Tuesday, December 17, 2024
The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light;
those who lived in a land of deep darkness— on them light has shined.
Luke 22:34
Those who live in a rural area perhaps are more familiar with dark nights.
But those who live in an urban area cannot fully appreciate the wonder of a dark night.
It is not until you are able to be free from the city, free from the suburban sprawl, free from the highways and the shopping malls and the gas stations, that you are able to experience the wonder of a dark night, and the sky with its dome of stars; a night which is not tainted with the orange glow of streetlights and neon store signs and flood lights and so on.
So we have to make do with the image burned into our brain.
The relationship between darkness and light is somewhat ironic. You cannot really appreciate the glory of light until you’ve also traveled into the midst of darkness.
You cannot see the light of the star until first experiencing the darkness of an empty sky.
In our world where the glare of artificial lights pollutes the night, it is hard to understand the drama and the quiet and the power of real darkness.
Those who have grown up in the church are familiar with the words of the prophet Isaiah.
They are read at least once or twice each year during the season of Advent and Christmas.
They were originally written in about 700 B.C. when the Assyrian armies had conquered the Kingdom of Israel and Jerusalem was under siege.
This bit of history is important not only because we hear the Isaiah passage so often this time of year, but also to establish the Biblical meaning of darkness.
It wasn’t until the late sixteenth century that darkness began being used figuratively in a negative way with the beginnings of British colonialism in Africa. And today, the misuse of the term has come to represent evil, leading to the fear and devaluing of darker-skinned people, and thus creating biases that negatively impact human interaction.
Words matter. Metaphors matter.
We need not fear the darkness, but rather embrace it as the harbinger of hope.
The light that pierces the darkness has created a new spirit of hope and a promise worth following.
It is a human connection with the divine, which comes in the darkness of our need and our empty places. And because it touches us and fills us, it takes on the property of light.
This light has the power to transform, to change people.
As we prepare for the coming of the light of Christ one more time in our world, as we have for two thousand years, we are reminded that Jesus was born in the darkness of Mary’s womb.
Jesus came into the world as a light out of darkness and into deep darkness.
Led by a light, the shepherds and others came to his presence, and were transformed. There they saw reflected the very light of God—God with us.
The light that shines within each one of us.
Let us pray.
Look down, O Lord, from your heavenly throne, and illumine this night with your celestial brightness; that by night as by day your people may glorify your holy Name; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
(Book of Common Prayer, p. 133)
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Artwork: “Starry Night Over the Rhône,” Vincent Van Gogh, depicts an unpolluted night sky over Arles, France in 1888. [Credit: Musée d’Orsay / Public Domain]