How bright are you?

"The people walking in darkness have seen a great light. Upon those who live in the land of the shadow of death, a light has dawned." --Isaiah 9:2

"In him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it." --John 1:4-5

Every Thursday evening, I drive downtown to my church for choir rehearsal. (It's grueling and wonderful, but that is probably another post.) My route takes me along the Shoreway, a curvy path that wends its way along the shore of Lake Erie.

It's still winter here, and at 6:30 at night-- it's getting good and dark. The lights on the skyscrapers are brilliant and busy, the scoreboards of the stadium delivering nonstop advertisement and promotion. The red and blue lights on the Detroit- Superior Bridge cast their soft colors against the urban landscape.

But Lake Erie-- now that's dark.

Tonight, the clouds were holding their breath, waiting, I suppose, for me to get safely to choir and inside before the rains came. (It is, after all, all about moi.) They hung, heavy and low, laden with water sucked up from the lake; and soon and very soon, that water would be spat out over the landscape again.

But wow, was it dark tonight. It almost felt as if a wall, a curtain had descended, shutting the lake off from the city. No lights out there-- at all. 

Well, that was what I thought at first.

But then, as I came along closer to downtown, I sneaked another look-- it's a curvy road-- and there was a single light . . . on . . . off . . . steady . . . in rhythm . . . deep in the darkness . . . breaking through . . .not overcome . . . .

Kinda cool, when you think about it. (Of course, driving a curvy road in the dark is probably not the best time to be thinking too deeply or trying to focus on a light . . . that comes . . . and goes . . . .)

But in its persistence, this little light-- a buoy, maybe-- just goes on doing what it was made to do, and persists-- even through the darkness and the wetness. And the darkness did not overcome it.

There is a Chinese proverb. I am certain you have heard it: It is better to light one candle that to sit and curse the darkness.

It is better to offer a single dollar, if that is all we can afford, to provide a meal for a hungry child than to wring our hands and lament the cost of poverty in the world.

It is better to go next door and meet the "new kid on the block" than complain about the way the neighborhood has changed.

It is better to muddle through an unfamiliar hymn, or attend that Sunday school class (even if I don't know a single person there) than to endlessly reminisce about the way the church used to be and how much better it was "back in the day."

Lord Jesus, shine on me, shine in me, and let my light so shine and my joy be so obvious, that all who see me, this day and every day, will want what I've got. May my candle be strong enough, grounded in Everlasting Light, that the darkness, no matter how dark, cannot overcome it. Amen.