Light in the Darkness
Philip Burchill
12-8-2024
On the church calendar we are in the second week of advent. This is a season of hope and preparation as we celebrate the coming (adventus) of Christ in his incarnation. The birth of the Messiah is a climactic pivotal event in God’s dealing with humanity and our annual celebration. The divine gift of God’s Son, the Word made flesh who dwells among us called ‘Emmanuel God with us’.
The traditional date December 25th coincided and replaced the prior pagan celebration of winter solstice. One of the reasons this date was chosen is December 25th follows a nine months after March 25th that is regarded as the first day of creation. The theological significance of celebrating Christ’s birth is the beginning of a new creation. This time of year is the thickest darkness and Christmas comes just when the days light are starting to get longer. This season is fitting by its nature in mirroring the theological significance in commemorating the true light that shines in the darkness, which enlightens everyone coming into the world.
Our scripture texts bring two important life altering realities which invite us into communion with God made possible by God’s incarnation taking on human form and because of this we have eternal hope in the midst of temporary suffering. For Jesus name Yeshua means God saves. The meaning we will have to unwrap the cultural layers that decorate its commercial appeal and the secular misrepresentations of the reason for this season most significantly in Santa Clause.
Theologian Misolav Volf in a chapter entitled, ‘God the Santa Clause’ makes the argument one important misconception we need to rectify is God is not a negotiator like Santa Clause. ‘Some scholars of popular religion describe Santa as a god of consumerist materialism whose sole purpose is to give.’ Many think of God as this vending machine of infinite gifts on demand whether you made the naughty or nice list otherwise its coal in your stockings. The problem with this approach to God is it elevates the gifts to a point it blinds the giver it is all about the material products. We forget the true gift, the giver of all life and the gift of life itself. Secondly it inculcates us as recipients reinforces an individual consumerism, our interaction with god the Santa clause is self centered orientation. The idea is in relating to God if you do good things happen and if your bad then you receive punishment. We see all to painfully clear good things happen to bad people, bad things to good people its far to complicated to make any clear cut reductive judgment. Now punishment and reward has its place to preserve order in society otherwise we could not live a peaceable existence in our communities. When it comes to our spiritual standing with God an entirely higher standard of generosity is offered the gift of forgiveness, eternal life and communion with God. We get grace, what we don’t deserve. ‘The wage of sin is death, the gift of God is eternal life’. For God so loved the world he gave his only begotten Son, that whoever should believe in him shall not perish but have ever lasting life’ (John 3:16)
With Santa gifts are dropped off, cookies are eaten by an anonymous trespasser and as he flies off with the reindeer. Jesus the source of all life, Emmanuel is God with us. We get in Him, the one ‘in whom all things come into being through him and without him not one thing comes into being”. Can you imagine getting a gift from a friend, or relative who disappeared without the person. Gifts are given in relationship with one another and are an expression of love as some call a love language. In Christ the Giver and the gift come in one package it is not an anonymous drop off by a stranger. True wealth is life God.
The Incarnation:
Every year at Christmas we celebrate the Incarnation, God who came to dwell among us. ‘Emmanuel is God with us, it is not we with God, God seeks us, comes to us’. Every religion offers a set of rituals to climb the path to enlightenment or reach some type of communion with the divine. In the person of Jesus Christ, God comes down from the mountain of heaven to meet us in the earth. God is not aloof detached as a cosmic dictator. He revealed himself as one of us in order for us to become like him the image of God the first born of all creation and the light to the world.
Practically what does this mean? Pastor Tim Keller offers four important points here. One is since Jesus is God our response to him is no middle ground. The take it or leave it option or look somewhere else for another teaching Christ’s teaching is the book of books, the gravitational law of spiritual life. We respond to either embrace God’s gift or keep our door closed. He will never force anyone to receive his gift. He stands at the door of our hearts and knocks. It is our free will and choice to receive this gift of hope or reject him.
Secondly, we do not have to fear the future. God in Christ is the Lord of lords. He is not one cosmic force of goodness against an evil force battling for supremacy. The God revealed in Scriptures commands the cosmos as the alpha and omega. He is the resurrection and the life who has the first Word of Creation and the last word of the Final judgment at the end of time. One lady who was suffering with major health issues was asked how are you feeling? Nothing is the resurrection won’t fix.’ Such is the power of resurrection hope has to offer.
