In the Midst of Darkness

“The light shines in the darkness, but the darkness did not overtake it.”

-John 1: 5

I won’t lie.  For the past month or so this passage from Scripture is all I have been able to hold onto.  First came the news of escalated conflict in Gaza, a Palestinian-controlled region in the state of Israel.  While Palestinian-Israeli tensions are, sadly, nothing new for most of us, this was all-out war, with civilians dying every single day. And wherever we turned, someone was taking a side:  Palestinian or Israeli.  And if we didn't side with one, we must be anti-Jewish or anti-Muslim. A polarizing, dark time to be sure.

Next came the death of Michael Brown, an unarmed African American teenager killed by police in his hometown of Ferguson, Missouri.  Immediately people were called to take sides, and the ugly topic of racism in this country popped up once again—a struggle that, it would seem, is very far from over.  As Michael’s family mourns his death and the officer copes with the severity of his own actions, we are left with difficult questions about police brutality and race relations in this country, while others tell us we must choose a side. Dark times, indeed.

And then came the terrifying image of James Foley, an American journalist who had been taken prisoner by the militant group known as the Islamic State, being executed.  The image was displayed all over social media and has struck fear in the hearts of people of every nation and religion throughout the world, a reminder of the horrors of religious extremism. A very, very dark time.

What are we to do with all of this bad news?  Do we try not to think about it, focusing instead on all of the good in the world?  We could do that—and heaven knows the good stuff doesn't get talked about enough—but we cannot ignore the bad.  Where is God in all of this?  What is our Christian response such news?

Which brings me to the citation from the Fourth Gospel above.  The beautiful, poetic prologue gives us a glimpse of the Word dwelling with God from before time.  It was the Word that breathed over the waters of chaos.  It was the Word that spoke through the prophets of old.  And it was the Word, the Light of the World, that came into a world of darkness.  Notice that the author does not say “the Light destroyed the darkness,” rather the Light dwells in the darkness.  It’s there, even if it can’t be seen.  God’s promise, therefore, is that the darkness will never, ever overtake the Light. 

It is this image that I have held onto these past few weeks and months.  Yes, the world can be dark and ugly and scary.  Yes, it may seem like the darkness will overtake all the good that the world has to offer.  But this one sentence reminds me that the Light cannot ever be extinguished by the darkness of this world.  The Light will still shine, no matter how faint, in the midst of the darkness.  The darkness may always be there, but the Light will never be overtaken.  This is God’s promise to us all.  This is the promise that we must hold onto when the world gets so very dark.  And as Christians we pray that the world may know Light, rather than darkness.  We do not stop praying for peace and reconciliation, for God’s Light to shine in the midst of darkness.

Yes, the world is dark and cruel.  But the Light abides in the dark and the cruel.  So no matter where you are right now, no matter how dark the world may look to you right now, know that the Light is dwelling in the midst of your darkness and that the darkness will never overtake it.  Do not ignore the darkness.  Name it.  Claim it.  Wrestle with it.  But also know that the Light abides in it, that God is still moving, still speaking, even if it is so hard for us to hear. This is Good News.  And it is worth holding onto, even in the midst of the darkness.