Made for Darkness

Wait. What? Made for darkness?

NOTE: Today’s article is directed more toward those identifying with the term ‘Christian’. At the same time, relevance applies to nearly all readers. 

On my mind today is an easily recognized prayer, commonly known as “The Lord’s Prayer’, or perhaps, the “Our Father’.

Most of us have said this prayer so frequently that we often daydream as the words slide alongside our consciousness. It’s finished well before we even hear the first syllables spoken. Personally, I find that my typical, rapid-fire, staccato-like recitation prevents me from the desired connection with “Our Father”. I am required to go back and repeat the words, sometimes more than once. 

Music helps. Listening to this prayer as it is sung slows everything down. Notes and lyrics override distractions. The text comes alive. Try this for yourself. Say the prayer and then open the link and listen. 

Andrea Bocelli sings the angelic Lord’s Prayer as Pope Francis watches

As he performed “Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven,” I paused the recording. My hands, without conscious input, reached up on their own, doing their best to bring heaven to earth. Yeah. I was surprised too.

I discovered two ways to think about this phrase. 

1. In one case, we are asking God to bring His kingdom to earth. God’s will? It will be done. So maybe we say, “Hey God, make things here look just like heaven! Thanks, by the way.” In typical human fashion, we want God to do all the work.
2. But another way of looking at this offers a different perspective. We are asking God to help us do the work by following His guidance. Our actions and words can then become a flaming candle lighting the way for the entire world. “For God is working in you, giving you the desire and the power to do what pleases him.” Philippians 2:13

Landing in my inbox recently, this image from John Pavlovitz is a bit in-your-face, but that creates a stop-and-think urgency for my writing habit. 

We are to avoid despair and to be a light for others. Let’s examine this concept a little deeper. 

Early Christians lived a difficult life. Their actions were socially unique in the years following Jesus. Contrary to established conduct and rule, these people,

• Shared resources with the poor and marginalized, regardless of race, religion, or social status.
• Opposed infanticide and abandonment, saving and adopting unwanted infants. 
• Rejected the prevailing Roman social norms of multiple partners and temple prostitution, advocating for chastity and fidelity. 
• Refused to pay homage to other gods or participate in state-sponsored pagan worship. 
• Showed kindness to one another and to non-Christians in a world often dominated by cruelty and power. 
• Cared for the sick, both fellow believers and outsiders, risking infection and death during devastating plagues.
• Practiced extreme generosity and non-violence.

Without formal churches or even a Bible, these actions were commonplace for the members of “The Way” as they modeled the life of Jesus in all they did. Persecution and sometimes death were their earthly rewards. And yet, the movement continued to grow. 

You’ve heard this all before. But the connection being made here is simple. 

When times were darkest, early Christians were the light. 

"Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that." Martin Luther King, Jr. 

These two simple sentences instruct us well.

• Immoral methods cannot achieve moral results. 
• “I don’t want to get involved” is not an effective solution to the world’s injustice. 
• Violence and force might change behaviors, but only love changes hearts.

Statistics tell us that in the US, the decades-long trend has been down and to the right for those identifying as Christian. I’ll leave you to find the reasons for yourself. 

I have my opinions, and here is just one of them. Like that two-by-four jolt of ‘duh’, I discovered a sad truth when Covid 19 slammed into us. 

• We squandered an opportunity to be the light of Jesus during this recent pandemic. 
• We chose instead to stay in the dark as we lobbied for our ‘rights’. 
• We obsessed over our right to be free of mandated masks.
• We argued over quarantine rules because we, of course, had the right to gather in large open spaces, even knowing that this deadly airborne infection could spread to our family, friends, and neighbors. Shopping and even the Sunday church service were considered more important.
• Forgoing the acts of spiritual ancestors who cared for the safety and health of neighbors during the plagues of 165-180 CE and 250-270 CE, we insisted that nobody could tell us what to do. Instead of helping our neighbor, we chose our rights over their safety and well-being.

I have come to name things like this as “ME > WE.” To me, this seems to be the polar opposite of what it means to be "Christian". In the broader aspect, it also seems opposed to how we should function as individuals in a free society.

However, even knowing human propensities, I have hope. There is a way to relight the flame of justice and love. And it’s not only for Christians. Nearly all world religions promote values such as charity, compassion, gratitude, and selflessness. Leo Tolstoy reminds us, “Society can only be improved by self-sacrifice.” His words sound a lot like love.

My hope rides on the wings of goodness and kindness. The winds come from empathy, compassion, mercy, and justice. It goes against all I believe to think that we, as ethical and moral human beings, would reject goodness and kindness for a life concerned only with self-interest. I don’t remember that being on any list of moral values, but I can’t help noticing that today’s world treats it as such.

The road of hope will be difficult. There is a movement to discredit empathy and compassion, along with the belief that justice is for the few and oppression for the rest. I see memes that mention the “Sin of Empathy.” I see quotes that call empathy a “new age term” having no relevance in society. Some go so far as to categorize “understanding and sharing the feelings of another” (empathy defined) as a weaponized weakness of society.

Every time we read that Jesus offered miraculous healing, He acted “sympathically with concern for the sufferings of others." (Compassion defined)

Well, hope requires action to live. This difficult road needs a starting point. I’ve heard this simple discipline on several occasions.

Pray for every person you see.

Yes. That’s it. Six words. You may begin.

You’re hesitating. Well, even though this is already a long article, let me tell you what happens when you incorporate these six words into your daily life.

1. We must realize that “Every person” means every person, no exception. Praying for some will be easy. Most will never know we prayed for/about them. Of course, being honest, we might have to pray first for the ability to pray at all for some of them. (This is how we start loving enemies, by the way.)
2. Each prayer will place us in a vulnerable position as we note our attitude changes. 
3. We will begin to see that people are well, just like us.
4. We will begin to see that each has their own struggles, just like us.
5. We will begin to notice that many of those struggles are the same. 
6. We will discover that some struggles are unique to others.
7. This discovery will lead to questions. How did this happen? When? Why? What can I do about it?
8. Our prayers for them will begin to ask that they find the grace to get through their tribulations.
9. And then, we will discover something else. The distribution of that grace comes through you and me.
10. A common mantra comes to mind. “Sometimes you might be the only bible someone reads today.” That can start with a simple smile.

I imagine a world where we continually pray for each other. With each prayer, we are pulling on a string. Eventually, we become a community of hand-over-hand, string-pullers of such numbers that one simple string becomes an unbreakable Howser rope pulling heaven to earth. 

As we witness today's darkness, we are called to stand together in prayer. This darkness is why we are here. We are made to dispel it.  Each time we contribute to its disintegration, heaven comes closer.

If you say any prayers for me, please start with this one. "Dear God. As we pray for the peace of all people, please help Mike with his efforts, beginning with finding a way to make his articles shorter. Really, a LOT shorter. Amen." 

Spell Greed

This poem is often about grief. It is sometimes repeated with stories at funerals, airports, or when saying permanent goodbyes. We read, contemplate, and occasionally we cry. We promise to use ‘enough’ as a prayer for peace and contentment. We look to recognize all we have been given. We want to appreciate “enough” in every area of our lives. We want the same for every person that matters to us.

“I wish you enough sun to keep your attitude bright, no matter how gray the day may appear.
I wish you enough rain to appreciate the sun even more.
I wish you enough happiness to keep your spirit alive and everlasting.
I wish you enough pain so that even the smallest of joys in life may appear bigger.
I wish you enough gain to satisfy your wanting.
I wish you enough loss to appreciate all that you possess.
I wish you enough hellos to get you through the final goodbye.” 
Bob Perks (1950-2023)