Since God became a human being, he understands us. Jesus the second person of the Trinity is rightly acknowledged in some traditions as our Divine brother. He knows what it is to be hungry in pain, to deal with death and to suffer injustice. In fact ‘God grows close to the broken hearted’.
Because God became a human being we can be saved. If God was merely holy and not loving why should he leave the bliss majesty and eternal joys of heaven? To suffer insult betrayal murder and underwent a painful death. Since he is loving and demonstrated that to humanity by the sacrifice God made to reach out and save us.
In WWII during the German bombing on England,
“It was Churchill’s practice to go out among the people especially after a particularly bad bombing raid. Surrounded by it near devastation he would stand and talk to survivors to see what had happened to them. After one raid, the Prime minister went to help the rescue workers he went down on his knees to help dig out a woman underneath the rubble. Winston with his hands and knees Winston covered in dirt clutched the woman covered in dust and lifted her from the debris. With a tremor she thanked him and was moved into the emergency car. As she left Winston said, ‘There goes greatness’ with tears streaming down his face.”
This is what the Incarnation looks like. Winston left the wealth prestige opulence of Buckingham palace, the houses of parliament descended into the debris and devastation of civilian homes to help the British get back on their feet. Christ’s stepping into history taking on human form is a descent from heaven into human suffering in order to help humanity ascend to blessedness in God. “While we were still sinners Christ died for us. For our sake he made him who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God” (2 Corinthians 5:21).
In the darkness of fearing death, the weight of disappointment, the worries of war or the disorientation of politics we can have hope because of God’s incarnation in Jesus. He is the light that shines out in the darkness. Do we have eyes of faith to see this flicker of hope reaching out to us? or has familiarity, cynicism or doubt quenched your spirit?
In reference to the great work of art the princess bride, ‘Life is pain, anyone who says otherwise is trying to sell you something’.
The Scripture and Christ agree and they are not trying to sell you anything. Christ tells us ‘in the world you will face trials of many kinds’ and two thirds of the psalms are lament psalms authentic cries of struggle in the darkness. God can handle our honesty. We don’t have to put on a fake smile. He knows our thoughts in our hearts before we speak anyway. We can bring our true self our honest emotions and cry out to God this is not how things are supposed to be. The evidence of these psalms vents of grief, give a highly realistic account of reality. There is no naïve optimism or fatal pessimism it is an even-handed mirror of life intertwined with light and shade, joy suffering, darkness, disappointment and hope. Derek Kidner a scripture commentator states, ‘the very presence of these prayers in scripture is a witness to God, understanding, God knows how men speak when they are desperate.”
The question we might dare to ask ourselves is the darkness we face external or internal or both? If one has external darkness but the peace and assurance of God’s loving presence ten you have an anchor in the storm and trust all things will work together for your good. If it is an internal matter you may feel buried in self despair, cynicism, disorientation and this can be more detrimental and fatal. We may justly question why do I experience this grief, pessimism or stress. Why are the cycle of my thoughts drifting so far from the noble Christian doctrine I profess?
Mark twain reminds us the power and futility of thought’s influence on suffering when he said, ‘I’ve experienced a great deal of pain and suffering in my life.. most of which never happened’. Half the time much of the pain we experience is built on false expectations. The Germans have a word for disappointment ‘enfeutung’ it means coming to the end of an illusion’.
Where do you place your hope? Some of us like the disciples can make the mistake of placing the chips of our hope on a political party when it does not work out we are despondent discouraged and if it does it is incomplete and temporary. Let us learn from history to not make the mistakes of the disciples to conceive of Christ as political warrior king. Christ’s kingdom is not of this world. We are called to tilt our heads higher, ‘Set your minds on things above where Christ is seated not things that are on the earth’(Colossians 3:2).
We are pilgrims sojourning through this earth on our way to a celestial and eternal destination. As C.S. Lewis reminds us, ‘we must keep alive in ourselves the desire for our true country, I must never let it get snowed under or turned aside, I must make it the main object of life to press on to that other country and to help others do the same’.
‘God is light’ (1 John ) By putting our faith in Christ we receive keys to unlock a prison of darkness and step into the light of hope. In Colossians Paul tells us ‘ We have been transferred from the domain of darkness into the Kingdom of his beloved son’. Despair as the great existential philosopher Sartre as ‘no exit’ has no hold on the Christian. As for Dante the great medieval epic poet wrote the Divine Comedy ventures into the inferno led by the poet faces the entrance written above hell ‘Abandon all hope ye who enter here’.
