Since the sun represents the Lord, the early morning and sunrise represent a state of enlightenment with a new and clear understanding coming after a time of darkness. There are many ways this representation appears in modern life. For one, it’s long been tradition to orient churches with the sanctuary in the east, toward the rising sun. People grappling with a problem often decide to “sleep on it,” anticipating that answers will be more clear in the morning. And we actually use “dawn” as a verb for sudden enlightenment: “As he stared out the window, it dawned on him that the answer had been in his hands all along.”