Friday, December 3, 2021
Because of God’s tender mercy, the morning light from heaven is about
to break upon us, to give light to those who sit in darkness and in
the shadow of death, and to guide us to the path of peace.” Luke 1:78-79
Each morning I sit in darkness in the wee hours before dawn’s first
light. There’s a lamp at my desk, and I’m
typing words about how God’s light dispels darkness. This is the beginning of my day, writing
about the Daystar, the one John the Baptist’s mother said would break
upon us. When the light
breaks things become much clearer.
Each year, at the beginning of the Christian Year cycle, this text bids
us to turn to the light and be guided through the darkness that surrounds us. Sin, the source of all anger, violence,
injustice, and other callous attitudes we humans can fling around, is the darkness
of our souls. And, just as we cannot escape
the rising and setting of the sun, no human is exempt from the touch of
darkness. We all walk through the valley
of the shadow of sin’s death. We all
participate in adding to the darkness, and we all groan in waiting for the
light to dawn. It is as if we cannot
wait for the darkness in our souls to produce death, the door to light.
A reflection of that valley (and the pathway of light that guides us through
it) has become my traveling companion of late.
A few months ago I was told my heart is not performing well. Since that time more test results have given
me more information than I ever wanted to hear.
And it makes you think…deeply. When
I was attending Duke Divinity School to learn how to be a Methodist, I would
walk past many doors in hallways on the path to daily chapel services. One of those doors nearest the chapel was the
Department of End-of-Life Studies. In retrospect, I could swear there were cobwebs
on the door hinges to that room. None of
the student-preachers wanted to be chaplains in death’s waiting room. We wanted to point to eternal life, happiness
of soul, and God’s love, not death.
Of late, the theoretical garment of the end-of-life’s journey has begun
to unravel; in its’ stead is the haunting specter of Russell putting-on the practical
shroud. It’s haunting because it’s
inevitable. As I recently said to one of
my loved ones, none of us gets off this planet alive! A few notable exceptions are Elijah and
Enoch; God took them home without tasting the transition we call death.
Without getting too maudlin on a Friday, let me say that I’m not
totally preoccupied with the idea of death; being 74 years old I’ve had a lot
of time to think about it up to this point…not to mention the truckload of
funerals and hospital room conversations ministry has visited upon me. I am, as Jesus was, well-acquainted
with sorrows and grief[1].
What I am preoccupied with is finishing
well. I want to walk through
that valley with wonder, amazement, faith, and an abiding sense of
well-being. I want to do what I’ve been
preaching for forty years; I want to trust all to He Who judges justly[2]
and who is also merciful for the sake of His Son, Jesus Christ.
I want for my life – whatever legacy that might be to my family,
friends, and whomever God may choose – to offer hope in Christ and no
other. I want to experience what the Apostle
Paul told the Philippian believers he craved above all, the
fellowship of His sufferings, and the power of His resurrection!
For You Today
The Psalmist has the last word today; He knew what
finishing well looks like on that final journey:
The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. He maketh me to lie down in green
pastures: he leadeth me beside the still waters. He restoreth my soul: he leadeth me in
the paths of righteousness for his name's sake. Yea, though I walk through the valley of
the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy
staff they comfort me. Thou
preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies: thou anointest my
head with oil; my cup runneth over. Surely goodness and mercy shall follow
me all the days of my life: and I will dwell in the house of the Lord for
ever. Psalm 23:1-6
[1] Title and Other Images: Pixabay.com Unless noted, Scripture quoted from The New Living Translation©
For another post on this text see Zechariah's Song
