WAITING IN THE DARK
SCRIPTURE
Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters.
-Genesis 1:2
It was now about noon, and darkness came over the whole land until three in the afternoon, for the sun stopped shining. And the curtain of the temple was torn in two.
- Luke 23:44-45
Darkness is our enemy when it comes out of order and unexpectedly. A power outage that wipes out electricity and our quick access to light makes us feel helpless and vulnerable.
We arm ourselves with flashlights and candles and wait for the light to return. This is the picture of Saturday's vigil following Friday's crucifixion. People went home, lost in a darkness they had not expected. The hope that had walked into their world as a person who healed and taught and stood up to Jewish leaders was dead. Darkness covered their lives as never before. It was the darkness of questions without answers, the darkness of absent hope, the darkness that made normal impossible--maybe forever. They did not expect the light to come on again.
It was like the darkness that covered the earth before the beginning of creation. That darkness was a void and an emptiness so thick and pervasive that nothing else existed. That darkness covered the earth and was the sum and substance of everything. In this dark beginning before our world came to be, God stepped in and created what had not existed: light. In a similar act of creation, God was about to do something with the darkness of this Saturday that would forever become a dividing line. It would either give us something to believe or something to reject.
It is hard to know how the disciples felt and what questions they asked on this day of darkness. More than one probably hurled an accusation into God's face. Others grieved what was lost. We want to tell them that God was bringing light that would be as dramatic and miraculous as the light of creation. We want to give them hope for what is coming. Yet what do we do in the dark times we encounter? We need to remember that darkness is never God's last word. Nothing is so hopeless that God cannot use it as raw material to make something new.
Today we sit in darkness, but we sit with hope because we know Light will come.
BURNING QUESTIONS
1. Where are you afraid that some darkness in your life is here to stay?
2. How has God brought light to a past darkness of yours, and what hope does that give you for a dark time now or in the future?
AFFIRMATION
If I persevere, I will see God turn my darkness into light.
PRAYER FOR TODAY
Creator of light, give me patience to wait for the light you will bring to my darkness.
SCRIPTURE
Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters.
-Genesis 1:2
It was now about noon, and darkness came over the whole land until three in the afternoon, for the sun stopped shining. And the curtain of the temple was torn in two.
- Luke 23:44-45
Darkness is our enemy when it comes out of order and unexpectedly. A power outage that wipes out electricity and our quick access to light makes us feel helpless and vulnerable.
We arm ourselves with flashlights and candles and wait for the light to return. This is the picture of Saturday's vigil following Friday's crucifixion. People went home, lost in a darkness they had not expected. The hope that had walked into their world as a person who healed and taught and stood up to Jewish leaders was dead. Darkness covered their lives as never before. It was the darkness of questions without answers, the darkness of absent hope, the darkness that made normal impossible--maybe forever. They did not expect the light to come on again.
It was like the darkness that covered the earth before the beginning of creation. That darkness was a void and an emptiness so thick and pervasive that nothing else existed. That darkness covered the earth and was the sum and substance of everything. In this dark beginning before our world came to be, God stepped in and created what had not existed: light. In a similar act of creation, God was about to do something with the darkness of this Saturday that would forever become a dividing line. It would either give us something to believe or something to reject.
It is hard to know how the disciples felt and what questions they asked on this day of darkness. More than one probably hurled an accusation into God's face. Others grieved what was lost. We want to tell them that God was bringing light that would be as dramatic and miraculous as the light of creation. We want to give them hope for what is coming. Yet what do we do in the dark times we encounter? We need to remember that darkness is never God's last word. Nothing is so hopeless that God cannot use it as raw material to make something new.
Today we sit in darkness, but we sit with hope because we know Light will come.
BURNING QUESTIONS
1. Where are you afraid that some darkness in your life is here to stay?
2. How has God brought light to a past darkness of yours, and what hope does that give you for a dark time now or in the future?
AFFIRMATION
If I persevere, I will see God turn my darkness into light.
PRAYER FOR TODAY
Creator of light, give me patience to wait for the light you will bring to my darkness.
Posted in Lent