Discovering God in the Dark

“Are you afraid of leaving your congregation alone in the dark with God?” I asked a pastor who simply could not understand why I would blow out all candles during a Longest Night Service. 
 
He’s not alone.  We tend to rush to bring light into darkness in the same way we rush to fill silence with sound.
 
Pastors, especially so. 
They feel the weight of proclaiming and reminding.  Wanting to make sure people know there is hope and “Jesus is the Light,” they constantly talk about hope, repeat Jesus’ name, and keep the lights on, candles burning.
 
Honestly, they’re just as afraid of the dark as most. 

As a Spiritual Director, I’ve had plenty of pastors on silent retreats and plenty who don’t want to come at all because silence is scary.  It seems unproductive and too revealing…which is more frightening?!  Given my years as a church staff member and years working with church staff members, both are equally so.  So much so, some never dare to come or they walk away from the discomfort never to return to a silent retreat.    
 
But discomfort is a doorway to deep transformation.  And pastors can be like helicopter parents trying to shield those in their charge from the awkward and uncomfortable feelings that come with silence and darkness. 
 
But, have you ever experienced God in silence? In darkness?  I have.  I’ve also watched and listened to stories of how others have experienced God in silence and darkness.  And guess what naturally arises?  Hope.  And guess where people discover the Light of Christ? Arising in their midst, even from within their very selves! 
 
After all, God is everywhere--within and without.
 
The Psalmist proclaims in Psalm 139:12, “Darkness and light are alike to You.”  Then he goes on to talk about God forming him in his mother’s womb (another place of darkness where God is present and at work).  No lights needed.  God is there.  And are we not born from our mother’s womb and continue in the womb of the God in whom we live, and move, and have our being?
 
Light and dark are part of every life and God is with us equally in both. 

Jesus taught that the Kingdom of God is in our midst, even within our very being (Luke 17:21).  So we do not have to be afraid of the dark, the inner light never goes out.  It just may take some time (& discomfort) to become aware of it.
 
14th century Persian poet, Hafiz of Shiraz, echoes this reality when saying, “I wish I could show you when you are lonely or in darkness the astonishing light of your own being.”
 
For some reason this scares us, so we look to pastors to talk to us about the Kingdom rather than experience it for ourselves.
 
However, when a pastor (or anyone!) dares to sit in the discomfort of darkness and silence, allowing uncomfortable feelings to emerge and giving themselves permission to rest from all the doing, they begin to radiate trust. 
 
This trust allows them to entrust those in their care to the discomfort of silence and darkness because they know God will meet each person in whatever way is needed.

Right before an overnight silent retreat a person came up to me after dinner and in all seriousness said, "I'm on the verge of a panic attack the closer we get to going into the silence, I don't know if I can do this."  I replied, "I can see why it's scary to you. Know there is a nurse here if needed.  And, you're free to leave, but I hope you'll give the silence a try."  The person stayed and now they sign up for almost every silent retreat!    

In befriending silence and darkness, the discovery is made that rather than be afraid of them, they in fact, can be a gift—an opportunity to be still and know that God is everywhere, in our mist, within our very being.     
 
A few weeks after talking to the one pastor, another emailed me and asked if her Presbyterian Church in North Carolina, could use my liturgy for their Longest Night Service.  Mine had been the first liturgy she had come across that included blowing out candles and letting people simply be with God in the dark.  She thought it would be powerful, especially this year, to let her congregation experience God’s presence in the darkness.
 
I could not help but smile.
 
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• As a spiritual practice, try sitting in the dark for an extended time on or around the Solstice, the literal longest night of the year (December 21st).  Become aware of the sounds, the feeling of the room, the feelings inside of you.  What invitations do you discover in the darkness?  How is God with you in the dark?     
• Join me for The Longest Night of the Year Service via Zoom as we journey through the darkness together through meditation, music, Scriptural laments, and wise words from the mystics and creatures who know what to do in darkness.