A Light in Dark Places
John 1:5[1]
The point of our
service this evening is to remind us of the light that shines in the darkness. We
need to be reminded of that because there’s plenty of darkness these days. The
simple fact that this is the week of the longest nights in the year can make it
hard for some of us. But there are other kinds of darkness we have to face as
well. I think that’s one of the reasons why we go out of our way to make this
time of year “festive.” It’s a way to bring some light into the darkness. But
after the treats have been eaten and the packages opened and the decorations
put away, we still have to face the darkness.
Some of us face the
darkness of grief. The “holidays” can be the “worst possible time of the year”
for those of us who have lost loved ones. For us, all the “celebrating” only
reminds of those who are absent.
Some of us face the
darkness of fear. So much about our world has changed, and it’s not going back
to the way it was. At some point we all realize that everything we hold dear
can be snatched away from us in the blink of an eye. Some of us don’t even know
we’re afraid because we convert our fear to anger. But that’s a darkness just
as deep.
Some of us face the
darkness of doubt. Our lives are littered with broken promises, and it’s easy
to decide that everything and everyone is corrupt. Instead of taking the chance
of getting involved in the messiness of life, we put up walls to protect
ourselves from being hurt.
Some of us face the
worst kind of darkness: the darkness of despair. When we convince ourselves
that we are beyond all hope, it can feel like we’ve fallen into an abyss where
all love, all joy, all hope, all sense of meaning and purpose in life is gone.
After the Christmas
“festivities” end, we still need a way to find the light that shines in the
darkness. The Bible tells us God has promised to be God-who-is-with-us, and
God-who-is-for-us. We celebrate this night because the baby born in the manger fulfilled
the promise to be God-who-is-with-us. But more than that, when that baby grew
up to be a man, he died on a cross, and fulfilled the promise to be
God-who-is-for-us.
The manger and the
cross are two very real reminders of the heart of our faith: the hope that
“there is light on the other side of darkness.”[2] We
can lose sight of that hope when we’re stuck. Sometimes we get stuck so deeply
that not even the manger and the cross can relieve the darkness. We need
something that can help us now. We may need to get out and take a walk—without
looking at a phone! We may need to work in the yard. We may need to clean house
or bake some cookies. We may need to listen to music that makes us want to
dance—turned up loud! Sometimes, none of that helps, and all we can do is
remember that if we let it go, the darkness will pass. The grief, the fear, the
doubt, the despair will lift. And the sun will come up tomorrow.
As the Gospel of John
declares: “the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has never put it
out” (Jn 1:5, GNT). The manger reminds us that that there is light on
the other side of darkness. The cross reminds us that the light shines in the
darkness. More than that, when Jesus rose from the dead on that first Easter
morning, he defeated death. Just as
surely as Jesus was born in the manger, just as surely as he died on the cross,
just as surely as he rose from the grave, “the light shines in the darkness,
and the darkness has never put it out.” When the light dawns, the darkness must
go.
[1] ©2021 Alan Brehm. A Christmas eve meditation delivered by Rev. Alan Brehm on
12/24/2021 for Hickman Presbyterian Church, Hickman, NE.
[2] Henri J. M. Nouwen, The Wounded Healer, 76.
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