O Morning Star

Sermon 374 St. Martin’s 130 (Riverway) 12/8/24

O Morning Star, splendor of light eternal and sun of righteousness: Come and enlighten those who dwell in darkness and the shadow of death. Amen.

The Enlightenment

Today, as we look a little closer at these classic readings from the Bible, and reflect on the O Morning Star antiphon, our guiding question through this sermon will be: Where does true knowledge come from? Does it come from within or from without?

We, humans, have made some radically different claims to this question over the years, and to represent the opposing sides, we’re going to look for a few minutes at the Age of Enlightenment and then, of all people, the ancient Sumerians, arguably the world’s first civilization. (Hang in there with me because like every good Sunday school lesson we all know the answer at the end of this is Jesus.)

When the 18th-century philosopher Voltaire heard our reading from Isaiah that “the people walking in darkness have seen a great light,” he would have agreed, but on very different terms. The world as he knew it was changing before his eyes.

Great thinkers throughout Europe were beginning to challenge the old order of things. A revolution was happening that cast aside the myths and superstitions of the old world—a world run by kings and priests that kept people submissive and dull.

These new philosophers referred to that bygone era as The Dark Ages—and through such self-evident tools like reason and the scientific method, a new light was breaking through the darkness of ignorance and religion. This was the Age of Enlightenment.

The Enlightenment had its own evangelists who proclaimed the good news of reason, and they were confident that its light would soon enlighten all people. Voltaire even quipped that he had done more for his generation than Calvin and Luther had done for theirs.[i] It was a reformation of the mind that he was pursuing.

But unlike the Protestant Reformation, which also challenged some of the basic assumptions held throughout the Middle Ages, the Enlightenment wanted to see itself completely separate from religion. It was meant to be a repudiation of religion’s fairy tales rather than an offspring of Christian ethics (which it actually was).

Things like freedom of speech and human rights were self-evident (or so they claimed). A person’s value was not determined by being made in the image of God, but something else…pretty much anything else.

But that kind of repudiation of Christian values actually showed how much they unwittingly owed to their Christian past. None of what they claimed was self-evident. The seeds of the gospel were sprinkled throughout the Enlightenment’s thinking, which was the greatest irony of all.

At least Thomas Jefferson was willing to recognize the source of these things when he wrote:

“We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed, by their Creator, with certain unalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.”

But there was an intellectual hubris to the Enlightenment. According to many, if you could shed the folly of the Medievals, humanity would become more reasonable, fair, and just in no time at all.

But the horrors of the 20th century put to bed the idea that human progress would lead to a blissful utopia. How could John Lennon after two world wars claim in his song “Imagine” that if there was no heaven (or the God who dwelled therein) we’d finally be able to live in peace?!

The broken nature of humanity cannot be repaired solely by reason and logic. As great as they are—they are not the ultimate answer to our problems, because they come from within. The problem with human progress is that sinful humans are the ones leading it.

As a preacher once told me, we’re all like an avocado that’s sat out for a bit too long. A spoiled avocado cannot make itself new again, that miracle would have to come beyond itself. (That’s some high-powered logic right there, isn’t it?)

And so, reason can be enlightening but by its very nature, it is flawed because we are flawed. Knowledge then, that enlightens all people, cannot come from within. 

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In ages past, enlightenment was seen as a gift from the gods. Almost 4,000 years before Voltaire, the ancient Sumerians in Mesopotamia told the story of the goddess Inanna who journeyed to a faraway city where Enki, the god of wisdom held all the secrets of civilization.

By getting him drunk on beer, Inanna was able to steal everything he knew. She was the world’s first hacker because she realized that knowledge was power, and she did whatever it took to get it. And so, after stealing Enki’s knowledge she ran back to her temple in Uruk.

Unlike the stingy god Enki, she graciously gave knowledge to all those in the city. With knowledge, the city grew evermore powerful.[ii]

Far from being self-evident, as the Enlightenment claimed, true knowledge was a gift from the gods, and it was given to all those who were in right relation with the god of the temple.

And tucked deep within this ancient Sumerian story about Inanna—the divine giver of knowledge—she is described, of all things, as the bright morning star.[iii]                         You can’t make this stuff up. 

Antiphon Our antiphon this morning describes Jesus as the same thing. He is the Dayspring, the bright Morning Star, whose presence enlightens those who dwell in darkness. Describing him as the “sun of righteousness,” of course, has a double meaning. He is the Son of God, the Son of Man, and it is by his light that all things are revealed for what they truly are.

Many times, we describe the light of Jesus as a light of hope to those in a tough situation. And his light is very much that, it shatters the darkness of despair.

But the light of Christ is also an illumination/a revelation/literally an apocalypse of God’s purposes for the world—and for you and me. It is something to be seen, known, and understood.

Thus, Christ’s light brings true enlightenment. And unlike Inanna, this bright Morning Star did not have to steal knowledge through trickery, no, it has been uniquely his before the foundation of the world.

When God spoke creation into existence, what was the first thing he said? “Let there be light.” God’s Word pierced the darkness, and something new began, right then and there. Light communicated purpose, creation, and the work that was in store…for God and for us. 

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And so, Isaiah’s promise of a light that will come to those in deep darkness, and when Jesus says he is the light of the world, they were connecting God’s light to the knowledge of his purposes.

