April 10, 2019

by Susan Groseclose

Gift of Yet…

 

Habakkuk 3:2-19; Luke 18:31-34

 

“Yet, I will rejoice in the Lord, I will be joyful in God my Savior.”

 

To me there is something magical about waking up before dawn to watch a sunrise - whether it is sitting on the beach waiting for the rays of sunlight to bathe the horizon and to illuminate the white peaks of the ocean waves or, at Lake Junaluska watching the hidden light emerge among the mountain peaks and dance across the water or, driving in the blackness of the night sky and glimpsing the light of dawn slowly piercing through the darkness.

It is said that “it is the darkest before dawn.” What a true statement in all of God’s creation and in all of life. In the dreariness of unexpected illness or the gloom of unemployment or the obscurities of a broken relationship or the darkness of death or the piercing blackness of calamity and tragedy in life we find ourselves in the shadows and darkness of that experience. What once seemed joyful has turned to mourning. What once seemed full of life has turned into an uncertain future. The ancient monastics called these times in life the “dark night of the soul” as we struggle to redefine where God is in our midst and who we are. 

 

Today’s scripture points us to this “dark night of the soul” experience. Habakkuk’s prayer mourns all that the people of God have lost or fear to lose. Pestilence covers the land, earthquakes shatter and crumble the ground, torrents of water ravage the earth, and the day of calamity envelopes the people. There are no figs or grapes or olives. There are no sheep or cattle. In the Gospel of Luke, Jesus prepares the disciples for his death where he will be mocked, spit upon, flogged, and killed. In his final breath the earth will be covered in darkness. 

 

YET – a simple, powerful, three letter word becomes the turning point! Habakkuk’s mourning and anxiety turns into praise and joy. What could have been dirge has become a dance of triumph. As Easter people, we walk once again through the dark days of Holy Week yet live in the resurrection promise that Jesus will overcome the power of death. In our darkness, Jesus breaks through our shadows of gloom and despair, so that we experience the light of Christ in all circumstances of life. 

 

Prayer: God of light, in the darkness of our soul, open our hearts to yet again rejoice in the Lord and be joyful in God our Savior! 

 

 

 

 

  

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Lent photo by Kameleon007