Light and dark

John 1:(1-9), 10-18

          I read a very interesting and thoughtful blog the other day entitled Darkness is not Dark. Today's passage speaks of the The true light, which enlightens everyone , that is, Jesus.  We have such defined ideas about darkness and light though. Sometimes we get caught up in the polar expressions that we get confused and insist on things being categorized in one way or another, black, white, right, wrong, good, evil. While I know somethings are actually black, others actually white, that there is in fact evil in the world and there is love, I can see that with the light of love we need not be so bound by finite and constricting parameters.

            Many years ago in the span of one week, both of my parents had strokes. My father recovered easily from his mild stroke. My mother however lingered for 10 years suffering through the hospitalization, treatments and eventual nursing home. I often described that period as the 10 worst years of my life, the darkest 10 years of my life. Aside from watching this fine woman transformed into someone almost unrecognizable, I too went through transformations as did my siblings. It is horrible to watch someone in pain and transformed, nay, contorted into another being.  There were constant visits to the hospital, consultations, insurance  issues and bills to pay, governmental agencies to deal with and banks. I hated it all and endured that willingly for ten years while my mother endured her maladies.  Now though, in the light of love I see something a bit different. While I can still see how we all felt at that time, I can also see the fragility and grace of life. I can see the love, the concern, the caring of not just us, but of countless others that prayed, cared for ministered to all of us. It would seem that on reflection, the darkest ten years of my life were not so dark after all. Someone once said that life is not what happens to you but how you react to what happens to you.  I am not sure how well I rose to the occasion when my Mom and Dad needed me most, that is for God to decide. I know my siblings appreciate what I did as I hope they know how much I appreciated how difficult it was for them being so far away and not being able to do the things they wanted to do to help. I do know that every minute of those ten years were graced moments. Not party moments for sure but graced moments none the less. They were light and glorious moments filled with down in the trenches love, caring, support, and struggling for meaning in events that we may never fully understand on this side of the grave.

            I have a coworker who seems very dark. Not goth dark, but she has an affinity for darker clothes and darker scenes. She is loving, caring and a great nurse and great person. Who would know if you judged her by some of her face book pictures.  We can be fixated on darkness thinking there is no light there when there is light and love that perhaps we are not privy to.

           I am amazed sometimes that our beloved cat trots around in the darkness so sure footed and with little if no effort. His vision is not as limited as we humans. He sees clearly where we see darkness.  Just one more reason to appreciate my most wonderful 'boy'.

           We buy into so many definitives. In defining things sometimes we find ourselves railing against things that we perpetuate ourselves. If we are to see clearly we will never be able to do so with human eyes. We will never have feline eyes. The only way we will ever be able to see clearly is with the light of faith and love. Jesus gives us this light because he is the light. Perhaps it would be a good time to re-read this Gospel passage for today. Lets just think about light and dark and gray and the subtleties of light and love.

           

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.

He was in the beginning with God.

All things came into being through him, and without him not one thing came into being. What has come into being

in him was life, and the life was the light of all people.

The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not overcome it.

There was a man sent from God, whose name was John.

He came as a witness to testify to the light, so that all might believe through him.

He himself was not the light, but he came to testify to the light.

The true light, which enlightens everyone, was coming into the world.

He was in the world, and the world came into being through him; yet the world did not know him.

He came to what was his own, and his own people did not accept him.

But to all who received him, who believed in his name, he gave power to become children of God,

who were born, not of blood or of the will of the flesh or of the will of man, but of God.

And the Word became flesh and lived among us, and we have seen his glory, the glory as of a father's only son, full of grace and truth.

(John testified to him and cried out, "This was he of whom I said, 'He who comes after me ranks ahead of me because he was before me.'")

From his fullness we have all received, grace upon grace.

The law indeed was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ.

No one has ever seen God. It is God the only Son, who is close to the Father's heart, who has made him known.