Walk in the Light
If we walk in the light as [Jesus] himself is in the light, we have fellowship with one another. – 1 John 1:7 (NRSV)
How often do you make a decision about which side of the street or path to walk on? If it is cold, you choose the sunny side. If warm, you might prefer shade.
Likewise we make decisions about whether to be optimistic or pessimistic. Sometimes we also enjoy the freedom of choice about hope and despair as well. These days, a lot of people wring their hands. They moan and groan. “Things are getting worse. I’m not watching the news anymore.”
Might there be another way to walk in the light?
Let me suggest three. One is to assert that things are not getting worse. That phrase is too broad; some things are getting worse and some are getting better. A second is to assert that things are getting “uncovered,” as Adrienne Maree Brown puts it; we are learning some things about ourselves and each other that we hadn’t recognized before. As we learn, we have the opportunity to live in new ways.
Third is to question: why does walking in the light sound so heroic and pious and goody two-shoes? I appreciate the people who are non-heroic and still walk in the light.
A woman I know grew up during the Khmer Rouge period in Cambodia. Her mother always told her that she was eating just rice at 3 a.m. but she knew there was egg on it. She also knew that her mother had risked a lot to steal that egg.
Prayer
What things are really dark, let us then walk humbly and surely in the light.
About the AuthorDonna Schaper is Interim Minister at the United Congregational Church of Little Compton. Her latest book is Remove the Pews.