The Bright Darkness
This year, one of my Lenten practices is to read the book chosen by the Archbishop of Canterbury for the season. I attempted to do the same last year but found that I struggled to get on board with the author’s premise and so failed to complete the whole book (rather ironically since the title of the book is Failure). The book the Archbishop selected for this Lent is titled Tarry Awhile by Dr. Salina Stone and is offering reflections on the spiritual practice of tarrying and wisdom found in the Black church of different traditions.
Before getting to an unearthing of this particular spiritual practice, the author invites us to ponder the nature of darkness and whether the darkness is all bad or if perhaps darkness is more complex than perhaps the images of darkness lead us to believe. There is a need for us to reclaim darkness as a necessary part of life - spiritually and otherwise. It is in the darkness, as Dr. Stone reminds us in chapter 1, that God first exists and begins the work of creation. It is in darkness that Jesus prays as he waits in the garden. It is in darkness that plants are able to germinate from seed and begin their lives. Even human beings begin our lives in darkness: in the darkness of the womb we develop until it is time to be born into the light. The author concludes her chapter on darkness by reminding us, ““Darkness, on the other hand, is the exciting starting point of creation, as we have seen. It is like a stage curtain, keeping things hidden until the appropriate time. Darkness represents a place and time that is full of potential, expectation and anticipation. And in the darkness of Genesis, God is.”
In the Psalter, we read in Psalm 139, “Darkness is not dark to you; the night is as bright as the day; *darkness and light to you are both alike.” (BCP, p. 794) In the season of Lent, we are being invited to tarry, to sit with Jesus for a while in the garden and to pray for an encounter with the divine in and through this very season. We are reminded that darkness is not something to be avoided at all costs but is part and parcel of our lives, and we are reminded that darkness can be a place in which we are invited to sit, to wait, to hope, and to know that in the darkness, as Dr. Stone so helpfully reminds us, God is.
Questions for Reflection:
How do you experience the season of Lent? How would you describe the season in your own words?
What practices have you taken on for the Lenten season? How is your Lenten practice going?
What does it mean for us to reclaim images of darkness for the mission and ministry of the church?
