Rev. Cecil Van Niejenhuis
Jan 25, 2026
Isaiah 9:1-4, 1 Corinthians 1:1-9, Matthew 4:12-22
There are times when the sheer size of the problems in life…overwhelm.
There are times when the things we see…and the things we deal with…
Are so many and so regular and so impossible to know how to fix….
--it discourages us. And we can’t see beyond it.
How long do I have to wait to see a specialist? Get surgery? Find a family
doctor?
How many people are out there, homeless in this weather?
How do we deal with all the drug trafficking, the guns, the people trafficking
How do we deal with lies and cold, cold even nasty hearts, and twisted justice….
Oh—the list is endless… and sometimes, sometimes, it wears us down…
So that all we can see is this muddle. This fog.
Can’t see past it. Through it.
And we give in. Stop complaining. Stop speaking out. Stop expecting anything more or
beyond…Stop imagining it could be anything but what it is…
And the bar lowers, and we expect less—not just of others, of our city and province
and country…but we expect less of ourselves…
What you see is what you get…we say
It is what it is…
Some years ago, I read the words of an Admiral Jim Stockdale, 8 years a prisoner of war in North
Vietnam. Over 20 time, in those 8 years, Stockdale was tortured to the edge of death…
Many other prisoners succumbed…died…
A few, including Stockdale, did not.
In an interview he was asked about this…and his response has since come to be known as the
Stockdale paradox…
--when he was asked—who were the prisoners who died?
He said—the optimists!
The optimists! Really!
You might think the optimists would be the ones who maintained a positive attitude,
who were hopeful, full of faith and fortitude…glass half full
You would expect the pessimists…the discouraged…the glass half empty folks…to not
last long…and that would be true. But the optimists, the optimists would set target dates for
release…and then when their hearts were broken once, twice, a few times—they would
collapse.
Admiral Stockdale put it this way—it’s one thing to have a faith that you will prevail…get
through it…but at the very same time, you have to face the full brutality of what is real, and deal
with that as well.
To see both—the evil and ugliness and even brutality of what is real…
And…to imagine…
To hold on to what may not be visible to the human eye but is
nevertheless also real…and to trust that it is real—to keep the faith even while dealing with
what is….
And when I began reflecting on the words of Matthew’s gospel for this morning….
That’s what came to mind. And it seemed so fitting for this day and age…this time…
Let me explain.
The timeline is tight. Jesus gets baptized by John…
--spends 40 days in the desert, being tempted by the devil…
And the very next thing Matthew tells us is that John the Baptist has
been imprisoned.
And when Jesus hears of it…
Jesus returns to Galilee…the north country…
A long way away from Herod…
A long way away from the place of power and prison
And Matthew doesn’t just tell us that he went up to Galilee…
He moved from Nazareth to a still more northern place, Capernaum, on the
north side of the lake---in the region of Zebulun and Naphtali…
And then he says—this is in keeping with…adds another layer, fulfills or fills further
The words of Isaiah…
Words which we also heard this morning…
Words which are so much a part of Advent and Christmas…
Land of Zebulun and Naphtali,
The way to the sea along the Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles
--the people living in darkness, have seen a great light!
On those living in the land of the shadow of death: a light has dawned!!!
Beautiful words of hope and promise, right?
In Isaiah’s day---the darkness was all about the Assyrians coming down from the
north…in Isaiah’s day—the light that dawned was the birth of a son, Hezekiah!! With all those
grand titles attached…Wonderful Counselor, mighty God, everlasting father, prince of peace…
And in Matthew’s day, Jesus’ day---the darkness was Rome.
The people once again oppressed, overwhelmed…
And Matthew recalls the words of Isaiah—because he wants to say—to
you a child is born, a son is given…
And the government shall be on his shoulders
And you shall call him…wonderful counselor…prince of peace…
And his name…his name is Jesus…this Jesus about whom I am writing, says Matthew…
Okay—that sounds fine—we are used to hearing this connection to Jesus…and the next thing
that Matthew says…that sounds fine too…
“From that time on, Jesus began to preach…”
Ok—we might think—here is where it starts…the announcement from Jesus that
says “Today—Isaiah’s prophecy speaks of me! I AM the Anointed One”
Jesus began to preach.
---- But what was the theme of this preaching?
“Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is near.”
--that’s odd. That doesn’t sound any different than the preaching of John
the Baptist! Repent…
So—we need to sit with this a moment. Usually, when we hear the word “repent” we
think we are being confronted about sinfulness…
Specific sinfulness…specific wrongs…unkindnesses, evil, immorality, behavioral things…
But this is a moment when the call to repent—has to do with something else. If the coming of
Jesus means that the darkness has lifted…
The darkness has been pierced…
A light has dawned…morning has pushed back the night…
The kingdom is near, says Jesus…Because I am here.
I am the light that has entered the darkness…
And this…this is what calls for faith…to see that the light has dawned…
To believe that, to trust that…
To be encouraged, invigorated by that…
This is faith…
What does Scripture say? We live by faith, not by sight…
Faith penetrates the scene before us…and sees more…
If all we can see is the way things are…
A world where darkness carries the day…
A time, a culture ruled not by care and compassion
Not by justice and a recognition of human dignity
If all we see is discouraging, demoralizing and deflating…
If all that we see causes us to throw up our hands and say It’s hopeless
Nothing to be done…and neuters us, silences us,
Ah—that’s where Jesus calls us to repent. There’s darkness. Oh yes. And we need to be real
about it…name it, face it…
But we need to see more…
We need faith in Jesus Christ to fuel our imagination…to give hope..
He is the king, and he is on the throne…
And—we need our faith to find traction…in doing things which make clear that
we are tilted towards a life and a world which recognizes justice and compassion and integrity
as normative.
…where all of my interactions make clear—humans are to be dignified with respectfulness.
And all of the actions of my community, my city, my province, cou
The world….
There are things to speak for. To affirm.
There are things to speak against. To condemn.
And it’s not just to say—well, some day, it will be well…It will…
But leaning into that someday needs describe this day. Beginning here and now…
And we see that in Matthew’s gospel—it’s not just about someday…
But Jesus calls out to those fishermen…and invites them to shift gears---to leave
the life they knew…and embrace a life with him
And we see Jesus going around the Galilean countryside…preaching good news, and
healing the sick…
Jesus leading the way in a life which said—a new day has started.
To quote Isaiah---on those living in the land of the shadow of death, a light has dawned…
Repent, said Jesus…for the kingdom of heaven is near.
Repent.
How dark do you see the world around you these days?
How much shadowland do you feel?
It’s right and good and necessary to see the darkness that exists…
And—
It’s right and good and necessary to see more than just the darkness.
It’s right and good and a necessary joy to see that in Jesus Christ, a light
has dawned…
A king has come…
And sits enthroned…
And one day…one day…
Every knee will bow…
And to bear witness to this good news of a light that has dawned…
To give expression to the fact that we have a gospel AHA!! Dancing in our hearts…
An epiphany dance!!
We begin already now—in all the ways we can—even if our little corner feels like an
outpost in Galilee….my life a sliver of Zebulun or Naphtali…
Half empty, half full…the gospel of Jesus lets me see both, and lets me lift that glass
To the one whom I/we believe is making all things new.