“The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not overtake it.” ~John 1:5
For whatever reason, darkness has long been associated with all that is evil in the world. In the old TV westerns, the cowboy with the white hat was typically the hero and the one in black was the villain. In the Land of Oz, Glinda the Good Witch wears pink, while the Wicked Witch wears black. There’s Snow White and evil queen who dressed in black, right up there with Darth Vader and Luke Skywalker. Today those same colors promote racial superiority of Whites over Blacks – to the point that we forget we are all members of the human race. How sad is it that we even need a reminder that ‘Black Lives Matter’? Truly, ‘good guys’ and ‘bad guys’ come in all shapes and colors.
So, too, the Bible has also been used to support the value of light over darkness, as we read in this week’s lectionary reading: “The light shines in the darkness and the darkness did not overtake it.” (NRSV) The prophet Isaiah said that to make peace we must “walk in the light.” (Isaiah 2:5) In Paul’s letter to the Colossians, we have an “inheritance with the saints in light.” (Colossians 1:12) Jesus’ own words to his followers commanded them to “keep your lamps lit…” (Luke 12:35) The light is wonderful gift that God gives, from the very beginning: “Let there be light!” (Genesis 1:3)
And yet, let’s not forget that the Bible begins in darkness: “Darkness covered the face of the deep, while a wind from God swept over the face of the waters…” (Genesis 1:1) Later, when the Lord ushered Abraham out into the night and promised that his descendants would be as many as the stars in the sky – it just had to be dark for him to see all those stars! The writer of Psalm 139 prays: “You knit me together in my mother’s womb,” yet another dark place where we were “intricately woven in the depths of the earth.” Dark places are sacred. Jesus’ birth was likely in a dark cave or lower chamber with few comforts. And that first Easter also began in complete darkness, inside a tomb that was utterly still before the stone was rolled away.
As eco-faith advocates, we can reclaim an appreciation and respect for “the dark” both in literal and figurative terms. In a recent article in The Atlantic, Ed Yong writes that about 83% of people on Earth, including 99% of Europeans and Americans, live under light-polluted skies that are more than 10% brighter than natural darkness; and some 80% of North Americans cannot even see the Milky Way galaxy! Barbara Brown Taylor, in her book Learning to Walk in the Dark, makes a compelling case for Christians to make peace with the darkness in our lives – to not be afraid of it – but to begin to see the darkness as just as holy as the light.
As we navigate these shortest of days of winter, what is God birthing in your darkness? What lies fallow beneath a blanket of snow that covers your soul? My hope is that the Holy Spirit is stirring in both the dark AND the light we encounter each day.Let us pray:
O God-made-flesh, enter into our darkness with the promise of your presence until the light dawns from on high to shine upon us. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.
Pastor John Stiles
Our Redeemer Lutheran Church
Pine City, Minnesota
John Stiles is pastor at Our Redeemer Lutheran Church in Pine City, a Pollinator Sanctuary Congregation of the Northeastern Minnesota Synod. Our Redeemer was the recipient of an EcoFaith microgrant this year to develop their pollinator garden with direct engagement from their Sunday School children and their youth.