The clocks went back this weekend.
For a few days there is a little more light in the mornings, but
inevitably this means greater darkness in the evenings: winter’s cold tentacles
tightening. How does this idea grab
you? For my part, there are always memories
of childhood, with the open coal fire in our quite large living room. If I got too close it was uncomfortably warm;
if I moved to the opposite side of the room, it felt cold and almost
frightening, as if I were outside.
It’s strange how darkness is associated with fear in our minds. We’re just passing Halloween, when fear is
the ‘emotion of the season’, and some allow the world of darkness to draw near
to our own. Even in normal times, an
idea or experience that is quite commonplace during the day, when we are
confident and self-assured can take on a totally different dimension at three
in the morning, when we can’t sleep and feel alone. Doubts
creep in – no, swarm forth – threatening complete annihilation: sheer panic can
take over.
It’s good on these occasions to remember that, in His earthly life, Jesus
experienced all aspects of our humanity.
On that dark night in Gethsemane, for instance, we probably see him at
his lowest, in human terms. He knew what he must do; perhaps he sought encouragement from his closest disciples, but they were
tired and, perhaps on this occasion more noticeably than any other, were no use
to Him. So he turned to His Father. Just as we might, he prayed that there might
be another way (Matt. 26:38-40).
Remember that it wasn't long before these dramatic events – with which we
are all so familiar – that he was closely confronted with death at the home of
Martha and Mary (John ch. 11). He was deeply
moved by the effect of Lazarus’s death on others, and we’re told that he was
greatly distressed (11:33).
The thought of his own death, even though he knew he would ‘come out the
other side’, must have been just as distressing. Certainly, no other moment, in human terms,
could have been darker. However
dire our circumstances, however dark we may find our nights, however lonely,
however desperate we may be, we can be sure that Jesus knows what it’s like,
because He’s been there, and can uphold us through it all. All we have to do is turn to Him.
Paul, too, spoke of dark times.
Writing when the early church was undergoing great persecution, he
refers to them “experiencing trouble on every side, but not crushed; perplexed,
but not driven to despair; persecuted but not abandoned; struck down, but not
destroyed.” (2 Cor. 4:8-9). By way of
encouragement, he says, “God, who said ‘Let light shine out of darkness,’ is
the one who shined in our hearts to give us the light of the glorious knowledge
of God in the face of Christ.” (v.6).
Today’s news stories can be frightening; some can have a personal impact on
our lives. When we wake up in the night,
alarmed by what we might face in the morning, it can be hard to feel any kind
of reassurance. But there is a light
that shines in and through the lives of all who believe: the light that comes
from God, who has power over death itself, is constantly present in our
hearts.
It’s a light that needs only the simplest prayer to its Source to turn it
on.
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