Jan 06, 2022 |
In Praise of Darkness
| The Rev. Philip DeVaulIn Praise of Darkness
I'm not saying I want it to always be dark. I'm just saying we have this thing where we think dark is bad and light is good, but dark is an essential part of our lives. It cannot be sunshine all the time. And while we know this in our hearts, we still rebel against the very simple reality of the darkness. We rebel against dark thoughts. We shy away from the things that are anything other than joyful and kind and easy for us to grasp.
Today is the feast of the Epiphany. And as I said at the announcements, Epiphany is another Greek word for revelation. And what we say is being revealed to us. All of us, all of humanity is God's abiding presence with us in Jesus Christ. That God is with us. And whereas on Christmas day we recognize God's presence and a little baby, on Epiphany the symbol of God's abiding presence is a star. And while stars are light. And that ancient cosmology, the stars are not the main things that give light. They point to things. They indicate things they're beautiful to study and to admire, but we would not be able to see the stars unless we were allowed to be in darkness.
The wise folks who find Jesus and who recognize the sovereignty, the royalty, that is found in this child, the presence of the divine; they would not be able to find Jesus had it not been for the darkness. What were they going to follow in the daytime? The darkness was essential for their ability to see God's presence. And while we are able to see God's presence very readily in the warmth and the joy, I think if we're honest, every single one of us has found God and been found by God in the darkness of our lives.
Today is the feast of the Epiphany. And as I said at the announcements, Epiphany is another Greek word for revelation. And what we say is being revealed to us. All of us, all of humanity is God's abiding presence with us in Jesus Christ. That God is with us. And whereas on Christmas day we recognize God's presence and a little baby, on Epiphany the symbol of God's abiding presence is a star. And while stars are light. And that ancient cosmology, the stars are not the main things that give light. They point to things. They indicate things they're beautiful to study and to admire, but we would not be able to see the stars unless we were allowed to be in darkness.
The wise folks who find Jesus and who recognize the sovereignty, the royalty, that is found in this child, the presence of the divine; they would not be able to find Jesus had it not been for the darkness. What were they going to follow in the daytime? The darkness was essential for their ability to see God's presence. And while we are able to see God's presence very readily in the warmth and the joy, I think if we're honest, every single one of us has found God and been found by God in the darkness of our lives.