I came into the world as light, so that everyone who believes in me might not remain in darkness. (John 12: 46)
Light and darkness, sight and blindness, these are powerful images. In Jesus’ time, other than fire light, candles, or oil lamps, the only other source of light was natural light. The day’s activities ended with the day’s light. It is an intentional challenge for us to appreciate the importance and wondrous gift of natural light. Looking at the night sky over Elk Grove, it is impossible to imagine sailors navigating across oceans using only the stars. Because of light pollution from the streetlights and the lights that every house has to cut the darkness, viewing the constellations in their full glory is a rare gift.
Man craves light and fears darkness. Because of our craving, we have learned to manipulate light. Through our cleverness, we have created artificial light sources and manipulated our clocks with daylight savings time. Like moths, we are drawn to light and when our light source is interrupted, we have been known to panic. We look for help.
When Jesus says he comes into the world as light, he is saying a lot. It is a powerful image. Give your imagination free reign and for a moment experience light and darkness, perhaps even blindness. What happened?
We have known or watched a blind person and may have marveled at “how well he gets around” or “how much she has achieved”, or simply questioned “how do they do it?” Maybe commented, “I am glad that I am not blind.” Listen. What am I really saying? “I would be afraid,” or “I would hate to be dependent on others,” or “I would miss so much?”
I once had the opportunity to visit the Cantor Arts Center on the Stanford University Campus in Stanford, California. They have one of many original copies of Auguste Rodin’s sculpture, The Thinker. I remember entering a room full of people. My immediate response was shock! Everyone was touching, even caressing the statues. In quiet concentration and hushed voices, men, women, and children were literally crawling all over the statues. It took me a while, but after a few moments, I realized they were blind. Each one was accompanied by a sighted companion. After a thorough tactile exploration of a statue, the blind partner would step back and model the position of the statue. The sighted companion would offer encouragement as the blind person came to “see” the statue. Joyfully, they celebrated the experience together.
We all suffer blindness to some degree. Jesus is the Light and we, as members of the Body of Christ, carry within us the Light for each other that we all might come to see and believe. Like the blind art aficionados I witnessed, we all need companions for the journey to help us explore, witness, and celebrate the Light among us.
As Pentecost approaches, let us pray that the Spirit will bless our darkness, turn our blindness into light, that we might be Light for each other. I invite you to walk with me, to explore, to suffer, to cry, to laugh and to celebrate with me. I offer to do the same for you.
May God Bless You and Grant You His Peace!