There is something about the absence
of light, those nights when the moon is new and hidden from view, leaving the
sky shrouded in darkness so deep it’s hard to see your hand in front of your
face.
Living in the city, we always seem to
have some light pollution that keeps the dark night from being too dark.
But go out into the country, far away from
the bright city, or into a cave, deep underground, and find a deep darkness. Pause in that darkness and pay attention to
what your body is feeling.
Close your eyes in that darkness and when
you open them again, you may experience the disorientation that comes with complete
darkness.
Disoriented, out of control, afraid,
curious, attentive, cautious, our primary sense of sight may switch to hearing
or feeling.
Earlier this year, our daughter, Erin,
and I went to Louisville to see the musical, Hamilton. While there, we also took a tour of the Mega
Cave. Unlike every natural cave we have
visited, the Mega Cave is one of the largest underground man-made constructions
in the world.
Riding on the tram – a big trailer
with benches being pulled by a 4-wheel drive vehicle – we went deep into the
cave under the Louisville Zoo, and found deep darkness. Even following the headlights on the vehicle
with our eyes, we really didn’t know how deep we were or if we were simply
driving around in circles.
Displays would light up and a recorded
story would come from the speakers in the vehicle. But there were times when we would be left in
complete darkness, having to trust our guide, the vehicle and the technology
under the ground to return us safely to the start.
The stark contrast between dark and
light in this kind of place can be disconcerting and uncomfortable.
Sometimes the world can feel dark and
disorienting. I mean that in a broad and
a narrow sense. Distrust in the
government, the destruction of natural resources; businesses and jobs disappearing;
relationships falling apart; people we love (or ourselves) suffering from
illnesses, bodies deteriorating, dying.
The world can feel dark. It can
feel hopeless. We can, at any time, feel
lost.
In many ways that is the world in
which Jesus was born. Dark, foreboding,
dangerous. The government was corrupt,
those not in high ranking positions, in other words, most people, were
struggling to live.
In their communities of faith, their
synagogues and with their teachers, the rabbis, they studied the Torah, read
the prophets, looking for signs that a Savior would come and pull them from the
darkness.
Their hope was that a king would come
who could save the Jewish followers of God from their marginalized, persecuted
lives.
They were looking for God to save
them.
And Jesus was born. Emmanuel, God is with us. Prince of Peace. Wonderful Counselor. The Lord of life, the Lord of all. The Savior came in a tiny package, born of a young
woman from the hillside in a crowded family compound where the only room for a
woman about to give birth was in the space where the animals would spend each
night, safe from the cold and their predators.
This baby, born under dire
circumstances, would bring Light back into the world for those who would
believe he is the Son of God.
Jesus would turn the hearts of those
who lived in uncertain darkness toward the certain light of God’s presence among
them.
It is this light: this hope, this peace, this deep joy, this
love, that fills us today as we celebrate the birth of Jesus.
We can choose to walk in this beautiful
light, knowing that even when it can feel so dark we cannot see our hand in
front of our eyes, there is the light that illuminates the darkness, providing
us new ways of seeing our circumstances, new ways of living that change the
inequity and pain in the world, new ways of expressing the love that comes from
the One who created it all and the Word who helped.
This Christmas Day, the light has come
again, like a floodlight, casting light on our shadows and helping us to see
that there is nothing to fear in the dark corners. For Jesus has been born again in our lives,
giving us every reason to believe that we are people of the Light. Beloved followers of Jesus. Sent into the world to spread the news that
Jesus is born, in our hearts, today and every day.
Amen.