The Divine comedy vividly illustrates important spiritual lessons and psychological symptoms of despair and hope in the Inferno and Paradise. In the Inferno Dante travels down into the center of the earth traveling further away from God. The feeling of gravity is being pressed down by a painful weight the nine circles of each level constrict tighter in space, the darkness increases, souls are without substance it is static. This is the place for those who chose to reject God till the very end. As Lewis says, ‘The doors of hell are locked from the inside it is self-choice.’
In heaven it is the reverse the pilgrim ascends in a ‘Godward movement’. The laws of gravity in paradise draw creatures in closer proximity to their divine origin. In paradise the soul is full of freedom, joy and hope with a lightness of being. Dante with his guide Beatrice explore a vast expansion of the dancing cosmos meeting saints from prior ages. They hear rapturous harmonies of music and angels dance in ecstasy and sense a unity with all creation. The pilgrim’s movement is a graceful ascension, gravity is light and in the end Dante comes face to face with the majesty of God and beholds ‘the love that moves the sun and the stars’.
Here on earth we find ourselves in something approximate to purgatory there are joys and blessing pain and suffering go hand in hand. The season of Christmas advent in the winter brings to view our lived experience as we walk through shadows and light. The birth of Christ this incarnation is the light and hope comes to us in the darkest season. The morning star lights our path has given us his word which is a lamp unto our feet. Jesus says ‘I am the light of the world, whoever follows me will not walk in darkness’ (John 8:22).
Many do not feel this hope and are overshadowed by darkness. A recent study by Harvard Institute of Politics conducted a survey that found roughly 55 percent of young adults feel anxious or on edge and 47% feel down depressed or hopeless’. It’s also been recorded by U.S. gov we live in the loneliest generation in human history despite all the advanced connectivity by technology. Our lives have become insular, enclosed by self-interest as we hibernate behind a digital screen and are closed off to the world. For some Christmas is more of a painful reminder of one’s isolation loneliness or what they have lost. One becomes more acutely aware of the void when comparing to others surrounded by family, friends, and community.
God invites us to fellowship with Him and one another, to rediscover light of hope and joy in community and to move out of the shadows of our isolation.
The scripture says, ‘When two or more are gathered in my name there I am in the midst of them’. One antidote to the darkness of despair is to open our lives to others. As John Ruskin says, ‘a man wrapped up in himself makes a very small gift’. Life is a gift God gave us the gift of his Son, we are called to imitate Christ and be a gift to others. We learn contrary to the capitalist narrative depicting the good life is having the latest and greatest leads to more emptiness and disappointment. That the scriptures get it right and holds the test of time and experience ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive’.
“A man once visited a lighthouse and said to the keeper are you not afraid to live here? It is a dreadful place to be in constantly.’
No I’m not afraid, we never think of ourselves here.
Never think of yourselves, how is that?
We know we are perfectly safe and only have to think of having our lamps brightly burning and keeping the reflectors clear so that those in danger may be saved.”
Like this lighthouse keeper we are called to reflect the light of Christ’s hope to those beset by life’s dark storms. In a spirit of selflessness shine a light in others dark storms and guide them to the harbor of heaven.
Some years ago, I invited a friend to join my family for dinner over the holidays. We had a warm friendly pleasant evening with a great feast around the table. The next week he left a message thanking me for having him over and made an off hand chuckled remark, ‘thanks for having me over you made me not want to take my life’. Everyone is fighting a battle behind the scenes that we cannot see. A simple charitable act of kindness and hospitality may impart to another with just enough light to keep going.
Some of us get so wrapped up in our own darkness we miss the light in our neighbor, the world and God’s face. ‘The soul is a vast labyrinth and depth beyond report says Heraclitus. Introspection and self-examination can become a never ending analysis that leaves one isolated as an end. To worship God is a liberation is to forget what is wrong with ourselves remember what right with God. Faith and hope in Christ enables us to chain our gaze to the morning star who lights our path in the darkness. Without him we are blind and wandering. The life and gift of Christ made manifest at Christmas enables us to have hope in the darkness and trust which lights the way for our steps.
In conclusion let us meditate these words from brother Roger of Taize,
“In order to go forward, it is good to know this, the gospel offers such a shining hope that it can bring joy to your soul.
This hope is a path of light that opens up in our depths. Without it all delight in living could vanish.
Where is the source of this hope? It is in God who simply loves and can do nothing else a God who never stops seeking us.”
Amen.