December 24, 2009
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Living in the Light
The people in darkness have seen a great light. The joy in this statement is not the elimination of darkness but the existence of a great light. The Bible often uses darkness as a metaphor for confusion, evil intent, or ignorance. Because of this, we have come to associate the dark with something to be avoided. God is as responsible for the dark as for the light. There is value in darkness as well as light. Darkness can be quite comforting and refreshing. Who would want to live their life only in bright light? One of the biggest complaints of people in the hospital is the absence of darkness so they can sleep. On a hot summer day, we seek out the shade for relief from the bright sun. A poem by Jan L. Richardson from her book, Night Visions searching the shadows of advent and Christmas.
When you have thrown the cloak of evening across me,
And when you have drawn your midnight hand across my face;
When you have made my soul as dark as the night time sky,
And when the shadows are my only companion;
Then, O God, turn my face upward,
That I may know the grace of stars and give myself to rest.
The night can be very beautiful, usually because of the contrast of the dark and lights of the night, stars, moon, and even manufactured light. I have had the experience of being in a very deep cave when the lights were shut off and I found it to be a very disturbing experience. All frames of reference were lost to the point of not even being sure about up and down. We should not fear the absence of light; the truth is there is nothing in the dark that is not there in the light. The real fear in darkness is ignorance. We cannot see what is around us, or where to go and it makes us frightened.
The Light was sent into the world to dispel our ignorance and our fear. The people were afraid because they did not know how to please God; they were frightened of the judgment and demands of God. They had been taught to fear God by those who gained power by controlling the people by using their fear of God. The Light came into the world to reveal to us God’s love and grace. The Light came into the world so we would not be afraid of the darkness because we can trust there is nothing there to harm us. The only thing we have to fear is living in ignorance, or allowing ourselves to be confused by what the world tells us is important. The Light comes to drive out our fear and confusion.
I believe we celebrate the birth of Jesus in darkened rooms, lit by candle light because it helps us to focus on the light. The darkness, rather than being evil, actually helps us to ignore all the business around us and focus on what is really important. Just as people who meditate close their eyes to eliminate the distractions, we come here in the darkness to center ourselves on the importance of God being born in us. Coming of God in flesh is not just about a baby born some two thousand years ago. We celebrate God being born in each of us. We celebrate the light of God’s wisdom, justice, and love being born in us over and over again. We come to celebrate what it means for us to live in God’s light. Amen.
