The Deep Darkness

A lot of people became amateur astronomers at the recent lunar phenomena.  Despite all the goings on in places like Washington D.C. and Hollywood where the "political and entertainment stars" dwell, the moon doing its thing was the real big event.  Lunar eclipses such as the recent one do not come every night and so many braved the cold to watch the heavenly color show.   A surprising thing struck this watcher of the heavens.  What grabbed my attention and would not let go was the awareness of the deepening darkness.  The farther the moon moved into the eclipse, the deeper was the darkness.

 

Before it started the light of the moon enabled distant trees to be seen.  Walking required no flashlight.  But, then the darkness started settling upon the earth and it was a darkness so deep the light seemed to exist in another world.  It was truly one of the amazing parts of the nocturnal event.  It set me to remembering that verse from John's gospel which says, "The light (the Word...Jesus) shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not overcome it."  (John 1:5)  The heavenly event John described cannot be overcome by any deep darkness.  Jesus has the power to bring light into places which seem to have the power to extinguish any light, any hope, any prayer.

 

Sometimes I wonder, though, if the light of Christ which should be shining through me and others like me is not being diminished in a way Christ never intended.  Instead of being a transmitter and a clear filter through which His divine presence moves, I must confess to sometimes hindering that divine process.  What is troubling is that the darkness may be deeper than it needs to be because I allow myself to get out of step with what Christ is seeking to do in the world around me.