Weekly Reflection - 10/10/2023
There is so much darkness... there is also light
A Reflection by The Reverend David Erickson
The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not overcome it. John 1:5
If I am honest, sometimes the darkness is overwhelming. The terrible violence in Israel and Gaza is horrific. And we know it is only beginning. In the background of this most recent eruption is the war in Ukraine, and other wars and places of violence that get only little, or no mention, in our media’s short attention span.
The darkness also hits closer to home. Driving downtown last week I was shocked and deeply saddened by the condition of so many people living on the streets. Another shadow was the forced indifference that was necessary for me to complete my tasks.
And then there is the personal darkness. Friends and family members caught in addiction, dying by cancer or suicide, and so many more. Too many more. Life seems to be so full of darkness.
And yet there is light.
I remember vividly, learning in my 9th grade physics class, that the human eye can see even just one photon of light. If light is present, we can see it.
Jesus comes to us as the light of the world. And we are to be children of that light, and beacons of that light.
One way that we can bear light is to pray. Yes, it seems like such a small thing, just like a single photon, but it is something. Jesus was a person of peace, and a person of prayer.
Yes, there is more we can do, and some of us will. And there is so much we can’t do, even when are hearts scream for more to be done. What is available to all of us is the power, the light of prayer.
I encourage all of us to pray for peace in this complicated world, especially now in Israel and Gaza. Even if it is just a small prayer, it is enough. Then continue to pray for the places and the people closer to you who are caught in the darkness and ask for God’s light there.
The light shines still in the world today, the darkness did not overcome, and the darkness will not overcome it. We are called to be instruments of light, even just one photon at a time.
The Rev. David Erickson
