Are You Afraid of the Dark?

As a child I had a hard time watching Are You Afraid of the Dark? by myself

Almost every week as a pre-teen, I would beg my mom to watch SNICK, which was a set of TV shows that came on Nickelodeon on Saturday evenings. Almost every week without fail I would attempt to muster up the courage to watch the final show in the programming block, a scary series based on telling ghost stories around the campfire. Almost every week I would not even make it through the introductory credits of Are You Afraid of the Dark? without having to run get my sister or my mom to watch it with me. I do not completely blame this TV show, but growing up when I did made it hard to be a fan of darkness.

Maybe you are a little different, but most often darkness gets lumped into the same category as coercion, sin, and evil. If you are going to do dirty deeds they are best done in the dark. When you live a life of sin you live in the darkness. Those who are evil align themselves with the dark one. Apart from a few movies that portray a dark knight character who stands as the just, good, and valiant protagonist I have a hard time finding positive examples of darkness. Especially in Holy Scripture we tend to equate darkness with evil.

Take for example today's Gospel lesson from Morning Prayer. In John's "Transfiguration" story, Jesus tells the crowds that he will be with them only a little longer before he is lifted up. Wondering how Jesus' description fits in with their understanding of the Messiah they ask a question, "Who is this Son of Man?" The Son of Man's response sounds very anti-darkness, "The light is with you for a little longer. Walk while you have the light, so that the darkness may not overtake you. If you walk in the darkness, you do not know where you are going. While you have the light, believe in the light, so that you may become children of light." Reading this passage with our light colored goggles makes it appear as though Jesus would have nothing to do with the dark.

I recently finished reading Barbara Brown Taylor's Learning to Walk in the Dark (Go buy it or check it out, as it is well worth the read!). In it Taylor describes her journey of "endarkenment" or learning to walk in the dark. She describes her strained relationship with the solar-focused version of Christianity with which the Church so often blinds newcomers and current members. After reading her journey into the dark, I found myself wondering about Scripture like this passage from John a little differently.

Christ Jesus is the light of the world, of that I am convinced. So that light is good and necessary for us to see and live our lives as followers of Christ. Yet, walking in the dark and not knowing where we are going only sounds like a bad thing. If you have ever had the pleasure of going on a night hike, or preferably a night run, you may know that it is not as bad or scary as Are You Afraid of the Dark? had me convinced the dark was as a child. 

In the dark, whether the actual night kind of darkness, or another type of darkness (spiritual, emotional, psychological, etc.) we use different types of senses. I tend to rely more on my senses of touch, smell, and hearing much more than during day time runs. In the darkness I am not so concerned with how I look or how I appear to others. Instead, I am allowed time to focus on my interior journey with God. What I sometimes notice in those dark moments is that the light I do have within me and within those that I have the privilege with which to walk is bright enough. 

We may not always have the full solar power of Christ blinding a path that appears washed out in the noontime sun, and this is just fine by me. Walking in the dark does not come naturally to us human beings. We do not have all the right sensors in our eyes. Yet, walking in the dark allows other senses to awaken, and this allows us to see the light burning within other children of the light. Do not worry about being afraid of the dark, but instead come see how beautiful God shines in the darkness.