Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,
I will fear no evil, for you are with me;
your rod and your staff, they comfort me.
Psalms 23:4
Dear brothers and sisters in Christ Jesus
As we come to a close of the second day of the Three Day Lent which we take up in preparation of the Great Lent in expectation of the resurrection of our Lord and Master Jesus Christ on Pascha Sunday (commonly known as Easter Sunday), let us continue our meditation from the lessons taught by Prophet Jonah. Yesterday, (in the meditations of Day 1) I shared about the call of life which we all receive through our selection and baptism in our Lord. We understood how the first man disobeyed the voice of God, followed by Jonah and then how Jesus heeded the call of the Father in His life and called us to follow in His footsteps. In today’s session, I would like to share my thoughts on darkness and light in our life.
From the story of the Prophet Jonah, we all know that after he was thrown overboard from the ship sailing to Tarshish, he was swallowed by a giant fish and he spent 3 days and 3 nights in the belly of the fish, where he realized his fault and we have a whole chapter on his prayer to the Lord. We learn that after completing 3 full days in the stomach of the fish, the fish was commanded by God to vomit Jonah onto dry land and from there he went on to the city of Nineveh. We also learn that after prophesying to the citizens and its ruler, the people repented of their sins and God forgave them.
All over the world, everyone is afraid of something or the other, some have the fear of death; some have the fear of disease, sickness or poor health; some of losing their jobs, of loneliness, of uncertainty about their future and so on, but mankind from its early days were affected by its Nyctophobia, or its fear of darkness. Man was afraid of the darkness mainly due to the dangers from the animals which hunt in the night and also the lack of visibility around them due to the absence of light. Man’s fear of darkness led to the discovery of fire and its use in various forms and in the recent past led to the discovery of the bulb and from there to the tube-lights and the LEDs we have in our surroundings, so that there could be light in the darkness, to protect itself from the dangers of the night.
When we think about this darkness, and when we think about the condition of Jonah in the belly of the fish, it is unimaginable to be alive in the utmost darkness surrounding him, not only in the darkness of the belly of the fish but also in the darkness of the sea depths where the fish swam. We can rightly surmise that Jonah while inside the fish would have desired greatly to see a glimpse of light in his dark surroundings. When I think about his condition, I am led to recollect a poem written by Saint John Henry Newman, which is titled “Lead, Kindly Light”. The first stanza goes like this:
Lead, Kindly Light, amidst th’encircling gloom,
Lead Thou me on!
The night is dark, and I am far from home,
Lead Thou me on!
Keep Thou my feet; I do not ask to see
The distant scene; one step enough for me.
When we compare our life with the situation of Jonah, we are in the same darkness when we don’t have the light in our life, when we don’t know the true direction/purpose of our life or when we do are not aware of the incidents surrounding our life. But when we realize this situation, we too cry out in our plight to the Almighty God, to the Eternal Light to guide us in our steps. One of my favorite prayers is from the Psalms, and I know that this particular Psalm is a favorite for many of my beloved readers as well.
Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me.
Psalm 23:4
This prayer has been a source of great strength in my life in many stages. This is a prayer towards the Lord to guide us, even when the darkness surrounding our life might be as dark as a shadow of death and if our Lord is with us at that moment, the shadow will no longer be a threat to us in sickness, in pain, in moments of loss and distress, or in moments when we are facing temptations in life. Many times in our life, we break down because we find that we are alone in our physical and mental distress, but when we realize that the Lord is there with us to guide us, all our fears are overcome and we are able to stand upright in the midst of the storms battering our life.
When we look at Jonah while in the belly of the fish, he would have desired for the light of the Lord in his state of spiritual and physical darkness. A light to shine in the darkness surrounding him and a light in his heart to heed the call of God to preach among dangerous people. I am sure, we too in our daily life face this situation of darkness when we lose sight of God and his purpose in our life. When a prophet of God was able to fall into sin, how are we mere human beings, surrounded by all the sinful delights of the world, to stay strong in the presence of the Lord? Let us go back to what the Psalmist says:
The Lord is my light and my salvation—
whom shall I fear?
The Lord is the stronghold of my life—
of whom shall I be afraid?
Psalm 27:1
It is only when the Lord God is our light that we would be able to overcome our fears. In the instance of being surrounded by the darkness, we should call upon the Lord to be our guide and strength. I am forced to think about the Father of the Faithful, Abraham. When we learn about Abraham, we learn that Sarah and Abraham had faith in God and in His promise of a son. And after long years of waiting, when they were well past their child bearing age, they were blessed with a son. But more than that, it was his faith in God to provide for him when he was asked by God to sacrifice his son. Abraham was so trusting in God that he prepared the altar and lay down his son on the altar and raised the knife to offer his son as the sacrifice to God. That was the level of his trust and faith in God.
When we compare our life to Abraham while we walk the dark paths of our life, we need to learn from Abraham and emulate like him to trust in God to take care of our needs at the right moment. We also need to be courageous to call the same God as our light and salvation. We need to trust in the words of our God that He “has plans for us, plans to prosper and not to harm, plans to give hope and a future.” (Jeremiah 29:11). We need to keep the words of the Lord in our hearts always
Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.”
Joshua 1:9
When we compare our life with the life of the prophet Jonah, many a times we choose to stay in the darkness because we are afraid to call out to the Eternal Light of the world. But Jonah, even though he had disobeyed God and knew that he was being punished for not heeding the call of his life, he still seeks strength in the words of the Lord, for he knew that the ways of the Lord, even though unknown to him was for his benefit. He then calls to the Lord in the darkness and became ready for the mission in his life. The Merciful God on hearing the prayers of Jonah, made the fish vomit him onto the dry land.
Jonah then rose from the shore and went to the city of Nineveh, even though he knew that these people would be punished, preached to them about the warning from God. In our life, even when we know don’t know the certainty of our mission, we should take strength in the words of St. Paul to Philippians
I can do all things through Him who gives me strength.
Philippians 4:13
Dear brothers and sisters, as we come to a close of the second day of the Three day lent, let us learn from the life of Prophet Jonah who being in the deep darkness of the sea and fish, called out to the Light of the world, believing in Him and taking strength in His presence and went forth to fulfill the mission he was sent on. Let us overcome the darkness in our life with the strength from the Lord and proclaim His Good News to this sinful and dark world and help those around us floundering in the same. Let us strive to be the candles on the mountaintops and lighthouses on the seashores, helping the pilgrims from stumbling and the ships from wrecking on the hard stones of this world, with Jesus being the light on our wicks and lamps.
May the love of God the Father, fellowship of the Son Jesus Christ and the indwelling of the Holy Spirit, guide us in our dark life and fill us with the bright light.
Your brother in Christ Jesus
Jobin George
