Can darkness overcome light? It's an interesting question to ponder, and I'll come back to it from a physical science standpoint a little later.
At times it seems like darkness is overcoming the world. In Syria, Iraq, Myanmar, Somalia and many other places, war rages. Violent acts, sexual misconduct, abuse of power, and social injustice take place every day, many with seeming impunity.
Darkness is easy to find, and we can even find it within us. Most Americans fail to acknowledge the privilege of being the richest human beings on the planet — if your family earns even $10,000 a year, you are richer than 84% of the world's population. But instead of sharing our abundance of possessions and resources, we often continue to fill our lives with things we don’t need and spend our money and time on triviality. Instead of seeking understanding of those different than us, we often put ourselves in an us versus them mentality, protects what’s “ours” rather than seeing the needs of others.
In our own lives, darkness surrounds us at times. Work, relationship, financial hardship, emotional and health problems can make it feel as if darkness is closing in on us.
With everything going on in the world, it’s easy to see the world as a dark place that’s getting darker.
Let me tell you about a dark time in history:
A couple thousand years ago there was a king in the Roman territories ordered all the baby boys born in Bethlehem killed. Christians believe that Jesus was born into this dark time.
Whether this was an actual historical event can be debated, but what's not up for debate is how brutal and villainous King Herod was. Among other things, he murdered his own sons to solidify his position as king of Judea.
According to the book of Matthew, over 2,000 years ago, magi (or wise men) from the east, came to the court of King Herod, and asked to worship the King of the Jews (and they weren't talking about Herod). Herod told the magi to find this king, then come back, so he could go worship this new king too. The magi ended up finding a poor young couple with a baby, worshing the baby, giving the couple some gifts, and then, having been warned in a dream not to come back to Herod, headed back east.
When Herod figured this out, he decided to have all the children two years and under slaughtered. However, the young couple, Mary and Joseph, escaped and headed to Egypt.
This isn't the Christmas story we're used to. We like to think about all the light — angels singing, stars shining, and all the brightness that comes with Christmas.
And yet the darkness remains. We see it 2,000 years ago, and we see it today. We ask: how can a loving God let so much darkness into the world. I don’t understand it and don’t have an easy answer. What I do know, however, is that while there is a lot of darkness in the world, there is also light.
There is no scientific basis of a good and loving God. There's plenty of anecdotal evidence to the contrary. However, there is also evidence of light and hope all over. Christians believe not in a vengeful God quick to punish any wrongdoing. We believe in a God who became human and was born into poverty, spent a life showing how serving others, spending time with friends and family, and worshiping God is more fulfilling than the accumulation of popularity, possessions, and power.
Though there's plenty of darkness in the world, there is also so much light. Darkness in this world can be depressing, but darkness cannot overcome the light. From a pure mathematical standpoint, darkness is simply the absence of light. Because of what Jesus has done, creation is being filled with the Creator's light, and as Christmas approaches, whether you celebrate it religiously or otherwise, consider all the ways where light chases out darkness:
The light on the faces of carolers singing in a choir or on the streets or in a nursing home. The light on the face of a child who received a Christmas present from a stranger because her parents couldn't afford one. The light on the faces of friends and family as then spend some extra time together over the holidays.
And we can share that light. We can show our gratitude for the light by giving back — giving of our time, treasures, and talents to serve our fellow humans.
Will we ever be perfect at those things? No. But I believe in a God who became became human perfection for me. We have a God who offers unconditional forgiveness and still guides us to share our joy — our joy for the light. to do what we can in a short time to bring joy, to bring hope, and shine some light, however dim, into darkness.
If darkness is only the absence of light, then light cannot be overcome by darkness. Though it may be hard to believe in this dark world, light has come, and we can show our gratitude for the light by helping spread the light of hope into the darkness.
How do you, or how do you want to share hope and gratitude this holiday season?
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