Friday 16 July 2021

Psalm 22:19-31

Background

Darkness is an important and powerful motif in the Hebrew people's exodus from Egypt under the leadership of Moses. It starts at midnight, with God striking down all the firstborn children of Egypt, Pharaoh’s child included. Still in the night, Pharaoh summons Moses and finally, after 430 years of captivity, the Hebrew people are told to leave. There follows a frantic scene, the implication of which is that it is still dark, as the people scoop up their possessions, including bowls with unleavened bread and flee into the night. It is "a night of vigil, to bring them out of the land of Egypt" (v. 42).

As the story unfolds, going beyond today’s reading, God puts darkness between the Egyptians and the Israelites in the form of a pillar of cloud and fire (Exodus 14:19-20) thus helping the latter to escape. Moses then encounters Yahweh in "the thick darkness" at the top of Mount Sinai where he receives various laws and instructions which are to govern the Israelites in their keeping of the Covenant with God (Exodus 20:21).

In the Christian tradition we are conditioned to associate darkness with evil and all things negative, whilst light is what leads us towards freedom and life. Yet scripture is full of poetic and positive dark-related images offering a vision of God residing in the darkness, and of stories in which darkness is a channel of communication and liberation. Darkness can be a place of healing, restoration, life and liberation.

On the other hand – for all its delights – darkness takes on a very different identity when used as a weapon. Just as the Israelites used the cover of night to escape, so too did the darkness harbour death on a massive and tragic scale as the Egyptian firstborn were struck down. For many people across the world, darkness, in different ways, is still used to threaten, to instil fear and to dominate. It has the capacity to marginalise and oppress. Whether resulting from of a lack of consistent and reliable artificial light, or torture, or a lack of choice, prolonged enforced darkness can be terrifying, debasing, and death-inducing. Only if a person’s basic needs are met can it be possible to find the greater sensual riches of life. Only then can darkness be experienced as that place of new life, healing and regeneration in which God resides.      

To Ponder

• How do you feel about darkness?
• Can you think of places in the Bible, both Old and New Testament, where darkness is used positively, either as a metaphor, or as a device?
• To read about why I love darkness and how it can be a positive pathway to a divine encounter go to divineheartofdarkness.com