Arise, shine; for your light has come,
   and the glory of the Lord has risen upon you.
For darkness shall cover the earth,
   and thick darkness the peoples;
but the Lord will arise upon you,
   and his glory will appear over you.
Nations shall come to your light,
   and kings to the brightness of your dawn.

Future evens which are prophesied often have a historical foreshadowing.  The ninth plague was the plague of dense darkness over the land of Egypt but light was present for the Israelites. (Exodus 10.21-23)

As we have seen, the macro-events of salvation history often have parallel micro-events in the lies of the individual Christian.  Christ tells us: "You are the light of the world.  A city built on a hill cannot be hid.  No one after lighting a lamp puts it under the bushel basket, but on the lamp stand, and it gives light to all in the house.  In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father in heaven." (Matthew 5.14-16)

The light of Christ in us is not ours.  This tells us several things:

-It is not possible for it to be exhausted as though it were a personal resource of our own with limits.  Therefore it is sinful to withhold it from others or leak it out in small amounts out of fear of the needs of others being too costly for us

- We are commanded to let it shine so that others may be drawn to the Father.  It does not belong to us to do with as we wish, nor is it given to us to enjoy for its own sake.

- If others are drawn to us ("Nations shall come to your light") it is not us they are drawn to but the light of Christ.  So be humble

The passage from Isaiah foretells Jerusalem's glorious restoration which was fulfilled by the light of Christ's incarnation and will be brought to its completion with his glorious return.  But it can also be seen as an analogy for those who have left the darkness of sin, passed through the waters of baptism to new life in the risen Christ, and are now themselves made lights in the world so that still more souls may come to glorify the Father.  We would do well to meditate on our vocation in this matter through the day so we obey the command of Christ through whom we have been created.