We have become so accustomed to receiving our light at the flick of a switch, of using lights that "stay put", of knowing the light will always be there when we need it - that we find it difficult to cope when it isn't there after all. We may have an old kerosene lantern or some candles for just such an emergency, but faced with pitch darkness, finding the lamp and the matches can be quite tricky!
Then, of course, there is the situation confronted by those of us who holiday in a tent. The light is mobile. The gas lantern may be put safely in a corner or be moved so someone can read a book in bed. We need a place where it goes when not in use. Fortunately it is big enough and the tent small enough that it can never be too far away. The matches to light it are a different matter. We have a set of pockets that have a place for such things. But around meal time the matches tend to be near the gas stove. If they get left out and the dew gets to them, there's another problem. The greater difficulty is the torch. When you camp in National Parks like Girraween with no electric power, the torch is essential at night. Too large for our set of pockets, it has to be left where anyone can find it in the middle of the night.
Light is funny stuff. The experts tell us that "light is electromagnetic radiation in the wavelength range extending from about 0.4 micron to about 0.7 micron; or, perhaps more properly, the visual response to electromagnetic radiation in this range." Scientists sometimes think of light as waves at various frequencies and at other times as the emission of photons. For all the big words, there is an element of mystery about it. And yet, we all need it and use it.
And when we say, "Where's the light?" we know just what we mean! And when we say, "Who's got the light?" there's more than a little inference that someone hasn't put it back where it ought to be!
One of the things we like about Girraween National Park is the stars. You can see so many more of them, especially when the moon isn't up! Without the competition of an urban lighting system and of polluted air, we see more stars. And it is amazing how our eyes become accustomed to the darkness. For a late-night walk to the amenities, I like to walk with the torch off and my wife likes it on. So we do a bit of both. A torch gives us a better view of a limited area. It reveals that the little shadowy shape over there in the grass is a rabbit who stops eating and looks at the light. Shone on the path immediately ahead, it warns of dips and other imperfections. It reveals and it warns - we find it very useful.
But darkness suggests to us what is unknown and unpredictable - potentially dangerous. Some people become unreasonably afraid of the dark.
There was a time when the Middle Ages were called the Dark Ages - especially the first part of the Middle Ages. More recently historians have avoided the term because it has tended to imply barbarism and intellectual darkness. It was certainly the attitude of the Renaissance people that the light had been turned on. And even more recently with the rapid expansion of scientific knowledge and its application to human life and lifestyle, the change has been radical.
But if our society is so enlightened, how come it is so dark? The past twenty years has seen a rapid increase in sophisticated gadgetry in the average household - and the need for additional household security to protect it! We have been successful putting people on the moon, but have difficulty guaranteeing job security for people on earth. We have developed medical techniques with vast implications for human life, but have trouble with the ethics of implementing them. We have proclaimed sexual liberation, but show ourselves less able to sustain marriage relationships whether legal or de facto. Domestic violence, sexual abuse of children, murder, rape, suicide… have all been on the increase.
We claim enlightenment, but the reality is darkness! Something has gone seriously wrong! We have lost our way in the dark and we need to do more than whistling!
We seem to be on an accelerating downward slide and need to ask ourselves where we have gone wrong. And we need to do it now - before it is too late!
In the days of the square-riggers, "Bully" Forbes was trying to break his England-to-Australia record in the ship the Shomberg. The ship was becalmed off Peterborough (near Port Campbell in Victoria) and he lost interest. He was called from a game of cards to watch helpless as his ship was carried closer and closer to the rocks - it was too late to save it!
More recently we recall the story of the Anro Asia that ran aground on the Caloundra bar. Action was not taken until too late. The momentum of the large ship carried it forward to its resting-place. In this case, it was possible with great effort to remove it successfully.
Where has our society been going? Is it yet too late to turn the ship around?
Paul wrote about the darkness of his time, "… their thoughts have become complete nonsense, and their empty heads are filled with darkness. They say they wise, but they are fools… Even the women pervert the natural use of their sex by unnatural acts. In the same way the men give up natural sexual relations with women and burn with passion for each other. Men do shameful things with each other, and as a result they bring upon themselves the punishment they deserve for their wrongdoing… They are filled with all kinds of wickedness, evil, greed, and vice; they are full of jealousy, murder, fighting, deceit, and malice. They gossip and speak evil of one another; they are… insolent, proud, boastful; they think of more ways to do evil; they disobey their parents; they have no conscience; they do not keep their promises, and they show no kindness or pity for others…" (from Romans 1.18-32).
With all honesty, we are hearing, not just a description of the Roman Empire in the first century, but a portrayal of the direction of our own society. And why was it so dark? Is there something we can learn from what went wrong all those years ago?
Paul talked about that too. You will find it in all the bits I left out of that reading! In essence, he traces the decadence of Roman society to their rejection of what they have clearly known about God. True, they weren't Jews and didn't have the Bible. Yet the name of God was written clearly on creation itself and they had ended up worshipping and serving what God had created instead of the Creator himself. Judgment was coming on them because they "refuse to keep in mind the true knowledge of God."
But we are enlightened and tolerant. We are a multicultural society. We are willing to accept everything and believe nothing. We shy away from questions of absolute truth. Anything goes - provided someone somewhere thinks they are helped by it. So we might as well have a bit of Jesus, a bit of Mohammed, a bit of Buddha, a toss of Plato, plus a Hindu guru or two… It's called "hedging your bets" - just in case!
But it's a desperate situation and a desperate question, "Who's got the light?" Should you wear a crystal, chant a mantra, meditate on a mandala… or perhaps pray? They can't all be right! Or do we have to redefine what we mean by truth?
The Pharisees were a very strict Jewish sect. Arising from the persecution in which Jews were put to death for keeping the sacred Law, they were extremely careful about all their moral and religious duties. But they missed the heart of the matter and were outspoken in their opposition to Jesus. They studied the Scriptures, but failed to believe the one whom God sent. So these very upright people identified themselves with the darkness, not with the light!
We hear Jesus saying to them, "I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will have the light of life and will never walk in darkness" (John 8.12). It is not just that he has the light - he is the Light!
We noted before that light reveals and warns. Certainly in Jesus we see what God is like and what we were meant to be. His coming warns us of the peril of living without reference to God and provides a way of forgiveness, restoration and life. And there is a warning in his coming - "Whoever believes in the Son is not judged; but whoever does not believe has already been judged, because he has not believed in God's only God. This is how the judgment works: the light has come into the world, but people love darkness rather than light, because their deeds are evil" (John 3.18-19).
Have you ever been in the darkness and struck a match? When you are in the dark, it is amazing how much one small light can show! The light pushes back the darkness!
Jesus is the Light of the world! He also said, "You are like light for the whole world" (Matthew 5.14).
For our own sake we need to open our lives to the one who is the Light! For the sake of our society we need to allow the light of Jesus to shine out through us! Every little light that shines will help to push back the darkness!
Come to him! It's time to reconnect! It's time to be part of the reconnection of our whole society!
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