God could be known—not fully understood with our feeble minds—but he could be known; and just as his purposes were revealed through the prophets of old, now in the person of Jesus, the Word was enfleshed, and divine knowledge was not simply head knowledge but you could have a personal relationship with the light that enlightens all people.

We were one step closer to Habakkuk’s vision being fulfilled when he prophesied: “For the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the Lord as the waters cover the sea.”

In Jesus, God’s glorious light was breaking in, and soon—that knowledge—would flood the whole world.

Glory, Light, and Knowledge. They are all connected in the Bible, and they meet in the person of Jesus.

It is no surprise then that all this talk about light influenced Christian belief in some fundamental ways. Throughout history, by and large, churches were built oriented to the east. This included most of the Medieval churches that the Enlightenment thinkers weren’t crazy about. Even Notre Dame, which just reopened, is oriented eastward.

Altars, in these grand churches, were connected to the eastern wall, so that priest and people were all facing the east during the Eucharistic prayer. It is a relatively recent development that altars are now pushed away from the wall so that priests can face the congregation during the prayers.

The point of an eastward-facing church was that the rising sun represented so much of our faith. It wasn’t a superstition, but like so many things for us, our physical disposition in worship reflects something about our faith.

For those still trying to figure out which direction this church is oriented, we are pointed to the north, make of that what you will, but the original church, what is now Christ Chapel was built facing the east. And so, we continue that ancient tradition on this campus because we know Jesus is the bright morning star, he is the light of the world.

Christians, in all things, are to orient themselves towards this hopeful light of truth.

I am reminded of C.S. Lewis when he said, “I believe in Christianity as I believe that the sun has risen: not only because I see it, but because by it I see everything else.”

That quote has made a lot of things click in my head over the years. I’ve had periods of doubt in my life, I think most of us have when we take a moment and consider what we believe. There are some bold claims we make in our Creed, and we can’t help but wonder, “Am I cooky for believing this stuff?”

And to be honest, it’s not the extraordinary claim that Jesus is God and that he rose on the third day that always brings me back from the edge of unbelief, but it’s the effects of Jesus’ resurrection that I see all the time through people that remind me just how true all of this is. The light of his resurrection helps me to see what else is going on.

I am blessed to have a front-row seat in many people’s lives who display extraordinary faith through the tremendous joys and agonizing sorrows of life.

Anytime I witness family members being reconciled to one another, or a prayer being answered after many years of waiting, or even when someone is about to die and they possess a peace that passes all understanding…I am given a revelation that transforms head knowledge into heart knowledge—and that is where the seeds of faith reside—deep in our hearts.

Believing in the Crucified and Risen Jesus makes a lot of other things in life make sense. By his light, the world is revealed for what it truly is and how he has come to redeem it all. It is a knowledge that doesn’t always make sense to the world: many times they will consider it foolish, but once you see it, it’s hard to unsee the beauty of the gospel in everyday life. “Blessed are the peacemakers, blessed are the meek, the poor in spirit for theirs is the kingdom of heaven…those who want to save their life will lose it…take up your cross and follow me.” Wow.

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You and I are children of the Enlightenment. We desire truth, we want knowledge, and a majority of times we think we can acquire that on our own—thank you Voltaire and company.

But the knowledge that keeps us restless, that keeps us asking the eternal questions of life; those answers cannot come from within—they come from the Dawn from on high, and I’m not talking about Inanna.

Though this space may not be oriented to the east, our eastern window is the perfect reminder of how God’s light broke into this world. The true light is not to be found in the academies of Europe, nor in the temples of Mesopotamia but in the One who was humbly laid in a manger. 

Run toward the light, but be careful not to stumble over the manger in your pursuit of knowledge. [iv]

[i] Dominion Tom Holland p. 391.

[ii] “And that role in Mesopotamian myth is played by the goddess we've already mentioned, Inanna, who will become Ishtar to the Babylonians. And she steals the secrets of civilization from Enki by getting him drunk on beer. So she gets him pissed and she steals everything that he knows.I mean, if you like, it's a kind of data theft. She moves in and she recognizes knowledge is power and she takes these secrets and she takes it to the Ayanna, the house of heaven that we mentioned as being this great temple in Uruk. And this is the place where she settles and it establishes a second focal point for the peoples of Southern Mesopotamia.Only this is one in which the god is not kind of hugging knowledge to himself, but is generous with it, wants to share it with the whole of humanity.”From The Rest Is History: The World's First City, Dec 4, 2024https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-rest-is-history/id1537788786?i=1000678882255&r=1389

[iii] “Inanna stood under the vast, open sky, her beauty shining like the morning star. She adorned herself with the šu-gura, the desert crown, which sparkled on her head.” https://www.mifologia.com/myths-and-legends/sumerian-myths/inanna-and-enki-the-rise-of-the-era-of-the-goddess/#:~:text=This%20story%20of%20Inanna%20and,role%20in%20shaping%20human%20society.

[iv] “Light of lights! All gloom dispelling,

Thou didst come to make thy dwelling

Here within our world of sight.

Lord, in pity and in power,

Thou didst in our darkest hour

Rend the clouds and show thy light.

Praise to thee in earth and heaven

Now and evermore be given,

Christ, who art our sun and shield.

Lord, for us thy life thou gavest,

Those who trust in thee thou savest,

All thy mercy stands revealed.” Thomas Aquinas