light comes: to those sitting in darkness, in the very shadow of death. Not to a bright and shining place, but to a region of spiritual darkness, the overlooked, the marginal, Galilee of the Gentiles. That is where Christ, the great light, dawns. He does not wait for people to make their way into the light; he brings the light to them, into the darkness, into the shadow of death where they sit.

That is the pattern of Christ's coming, and a hope for anyone in a dark place. He comes as light precisely to those in darkness, to those sitting in the shadow of death, into the dark and marginal places, not the bright ones. If you are in a dark place, whether of grief, confusion, despair, or the shadow of death itself, hear the promise: on those who sit in darkness, a great light has dawned. Christ brings his light into the darkness where people sit; he came for exactly such places. The light dawns not on the bright but on the dark. Let it dawn on you.