Light in the Darkness

We’ve had a gentle winter so far.  When I awoke this morning, it was a balmy 50°.  But eventually the temperatures will drop, the snow will fall, and the darkness will deepen...

I seem to be a little “light-sensitive.”  At some point each winter I start feeling a little blue. Mental health experts might diagnose my malady as “SAD” (Seasonal Affect Disorder) caused by insufficient exposure to light.  As I understand it, there’s only one sure-fire cure for SAD:  leave the colder latitudes and check into a sunny seaside bungalow!

Realistically, most of us have had to learn to cope by just waiting it out. What keeps us from falling into utter despair is the knowledge that it will get better – every year, without fail, winter’s darkness has given way to increasing light. In fact, the winter solstice – the shortest day of the year – is less than two weeks away. After that, each day will grow a little longer than the last. And finally, in the blink of an eye...  boom! It’ll be spring, and we’ll be basking once again in the sunny, warm light!  (And shortly thereafter complaining about the heat and humidity...)

But there’s another kind of darkness... the darkness of suffering. This kind of darkness is always near, whatever the season. It’s part of being human.

Let’s be honest – most of us lead blessed lives. Armored tanks don’t rumble down our streets. We have shoes on our feet and coats on our backs. When hungry, we eat our fill. Tonight we’ll sleep safely in our warm homes. When we get sick, we make an appointment with our doctor and she helps us get well. We usually even have enough resources left over to write a (tax deductible) check to the non-profit of our choice.  But life is not so for many, many people...

And yet nothing – not our wealth, our health, our skill, nor our well-ordered lives – nothing can completely shield us from suffering.

The Christian tradition is rumored to have an “explanation” for suffering. If so, I have yet to hear one that satisfies!  Certainly no one’s found a cure for it! But the Gospel does help us imagine a hopeful way to live...

In the Church, the Advent wreath is one sign of this hope. Each Sunday in Advent, even as the days grow shorter and darker, we light one more candle. Just one at first. Then another... then three... then four. Each week, the increasing light pushes the darkness back a little more.

What are we doing? Are we simply counting down the shopping days until Christmas?!

No!  The “great flaring forth” of the Advent wreath dramatically expresses the good news that the Light is coming into the world. Not just celestial sunlight, but the very Light of God... Jesus – whose birth we’ll celebrate on Christmas Day with every candle we can find ablaze!

There once was a man named John. John pointed to the Light. Standing out there in the darkness, even before a flicker of Light could be seen, John cried:  “Look, everyone!  God's coming!  Get ready!” John was so impressive that many assumed that he was the Light. But he said, “Not so!  The One... is coming after me!”

All Christians share the ministry of John the Baptist. Because we've experienced the risen One who has come into our world, we can muster the hope to point to the Light even when it can’t be seen... even when we ourselves are enshrouded in darkness.  We can cope and wait it out because we know the Light is near.

Paradoxically, as Jesus reminded us quite clearly, we don't simply point to Jesus as the Light who once came into the world, and will come again some day.  We are the light of the world too!  Right now!  Whenever we embody God's love, by word or deed, God's Light pours anew into the world, and pushes back the darkness.  This is one way in which the mystery of the Incarnation is experienced to this very day.

Sometimes my eyes don’t see so well, especially in the dark. So I need help. When I can’t see the Light, especially when I suffer, I need someone to point it out for me.  This helps me hang on in hope until I can see it for myself. And perhaps, on my better days, I can see the Light and point it out for you.  Together, we allow the Light to shine – this Season of Advent, and always.