In the beginning, there was total darkness. Then the Creator God spoke, "Let there be light...." And there was light. And with the light, there came life. God is light -- bright, dazzling, radiant light! The Garden of Eden was a place of light -- for whenever and wherever God is present, there is light. Adam and Eve lived in a world of light and walked in the way of light. In Eden, there was no darkness, no evil, no sin, no suffering, no pain and no death -- only light.
The prophet Isaiah talks about people, "living in deep darkness." He's not talking about the darkness of a cloudy day; he's talking about a darkness so thick that one cannot see one's hand 12 inches in front of his face -- a total absence of light, a darkness so thick that the sun's rays could not penetrate it. The sad thing is people chose to live there (if one could call it living). Perhaps, Isaiah was thinking of Sodom and Gomorrah. It was a community of some 10,000 people, and not one righteous Godly person could be found there. God's light could not get through and God's love could not touch them. Why would anyone want to live in Sodom and Gomorrah?
1) Satan had cut the life-line, the power-line that connected the people to God.
2) Satan had convinced the people that living in darkness was "normal," that lying and deceit, committing crimes, murders and immoral acts were "normal."
3) People's thoughts and deeds were evil and ungodly; they were afraid that any light would expose them for what they were.
4) The people didn't know what caused their darkness or how to eradicate the darkness, so they were content to live in the dark.
Isaiah continues, "I see people walking in darkness."
If one cannot see his hand in front of his face, he will stumble and fall; one will run into objects or people, injure himself or others; and one could get killed. Also, it would be impossible to have any kind of relationship in such deep darkness.
Perhaps Isaiah was thinking of Nineveh. The citizens of Nineveh were walking in the darkness of sin. God sent Jonah to preach to the people in Nineveh, "Repent of your sinful ways; turn your back on the darkness and turn towards the light." All of Nineveh did repent, did turn their backs on their dark ways, and did turn to God, the light. Nineveh was saved. Sodom and Gomorrah were destroyed.
Sometimes, when we celebrate the turning on of God's light, we celebrate the triumph of light over darkness. So in a world filled with darkness, I will continue to wish everyone a Merry Christmas, I will proudly display the symbols of my Christian faith for all to see, I will continue to love and care about and pray for those who agree with me and for those who disagree with me, and I will be as honest and truthful as I know how to be. I will call a spade a spade, and I will call every immoral and ungodly act a sin. And, if any of this offends you, you have a serious problem and you will have to find a way to deal with it!
Don Kuehle is a retired United Methodist minister who lives in Jackson. Opinions expressed are those of the author.
Religion on 01/17/2019