Tuesday 10 January 2023
- Bible Book:
- 1 John
God is light and in him there is no darkness at all. If we say that we have fellowship with him while we are walking in darkness, we lie and do not do what is true; but if we walk in the light as he himself is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin. (vs 5-7)
Background
The opening prologue to 1John mirrors the language and theme of the opening prologue in John's Gospel. It can be seen most clearly in these few verses set for us today. The similarities give further weight to the suggestion that this letter is from a particularly 'John-like' school of thought.
There are several dualisms in this passage, but the strongest and most often repeated is light and darkness.
This is only place in Scripture where God is said to be light – although the invocation of the metaphor is deeply held throughout it. In Genesis 1:1-3 the darkness is dispelled by God’s voice speaking light into existence and then declaring it good. The Psalmist describes God as being "clothed in light" (Psalm 104:2), and Psalm 27:1 goes so far as to say that salvation is through the light. John 1:4-5, which this passage echoes, reminds us that "the light shines in the darkness, but the darkness did not overcome it" – and Jesus calls himself "the light of the world" in John 8:12.
Light in the biblical and Johannine tradition equates to love, truth and goodness. It leads us to think therefore that darkness must equate with hate, deceit and fear… mustn’t it?
It’s tempting to be beguiled into a simplistic view: light = good, darkness = bad. But that perpetuates the fear and anxiety that darkness can elicit. And we also need to be mindful of how equating darkness with deceit, evil and fear has contributed to racial prejudice and ills of the world such as slavery.
The theologian and author Barbara Brown Taylor wrote in her book Learning to Walk in the Dark: “I have learned things in the dark that I could never have learned in the light, things that have saved my life over and over again, so that there is really only one logical conclusion. I need darkness as much as I need light.”
What we perhaps need are more folk around us who can help us face ourselves and each other, in the face of our fear, shame, guilt and dis-ease.
To Ponder:
- How does light make you feel? How do you search it out?
- How does the dark make you feel? How do you search it out?
- Listen to this piece of music from Lauren Daigle entitled ‘Light of the World’. How do you respond to it?
Prayer
God of light and dark, help me to see the best of me and the best of you within each and every circumstance of the day and night. Be close at hand, whatever my trouble, and lead me onwards towards your kin-dom. Amen.