A Light Has Dawned

Isaiah writes into the darkness of a nation under threat — Assyrian armies, political collapse, spiritual decay. And into that darkness he speaks not of gradual improvement but of sudden light: a child born, a son given, a government on His shoulders. The titles cascade — Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Each one an answer to a specific darkness: confusion answered by Wonderful Counselor, weakness by Mighty God, abandonment by Everlasting Father, conflict by Prince of Peace. Advent begins in darkness, as it must — because the light only means something when you have been in the dark. The people who most need Christmas are not those whose lives are going well. They are those walking in deep darkness. The light dawned for them. It dawns for you.