Darkness
and Light
“It
is during our darkest moments that we must focus to see the light.”
Aristotle
Onassis
This
time of year is all about light and darkness. We are on the cusp of
the Winter Solstice. In the northern hemisphere, it is both the
darkest day of the year, and the signal that each day from now until
June 21, our hours of daylight will steadily increase. We commemorate this
by celebrating with light during our spiritual holidays--the menorah during the Festival of
Lights, and the Advent candles announcing the 'coming of the Light' of Jesus birth.
We discussed light and darkness yesterday in a mid-week Bible
study class. One young man asked how it came to be that darkness was
associated with evil, when clearly God declared them both to be good
in Genesis 1. We talked about early humans who lived in caves and how
the darkness inside a cave is complete. And, about the predatory
animals that hunted at night—the big cats, wolves, and such that
preyed upon humans. We spoke of superstitions about ghosts, and
vampires, and witches that operate in darkness because the light is
too much for them. We wondered why fear of darkness still persists
even though we now have electric lights in our homes and street
lights outside, so that, in reality, we hardly ever experience darkness.
And
then, we spoke of how, in darkness, one can see light clearly. We
remembered times and places when we had enough darkness to lie on our
backs and look at the stars. The Milky Way, which is dense and
awesome, can only be seen from a point of deep darkness on earth. We
each recalled what a breathtaking moment it was when we first saw
that that dazzling display.
We
also spoke about how little light is needed to brighten absolute
darkness. Just a single struck match will light up a completely dark
cave. One well placed night-light can illuminate most of a house. One
candle can turn darkness into ambiance. It doesn't take much. Paradoxically, bright light shining into one's eyes is
blinding.
I
have some oil lanterns that I like to use this time of year. The
light they provide is soft and gentle. They go well with a fireplace
blaze. I hope that you use these days of darkness to appreciate the
gift of light, both in our world and in our hearts. In the words of
Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr.: “Darkness cannot drive out darkness;
only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do
that.”
In
the spirit,
Jane
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