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In the Beginning it is Always Dark
During
my Ash Wednesday sermon this past week, I connected the closing words of one of
my favorite Mary Oliver poems, The Summer Day, with the words of the prophet
Isaiah. “What will you do with your one wild and precious life?” the poet
inquires, while the prophet gives word to God’s depiction of us as the “repairers
of the breach, restorer of streets to live on”.
For
me, in juxtaposing these two texts, I wanted us to begin our Lenten observance
by framing our lives as a gift that is to be used for a purpose—God’s purpose.
God’s purpose of liberation. God’s purpose of reconciliation. God’s purpose of
restoration. And, in God’s purpose we become the means to an end—an end that is
a new beginning.
Lent
stands as a reminder that as Christians we are called to share in God’s purpose
and work towards the vision of wholeness established at creation.
And,
that is what I said, before I knew.
Before
I knew that our country had once again sacrificed children to the false god of
personal freedom. Personal freedom taken at the expense of God’s creation, at
the expense of God’s beloved children.
This is not the fast I choose
declaims the prophet Isaiah on behalf of God--
The
fast that God chooses is “to loose the bonds of injustice, to undo the thongs
of the yoke, to let the oppressed go free, and to break every yoke”.
And,
I wondered what I would have preached if I had known. What I would have said or
offered as words of comfort or hope…
And,
I am glad I didn’t know. Because there are times when I have nothing to offer.
Nothing to say in response to the brokenness, the sinfulness, the hurt and the
cruelty that is pursued by those who have forgotten, or never knew, the love of
the God who first loved us.
Which
brings me to the scripture we heard today. The aftermath of flood, a passing
mention of Jesus’ temptation in the desert.
The
scripture in which God declares, “never again” …and yet, here we are, once again.
And,
so as I consider these scripture, I find myself mired in the flood waters and
fully aware of the presence of evil all around.
When
I was in early elementary school my grade school showed the movie “The Never
Ending Story” on the last day of school before the winter break. The movie made
a huge impact and I remember weeping as I watched the hero Atreyu lose his
beloved horse Artax in the Swamp of Sadness.
I
recognize the feeling of despair I feel now, as kin to the feeling I felt then.
Which
is not to minimize the pain of the now—but to connect it to something outside
of myself, to connect it to the mythic so that I can look upon the now with
some hope.
Now,
I imagine most of you have not seen this film—so a quick re-cap. The protagonist
is on a quest to save the world of Fantasia from an evil force called “The
Nothing”. A force that seeks to devour everything in its path.
The
movie is filled with desperation and despair. And, then…
The
protagonist fails.
And,
The Nothing wins.
I
wept then, and I weep now.
And,
it makes me wonder…what kind of elementary school picks that movie for the last
day of school?!
However,
that said, that movie gave to me an understanding that there is hope even when
all seems lost. That there is hope even when we think we have failed. That
there is hope that, even at the end, there will be a new beginning.
Because, as the final stones of the empire of
Fantasia fall, the boy Bastian finds himself surrounded by darkness. He asks, “Why
is it so dark?”. She responds, “In the beginning it is always dark.”
It
is dark. And it is the beginning.
Both
are true—and ring true with our own Christian hope that it is not the end, unless
it is the beginning and that it is not the beginning unless it is the end.
Which
brings us to the last moments of the movie in which the child, Bastian, finds himself
holding a grain of sand--the last bit of the world that remains. And, from that
grain he discovers that he has the power to restore the land. He only needs a
grain and the ability to imagine into being the world anew…and with that he
becomes the repairer and restorer of the world entire.
Perhaps
I have found something to offer…because, this is where I want to pick up the
story of the ark today.
A
story in which the world has been destroyed and Noah and his efforts are akin
to that grain of sand. The small hope that will recreate the world. As Paul
describes it,
“God
waited patiently in the days of Noah, during the building of the ark, in which a
few, that is, eight persons, were saved through water.”
A
few, a few were enough.
Those
few had to be brave, those few had to endure tragedy and horror, those few had
to be resilient. But, they were enough.
But,
they were not enough alone.
God
and each other. These texts point to the centrality of God and the
interdependence out of which we begin anew. God’s new covenant of never again.
God’ declaration of belovedness.
It
is notable that Lent begins, not with images of destruction, but with images of
restoration.
And,
while evil is present, evil does not prevail.
And,
so today’s readings center themselves not on destruction but on a new creation.
These
passages center themselves upon our belovedness and not our brokenness.
Strength,
resilience, love and courage.
And,
as I consider these qualities in the face of evil. I consider today’s Gospel.
Jesus knew he was beloved. He knew who he was and to whom he belonged as the
beloved child of God. In his belovedness, Jesus could see evil for what it was
and reject it. In his belovedness, Jesus had the strength to withstand
temptation in the desert. In his belovedness, Jesus had the resilience to wake
up each day and face down evil once again. In his belovedness, Jesus had the
courage to step back into the world of men and humble himself unto the cross.
And,
it is in Jesus’ belovedness that we know our own belovedness. And so, as we
walk in our own deserts, I pray that we will live into our identity as the
beloved children of God. And, that in knowing this as our truth, we too will have the strength, resilience and courage to
show up in those places where evil dwells and stand fast to the love of God.
So,
when the darkness surrounds, stand fast and know that the answer to the
question, “Why is it so dark?” is “in the beginning it is always dark”.
Amen.
