“In Him was life, and the life was the light of men. And the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it. – John 1:4-5
Beloved brothers and sisters in the Lord,
My family and I live near the top of a hill in Castro Valley, and because of our proximity to the trees, have seen occasional power outages earlier this year. When this occurs, we use the few flashlights and candles we have around the house in order to see. Even the tiniest bit of light can make a world of difference between seeing and stumbling, for light cuts through even the deepest black.
Similarly, our church has now reopened, albeit in a limited capacity, and provides a ray of light through the darkness of isolation. Glory to God! Between outages, pandemics, and other such events, we can safely say that 2020 has certainly been an eventful year!
I read an author recently who said that “no amount of darkness in the world can suppress the light of a candle.” We take this to heart as Orthodox Christians because we know the role of our Lord is the same – to shine through the darkness. Each year we read at Pascha the words of St. John the Theologian about the darkness not comprehending the light. This powerful image of shining through darkness, effectively eliminating its power over us, is a mere glimpse of the power of God at work in the world. The Lord provides us with rays of hope, which shine through the dark patches we must walk through at times in life. This light is always available to us, we need to merely take hold of it, like a candle in darkness, and let it lead us through.
The theme for this month, “silver linings,” is a beautiful theme which evokes the same feelings in us of the light shining in darkness. Let us remember that hope truly springs eternal in Jesus Christ, and whatever darkness we face in our lives can not “comprehend it.”
I look forward to seeing you once again in church in the weeks and months to come.
Much love, and God bless!
With love in Christ,
Father Niko Bekris
