So, here we are at the last sermon of 2015. I wonder
if you, like me, have been thinking about all the things that have happened in
2015? I know that I came into 2015 very hopeful; 2014 had been a difficult year
for a number of reasons and I was very thankful to be saying goodbye to it.
Unfortunately, 2015 feels like it’s been one of those years that’s been 2 years
worth rolled into one! At the end of January this year, my mother-in-law broke
her hip; a week later she broke her other hip… suddenly it seemed that 2015
wasn’t going to be the reprieve we had hoped for. But let’s not make this about
me. What’s gone on in the world?
I am a creature of habit, and one of my particular
habits is reviewing the news on CNN in the mornings. I like to think that it’s
my way of staying abreast of current affairs. 2015 has also been a year full of
struggles and depressing news stories. We can look back at the events around
the world. Some of these events that
have had an abiding influence on me have included the Charlie Hebdo attack in
Paris; the death of Freddie Gray and Sandra Bland; the Charleston shooting of
Rev. Clementa Pinckney and the 8 others that were with him in a Bible study; and
the Syrian refugee crisis, which had us questioning appropriate ways to respond
to those in need.
It’s not just the events of the year that have an
impact on us. It’s also how we talk about the events. I have to say that I’ve been
particularly disheartened by this, this year. People who should know better,
have used the opportunities that they have, or the platform that they have, to
be divisive and hateful in the way they speak.
“The light shines in the darkness, and
the darkness did not overcome it.”
Okay, that’s a good reminder. Over the times I’ve spoken in front of you, I’ve
been pretty open with you all about the fact that I am someone who has
struggled with depression and anxiety for a lot of my life. I have to be really
careful because I can get very easily overwhelmed when I’m reading the news or
paying attention to the way things are being spoken about, because I can get
very easily caught up in how dark it is around me.
“The light shines in the darkness, and
the darkness did not overcome it.”
And it’s also good to be reminded that what we focus
on can very quickly become what we notice most. When we focus on the dark
things that are going on, when we pay attention to the predominantly negative
messages that are being loudly trumpeted from political campaigns, it’s very
easy to get depressed and to lose hope. So, it’s very good to be reminded that:
“The light shines in the darkness, and
the darkness did not overcome it.”
It is a really good thing; it can help us keep our
perspective when we feel lost or despairing.
So let’s review some of those events. In my personal
life, yes, my mother-in-law started the year by breaking both her hips. But on
Christmas day, Linda and I were able to eat a wonderful buffet lunch with her,
and enjoyed hearing her laughter at the table.
She’s had an incredibly difficult year, but she has survived it with
grace and dignity.
And what of those world events?
·
The Charlie
Hebdo attack in Paris led to a “Je suis Charlie”
movement. People everywhere said, “I’m not going to let these terrorists get
the better of us.”
·
Black Lives
Matter became further defined and understood this year; people got to know why
it was not sufficient to say “all lives matter.” It’s an acknowledgment that
for too long, black people have been considered an underclass. We are all human
beings who deserve dignity and worth, no exceptions.
·
The Charleston
shooting of Rev. Clementa Pinckney led to questions being asked about the
confederate flag and its removal from the South Carolina State house.
·
Where are we
with the refugee situation? Well, we just celebrated a holiday about a refugee
couple, so poor that they couldn’t afford lodging, but in view of the health of
the pregnant woman, they got temporary accommodations in a stable. And that
should be the story we all think about in reference to refugees.
“The light shines in the darkness, and
the darkness did not overcome it.”
Where are we going to put our focus as this New Year
comes in?
I know for me, I am planning to pay a little more
attention to when I get overwhelmed with the negativity around me. I hope to
pay less attention to those messages (maybe turn off CNN, or the debate, or
Facebook, if necessary) and focus more on hopeful messages. And I need to do
this for my own mental health. It’s important that I tune into the things that
will help me to be effective and healthy in the New Year; otherwise, I may end
up drowning in despair.
It’s about making healthy choices. I’m not a big one
for New Year’s resolutions – they’ve always felt like self-defeating
statements… eat less, exercise more (YEAH, RIGHT!). Last year, I made one
‘resolution’ if you can call it that. It was to ‘drink more water.’ It worked,
I did manage to drink more water, and I found that it helped me be healthier than
I had been in the year before. I even got
to the point where I started to like the taste of water! It’s important that if
we are to be healthy, we need to replenish the resources of our body and, as
our body is 65% water, that maybe a good place to start.
Christiane Amanpour recently interviewed Sarah
Silverman, the Jewish stand-up comedian, for CNN, in regards to her movie “I
Smile Back.” Silverman’s character in the movie (which I haven’t seen, so I
can’t recommend) is battling with depression and substance abuse issues. In the
interview, Silverman says, “Darkness cannot exist in the light, and when you
put light on things it changes what they are.” She later went on to use the Mr.
Rogers idea that “if it’s mentionable, it’s manageable.” When I mention my
struggles with depression, maybe it helps one other person realize that they
can get help, too.
You born-and-raised Americans might be more familiar
with this quote but I had to look it up. What Mr. Rogers said was, “Anything that’s human is mentionable, and anything that
is mentionable can be more manageable. When we can talk about our feelings,
they become less overwhelming, less upsetting, and less scary. The people we
trust with that important talk can help us know that we are not alone.”
So the darkness in the world doesn’t
get to win. I don’t exactly know how that is possible, but I know that the
message of John 1 is that “The light shines in the darkness and the darkness
did not overcome it.”
Different versions of this verse have
put it this way: Darkness can never
extinguish it, Darkness did not comprehend it, Darkness has never put it out, Darkness
has not mastered it, didn’t overtake it, has not overpowered it. Or, in my book:
Darkness doesn’t get to win. To me that is very hopeful.
So, what message do we take from this? Well there’s
one other verse from this morning’s reading that I want to draw your attention
to:
“And the Word became flesh and lived
among us, and we have seen his glory, the glory as of a father’s only son, FULL
OF GRACE AND TRUTH.”
Jesus came (as a vulnerable human being, a baby born
in a manger) and was/is full of Grace AND Truth. Please note that the GRACE
comes first because we can’t handle the truth without grace.
God is fully cognizant that I, as a frail human
being, am prone to getting overwhelmed with the darkness, and comes to me to
remind me that the darkness doesn’t win. Francis of Assisi said, “All of the
darkness in the world cannot extinguish the light of a single candle.”
These are words that give us hope.
Finally, I don’t know whether you’ve ever noticed
this, but I am English by birth. One of the English traditions is the Queen’s
Speech, which happens every year on Christmas Day at 3pm. This year, the Queen
(or mummy as I like to call her) used the idea of ‘moments of darkness’ in her
speech – quoting the John 1 passage that we read today. Pointing to the hope
that is an essential part of this gospel message.
So how do we ensure that we don’t let the darkness
overwhelm us? We commit to love one another – an activity which brings light. And,
as Eleanor Roosevelt once said, “It is better to light a candle that to curse
the darkness.”
Sometimes we need to remind one another about the
light that is within us and express hope to one another through that reminder.
We don’t have to try to be bigger than we are; we
just have to stand with our little light. And light attracts other light, and
pretty soon we have a community of light.
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