Here we are, at the beginning of a new year. Three hundred sixty and a few days are ahead of us and a bucket full of questions. Is it going to be a new year or more or less the continuation of the old? Is it going to bring progress in the areas we desire or set us back? The end of a calendar year, artificial and random as it may be, always gives us a little bit of time to reflect on the past year, to revisit the shades of darkness and light that colored our days, to give thanks, to set goals perhaps or to dream. More people than not pray deep in their hearts that the things which they cannot influence, the circumstances which are beyond their control, may be favorable to them in this new set of twelve months. Some pray for things they can influence, that God may give them the strength to do what they know they have to do. Maybe those prayers are even more important.
At some point in late December or early January we hang up calendars that were given to us. There are people who have a whole pile of them. I received a calendar with Chinese proverbs from the restaurant where I occasionally eat lunch. My sister in-law gave me one as a Christmas gift depicting images from space taken with the Hubble telescope in California. For a few years my sister in Germany sent me calendars with pictures of my relatives, lest I forget them. The schools issue calendars with images of their students and school activities. I bet many of you receive at least one or two calendars from businesses that you deal with. And then you decide which one to hang up and where, while some of them end up probably in a recycling bin. What’s the purpose of those calendars besides keeping track of time and providing a little bit of PR for those who are giving them out for free?
The Queen of England, Elizabeth, delivered a broadcasted Christmas message in which she quoted the gospel of John and its most poignant and enduring statement of faith, no doubt in the context of the recent terror attacks in Europe. She reminded people in England of this sentence: “The light shines in the darkness and the darkness has not overcome it.” That, of course is and was from the beginning, a statement of faith. We live in a world in which we’re constantly worried that darkness might overcome the light, that terror and illness, crime and chaos, extremism and brutality might win the day. It’s an eternal struggle, but let us hold on to this word from the gospel of John, which has held true throughout the blood drenched history of the human race, as the queen rightly pointed out. I am convinced that it is also true for you and the very particular challenges you are facing at this moment: “The light shines in the darkness and the darkness has not overcome it.”
The calendars that we hang on our walls – or maybe download on I-pads these days – they provide us, among other things, with glimpses of that light that shines in the darkness. Have you ever seen a “dark” calendar with “dark” images of war and terror? It probably exists in some activist corners, but last time I checked, I did not see one at Barnes and Noble. Calendars typically show the light that shines in the darkness in so many different ways. The images from the Hubble telescope remind me of the vast universe and its magnificent constellations , all part of the same cosmos that John says was created in the beginning by God and his Word. The school pictures remind me that, despite the stresses and burdens related to the school year for children and parents alike, they, the schools, are for the most part doing a mighty good job educating our next generation. Nature calendars remind you of the beauty that exists in our world. Calendars are pretty much by definition prime witnesses of the fact that the light shines in the darkness and the darkness has not overcome it.” They show life from its victorious side.
The creation of a calendar has a lot to do with the eye of the photographer and the selection of images. I remember a few calendars from my childhood. I always loved spectacular nature scenes and recall one with winter photos of icicles in unique shapes, in surprising places, quite beautiful. There were a few calendars pretty enough that I cut out a picture or two because of the extraordinary photographs captured by the eye of an artist. Well, guess what: the creation of faith is a lot like the creation of good calendars. It has everything to do with the eye of the believer and the ability to capture the moment, to see the light shining in the darkness and hold it. What are the moments you would like to hold onto because it was a moment of extraordinary grace? Was it when you overcame strong adversity, a prolonged period of gloominess? Was it when you received wonderful news in your family? When you got a promotion at work or work period?
I have to say, the Christian faith is in fact a little bit different in the selection of its calendar moments. Remember, there was this guy who died on a cross? The Christian faith includes moments that did not feel so good at all, even when you look back from a distance. Why does our faith hold on to some of those darker images, exemplified in the cross? Why are crucifixes still around? To scare Catholic school children? (That’s probably part of it…) It is our core belief that God sticks with us through the darkest days, through suffering, even when we don’t feel a connection or a sense of hope, when everything is night, when we feel just like Jesus did, “My God, why have you forsaken me?” In God’s calendar that image of the forlorn person is included because that’s when God’s light is about to break through.
Here is a lovely anecdote from a Methodist church in Alabama. It comes from the Rev. Thomas Lane Butts who was visiting another church that morning. He writes: “The offering had been taken, the choir was singing their last song, and I was about to be introduced when an usher walked up the side isle and handed the pastor a note that had been put in the offering plate. The pastor read the note and passed it on to me. It read: ‘I have nothing to offer today but the hope for a better tomorrow.'” – Maybe it was the most valuable offering that morning. If it had been me receiving that note I would have been so glad that someone decided not to stay home because “I can’t put anything in the offering plate today…” or succumbing to shame but participating in worship and offering with the only thing he or she had to offer at the time: a darkness defying faith… I am sure it was a calendar moment for that pastor and congregation.
What if God kept a calendar in heaven for 2015? Silly thought, I know! But what if? What would have been God’s calendar moments? To determine its pages would be a nice exercise of spiritual imagination. But I like to think that on the front page of God’s calendar we read these words: “The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.”
Amen.