Tag Archives: Darkness

Light

Lent
March 11, 2018

 Scripture Reading: John 3:14-21

And this is the judgment, that the light has come into the world, and people loved darkness rather than light because their deeds were evil. For all who do evil hate the light and do not come to the light, so that their deeds may not be exposed. But those who do what is true come to the light, so that it may be clearly seen that their deeds have been done in God.’ –John 3:19-21

There is an attitude in our land that If I do something, it is right even if it is wrong when someone else does it. I think Jesus would label that hypocritical. Most prominent in politics, it crosses all strata of life.  I lost count of the Oklahoma legislators who have resigned this year for inappropriate behavior; I think it is four, but it may be five. These are the people who are supposed to be writing the laws by which we are to live and appropriating the use of our tax dollars.

Many talk in holier-than-thou language. One Congressman from Pennsylvania, a very outspoken abortion foe, was caught telling his girlfriend to get an abortion*. Apparently, all his abortion stand meant to him was some guaranteed votes. I think such behavior stems from assuming power people do not have. The problem is: we let them get away with it. Evil does prevail in darkness where we only see what we want to see through the tunnel vision of our sins.

My high school had a Halloween carnival one year where we created a scary room in which we lead people along a darkened path making them think they were near the edge of a ledge, dipped their hands in a bowl of eyeballs they could not see that were grapes in egg whites, and other frightening experiences that if participants had seen would have made them laugh at their fear.

Darkness and the evil it protects is overcome by light.  In John 8:12 Jesus is quoted as saying:

 Again Jesus spoke to them, saying, ‘I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness but will have the light of life.’

As followers of Christ, we are called to amplify his light so that all can transition from darkness to light.

Prayer: God of Light, help us to let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father in heaven. Amen.

*https://www.usnews.com/news/politics/articles/2017-10-04/pro-life-rep-tim-murphy-pressured-mistress-to-get-abortion
**Based on Matthew 5:16

All scriptures are quoted from the New Revised Standard Version Bible: Anglicized Edition, copyright 1989, 1995, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights are reserved.

Walking out of Darkness

Epiphany
January 16, 2017

Scripture Reading: Isaiah 9:1-4

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.
You have multiplied the nation,
   you have increased its joy; –Isaiah 9:1-3a

What is darkness? Numerous differing words describe darkness—blackness, gloom, ignorance, wickedness, blindness, secrecy, obscurity, trouble*. At first glance, they hold little in common. Taking them separately, one gets a feeling of lack of direction or meaning with no hope of finding either. It is a bad place to be.

Matthew 4 quotes this Isaiah scripture referring to Jesus. Matthew, in 6:22-23, looks at light and darkness with another illustration, ‘The eye is the lamp of the body. So, if your eye is healthy, your whole body will be full of light; but if your eye is unhealthy, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light in you is darkness, how great is the darkness! So, what happens to us if the light within us is darkness? What does that mean? What happens when one remains in darkness too long? Does being in darkness result in a false impression of light?

Sometimes we only see what we want to see. For example, we sometimes do not want to take responsibility for our outcomes. We cannot see that our problems are often of our making. The light of Christ can and will help us see our issues for what they are which is the first step to finding direction, meaning, and hope.

Prayer: Lord, shine your light through my darkness helping me find hope and direction. Amen.

*http://unabridged.merriam-webster.com/unabridged/darkness

All scriptures are quoted from the New Revised Standard Version Bible: Anglicized 
Edition, copyright 1989, 1995, Division of Christian Education of the National Council 
of Churches of Christ in the United States of American. Used by permission. All rights 
reserved.

In Memory

Kayla MuellerEpiphany
Celebration of God
Manifested in the World
February 13, 2015

 Scripture Reading: 2 Corinthians 4:3-6

For we do not proclaim ourselves; we proclaim Jesus Christ as Lord and ourselves as your slaves for Jesus’ sake. For it is the God who said, ‘Let light shine out of darkness’, who has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.  — 2 Corinthians 4:5-6

 The use of the word “slave” conjures up visions of people being forced to work against their will toward the prosperity of another. Paul’s use of the word with the defining “your” expresses the voluntary nature of his servitude based on his burning desire to enrich others through spiritual prosperity. These others may not even know they have such a slave. Kayla Mueller, the young humanitarian aide who was recently killed by ISIS in Syria, was another voluntary slave in the quest for wholeness, oneness, and justice in our world. Her light truly shone out of darkness. Her death is a call for all of us to let our lights shine out of darkness.

Prayer: Let a moment of silence speak for lives that shined and a lifetime of  action speak for keeping the light aglow.  Amen.

All scriptures are quoted from the New Revised Standard Version Bible: Anglicized Edition, copyright 1989, 1995, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of American. Used by permission. All rights reserved.