No Darkness At All

1 John 1:1-10
I have to admit, when it comes time to sleep nothing beats a dark room. It is also easier to watch a movie if the screen is the only source of light in the theater. Astronomers work best when they are well removed from the ambient glow of population centers. For those who still remember pre-digital photography, a darkroom is necessary for developing pictures. These are all reasons why we should approach one of the metaphors used in 1 John 5 with care. “This is the message we have heard from him and proclaim to you, that God is light and in him there is no darkness at all” (1 John 1:5). Does this mean that in the presence of God there is no shade to be found? Is there no relief from the constant, penetrating glare of light? Or does this verse really point to something else?

The dichotomy between light and dark is one of the most common in scripture rising, in large part, from the Bible’s pre-industrial setting. Darkness––especially nighttime––caused fear because it was so all-pervasive. Candles or lanterns or torches were of some help in pushing back the gloom, but there was finally nothing to be done but to wait for the sunrise to illuminate the world. So darkness was perceived as evil while light was considered good. To this extent, the metaphor is apt. “God is goodness and in God there is no evil at all,” we might say. But there is a flaw in this reasoning as well. According to Genesis 1 God did create light on the first day, overcoming the darkness of chaos. But God also created evening and morning and called them both good. Night was understood as a necessary contrast to day, allowing for rest and for rejuvenation throughout creation. To this extent, the metaphor is problematic because darkness is a natural part of the created order.

But what if we take 1 John 1:5 more or less literally? What if we assume that God really is light as opposed to darkness? What does that tell us? It tells us that just as light is the source of growth, and daytime is the setting for so much of human accomplishment, God, too, is a source of growth and home to what humanity can and does achieve. And in God there is no ambiguity, natural or otherwise, no grey areas, no blurred edges, no overlapping. God is what God is: light as opposed to the absence of light; energy as opposed to a lack of energy; as central to our existence as the sun is to our being.

God is light the way that God is love, or that God is three-in-one. When we try to approximate God with words, there will always be limitations. But then we step into the glow of inspiration, the illumination of knowledge, and we begin to better understand who God really is: light without any darkness at all.

Prayer: Lord, help us to be illumined by your word and by your will, that we may dwell in the light by which we bless all people. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

Current Events

1 John 1:1-10

As I write these words a small stream has developed in our normally dry backyard. It is a product of recent unrelenting rain. Yesterday, for the first time that I can remember, I was prevented from leading a worship service because of flood waters that made my trip difficult and unsafe. And the rain continues to fall on this part of Arkansas. Then last night came word of the death of Osama bin Laden. This news has caused a different sort of stream to develop around the world, an outpouring of emotion and, in this country at least, relief. I see a connection of sorts between the two situations. If we are not careful we may be carried away in our response to bin Laden’s death the way flood waters sweep away a person or a vehicle.

“This is the message we have heard from (Jesus Christ) and proclaim to you, that God is light and in him there is no darkness at all. If we say that we have fellowship with him while we are walking in darkness, we lie and do not do what is true…” (1 John 10:5-6). God is light, no matter what may be happening in our world or in our lives. To say we are God’s people and yet choose to live in the shadows is to get it wrong and to go astray. In times of greatest stress or of greatest emotion we must strive more earnestly to follow God’s will, to live in the light. One potential danger that looms for Americans is self-congratulations or gloating. We live in a world as full of violence and oppression today as it was yesterday. The rivers of injustice surge over their banks and inundate peoples of all nations and ethnicities. Storm clouds of idolatry drift above our heads. Darkness remains a tempting retreat from the responsibilities of the light.

How people of faith react in the coming days will be very telling. This is no time to pause in our efforts to build true and lasting community with others. This is no time to take our eyes off the needs of our world. This is no time to speak of “winning” or of “us vs. them.” Such actions will only add to the flood of hatred and mistrust that regularly sweeps our world. Now is the time for honesty, for light, for God’s will. Now is the time to work even harder to reach blessed consensus both at home and abroad, to set aside our differences and to allow our similarities to show us the way to go. Until the reign of God arrives in its fullness the waters will continue to lap at the foundations of goodness. To dwell in the darkness is to give up all hope. These days we need God’s light as much as ever.

Prayer: Lord, you taught us to pray, even for our enemies and for those who persecute us. May your love and mercy be at work in all hearts—ours included—that your will be done. Amen.