The Longest Night (part 2)

“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." 

(Isaiah 9:2)

 

Can you spot the conjunction?

I want to pick up where I left off yesterday. Darkness is real, and we would do well to acknowledge the heavy toll that darkness takes on the human soul.

 

But darkness, real and agonizing though it is, is not the reality that defines us. Darkness is not God’s ultimate intent for us. You don’t have to go any farther than the third verse in the Bible to know that darkness is not what God intends for us, for the very first words God speaks in all creation is “Let there be light.” So while we acknowledge the darkness that is common to all human experience, we also affirm that God breaks the darkness with the light of his glory and love.

 

“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.” (Isaiah 9:2) The words of the prophet Isaiah are affirmed and underscored by the apostle John when he speaks of Jesus in this way: “The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not overcome it.” (John 1:5) The Good News that we proclaim in the darkest season of the year – and in every season, for that matter – is that in the birth, life, death, and resurrection of Jesus, God answers the darkness with light. 

 

Light, which dispels the darkness. 

Light, which guides us through the darkness. 

 

And darkness did not, has not, cannot, nor ever will conquer the light. Not ever.

Yesterday was the winter solstice, the longest night. Last night was also the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to witness the convergence of Saturn and Jupiter. So, of course I had to go and take pictures. As the sun set, the two planets began to appear side by side on the southwest horizon. And as the night became darker, the two planets appeared even brighter.

 

In the darkness, light was shining.

 

An interesting tidbit that I learned from this weather guy I follow on Facebook: Jupiter is 550 MILLION miles from earth, and Saturn is one BILLION miles from earth. Think about that for a second. The light we see from Jupiter and Saturn travels through hundreds of millions of miles of darkness to get to us.

 

The light shines, and the darkness did not, has not, cannot, nor ever will conquer the light. Not ever.

 

Light is the answer to darkness. Jesus Christ, the Son of God and the Savior of the world – and the Light of the world – is God’s answer to our sorrow, our suffering, our broken hearts, our misery, our pain.

 

Not even the longest night can keep the light from coming to us.

It never has, and it never will.

Let There Be Light

"The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome the light." (John 1:5)

Many people find themselves in darkness -- darkness of spirit, darkness of soul. This prayer is written with them in mind.

Let There Be Light

Why is it so dark, O Lord?
How long do I have to endure this darkness in my life?

My soul is weary, downcast.
Hopelessness, despair, guilt, sadness, sorrow --
these are my constant companions.

I'm stuck in a deep, miry funk.
My heart aches. My spirit hurts.

I can't see a way out.
I can't see you anywhere.
I can't see anything good.

My world is so dark. Where are you? Why don't you help me?
Let there be light, O Lord.

Peace, my child. 
Never has there been a moment when I have not been with you. "Even the darkness is as light to me." There is no darkness so dark as to hide you from me.

I love you, and I am with you. 
I am the Author of light. It was the very first thing I ever did when I created the world. I said, "Let there be light," and there was light. And I saw that the light was good.

I don't just bring you the light.
I am the Light.
I will transform your darkness into daylight:
  your sadness into joy,
    your despair into hope.

I've said it before, and it still holds true:
"The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome the light."
I am with you. We will walk through this together.

Peace, my child.

Light, Bread, and How We Are Fed

“I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.”

“I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never go hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty.”

- Jesus, John 8:12 and John 6:35

Warning: Mixed metaphors ahead.

So, this past summer, we had frogs at our house. Not the kind that make a lot of noise, but tree frogs. Lots of them. Almost in biblical-plague-like numbers. Ah, but I exaggerate. Still, we had lots of frogs.

They kept appearing at night on our front porch. I would see them through our glass door. They perched on our mailbox. They clung to the bricks. They rested on our porch light. It was both cool and creepy at the same time.

This went on every night, for weeks. Only with the cooler weather have the frogs finally gone away.

One night I stayed out on the front porch for a few minutes to watch the frogs. They were as still as statues, mostly looking at the porch light. Small moths, gnats, and other night bugs were also flying around, attracted by the light. Suddenly, one of the frogs stretched its neck, opened its mouth, and gulped down a hapless moth that had just wandered into the no-fly zone. It happened in the blink of an eye.

It turns out that the light had become the feeding spot for the frogs. The frogs came to the light to be fed.

It got me to thinking: Jesus is the light of the world. Jesus is the bread of life. When we come to Jesus, we are fed for eternal life.

I told you that I was mixing my metaphors. Don't say I didn't warn you.

But really, where do you turn to nourish your soul? We are bombarded by all sorts of things that pollute and corrupt the unwitting soul every time we turn on the TV or surf the web. What do you do to provide healthy nourishment for your soul?

I think we should take a lesson from the frogs. Go to the light – to Jesus, the Light of the world. If we spend enough time in his light, we will be fed.

P.S. Don't take this metaphor too far. Because it doesn't work if you are a moth or an insect – they got eaten at the light. Focus on the frogs.