Dinner behind and the logi of good food making the atmosphere in the van feel meditative and gentle, stories of pain emerge: a child who has died; a suicide; the bombing of community center. A sigh. 'The world really is a horror,' someone says.
Here's the thing - life is 10,000 joys and 10,000 sorrows. The darkness will never totally go away. The darkness will not not disappear no matter what we do. We cannot create the kingdom of God here on earth. But John's gospel says, "The light shines on the darkness and the darkness will not overcome it."
Part of maturity is realizing that the darkness will always be present in our lives. We are never exempt from pain, and just when we think we have life under control a lightening bolt may hit and shatter our well constructed walls. Darkness comes in many shades, and by several means. We see the darkness, we touch and feel it, we lose our way in it. And candles are lit. We see. We hope. There is darkness and there is light. We live with both.
Richard Rohr says that if our posture with the darkness is to 'stand angrily, obsessively against it, ... we will become mirror images of it.' A mature posture in life is to be honest in naming the darkness - and liberal in shining the light. Everything is not beautiful. But some things are beautiful. Our job is to shine light, even if we can only manage the tiniest flicker.
3 comments:
Thanks for your words on darkness. You obviously speak from experience: both darkness and light. We must go into the darkness, before we see the light.
I am just coming into this awareness and acceptance of the shared places of darkness and light. I am enjoying your Kingdom thoughts. In seminary, I felt allergic to the term "the kingdom". Too many boring, stiff, ambiguous and pious connotations. I always mostly heard garble when people talked about the kingdom. I figured they were just as confused as I. :) in the last few years I have realized it isn't airy fairy at all and have found the incredible beauty of what Christ intended for us to be a part of the kingdom now. I'm soaking up what you're writing. I linked to you in a recent blogpost and several others told me how it spoke to them. Thanks.
I read, "Caps for Sale!" tonight to the children. Do you know that one? The merchant yells, stomps and demands his hats back from capped monkeys who mimic him from the limbs of a tree. In frustration, he finally throws his "own checked cap" to the ground. Astonished,he watches as the monkeys throw their hats off as well.
I have not thought of this imitation in reference to our posture toward "the darkness," but Rohr's thoughts make sense to me. I will imitate what I behold; I will reflect my focus.
I do have to say that the ONLY reason that the darkness does not cause me constant and overwhelming fear is the Light. Knowing that there is Light makes the darkness tolerable.
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