God of Light and Darkness (Midweek Message)

 

 

God of Light and Darkness

Fr. Tony’s Midweek Message

March 4, 2020

 

“And when the priests came out of the holy place, a cloud filled the house of the Lord, so that the priests could not stand to minister because of the cloud; for the glory of the Lord filled the house of the Lord.  Then Solomon said, ‘The Lord has said that he would dwell in thick darkness. I have built you an exalted house, a place for you to dwell in forever.’” (1 Kings 8:10-13)  

When I first read this passage from Kings, I was struck by how much it seemed to work against everything I had ever heard of God:  God was light, not darkness! But the image here persisted for me:  the Holy Place filling with thick incense smoke and turning dark, and God’s dwelling place, the windowless Holy of Holies, in perpetual darkness except on the Day of Atonement when the High Priest entered, lit the lamps, offered incense, and performed the atonement rites.  

In years since, I have learned that this lordship over both light and darkness is part of the comprehensiveness and transcendence of God:  in Genesis 1, God says, “Let there be light” and separates light from darkness.  In the story of the children of Israel fleeing Egypt, God “went in front of them in a pillar of cloud by day, to lead them along the way, and in a pillar of fire by night, to give them light, so that they might travel by day and by night.” (Exodus 13:21)  The fire may light the darkness by night, but the cloud provides shade and respite from the harsh heat of Sinai’s midday sun.   

Darkness is an antipode of light; both reflect the mystery of God differently.  God uses both to lead us and sustain us.  “God uncovers the deeps out of darkness, and brings deep darkness to light.” (Job 12:22)  Sometimes our greatest spiritual growth comes during times when we feel farthest from God.  

This evening at 5, we will gather for our first Lenten Soup Supper.  We will watch and discuss the first of the “Signs of Life” Lenten reflections produced by the Society of St. John the Evangelist (the Cowley Fathers) and Virginia Theological Seminary.  Tonight’s sacramental symbol or sign of life is “Light.”  The video discussion includes both light and darkness and the interplay between times when we are acutely aware of God’s presence and the “dry” times. 

Here is a poem by a contemplative Unitarian (whose symbol for God is a lit candle in a chalice or bowl) about how light and darkness are both needed in our pursuit of God: 

 

With or Without Candlelight

--John Marsh (from Victoria Safford, ed., With or Without Candlelight:  A Meditation Anthology [Skinner House Books: 2009])

If you are going to meditate by candlelight,

do not hurry to light the candle.

The glow may concentrate your energies, but it will cost you

the contours of the room. 

If you walk the night forest by flashlight,

the electric beam may reveal details on your path,

but you will lose everything

outside your concentrated ray.

All that your light does not expose will become alien.

The sounds of animals will frighten you.

Shut off the beam, and you will travel the night forest

as one who belongs. 

Let us praise things dark and beautiful: 

The quiet of closed eyelids

The childhood of chocolate

The respectability of newsprint

The suddenness of a bat’s wing

The invitation of brewing coffee

The persistence of tar

The gentleness of nutmeg

The temptation of a cave.   

If you are going to meditate by candlelight,

Do not hurry to light the candle.  

Grace and Peace. 

--Father Tony+