Matthew 4:12-17,23-25 | Luke Jerrram | The people that lived in darkness has seen a great light

Matthew 4:12-17,23-25   The people that lived in darkness has seen a great light

Earth, the Gaia Project,  Designed and executed by Luke Jerram, 3D Installation, Exhibited in 2019 at Liverpool Cathedral © Luke Jerram Artist, all rights reserved Hearing that John had been arrested, Jesus went back to Galilee, and leaving Nazareth he went and settled in Capernaum, a lakeside town on the borders of Zebulun and Naphtali. In this way the prophecy of Isaiah was to be fulfilled: ‘Land of Zebulun! Land of Naphtali! Way of the sea on the far side of Jordan, Galilee of the nations! The people that lived in darkness has seen a great light; on those who dwell in the land and shadow of death a light has dawned.’ From that moment Jesus began his preaching with the message, ‘Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is close at hand.’ He went round the whole of Galilee teaching in their synagogues, proclaiming the Good News of the kingdom and curing all kinds of diseases and sickness among the people. His fame spread throughout Syria, and those who were suffering from diseases and painful complaints of one kind or another, the possessed, epileptics, the paralysed, were all brought to him, and he cured them. Large crowds followed him, coming from Galilee, the Decapolis, Jerusalem, Judaea and Transjordania.   READ MORE     Reflection on the 3D Art Installation The great moment of salvation has begun! Jesus is starting His ministry in today’s Gospel reading and fulfils the prophesy ‘The people that lived in darkness has seen a great light’. What a wonderful metaphor “light” is to describe our Saviour. He brings that light to us who are in darkness. The idea of light stands for ‘enlightened’ knowledge and wisdom; light also exposes our sins; light also stands for radiance that we should all be trying to shine and radiate God’s light to our brothers and sisters around us… Light is beautiful and mysterious—like Our Good Lord. It is beautiful as it illuminates God’s creation around us, but yet if we had to describe what light is, we wouldn’t find the words to describe it properly. It is mysterious, yet present everywhere. Jesus as the light guides us, warms us and warns us.  Light dispels darkness. All the darkness in the world cannot put out the light… Light always triumphs! The light installation we see here consists of a seven metre Earth 3D installation made up of detailed NASA imagery of earth's surface. The Earth installation rotates once every four minutes. The installation was created by artist Luke Jerram and was part of the 2019 Liverpool River Festival earlier this year. The world is illuminated from the inside of the installation and is radiating beauty… The world illuminated the interior of Liverpool Cathedral where it was installed… The world at the heart of the church… and the church at the heart of the world… by Patrick van der Vorst