The Various Shades of Light--Ephesians 5:8-14

"8 For once you were darkness, but now in the Lord you are light. Live as children of light--9 for the fruit of the light is found in all that is good and right and true. 10 Try to find out what is pleasing to the Lord. 11 Take no part in the unfruitful works of darkness, but instead expose them. 12 For it is shameful even to mention what such people do secretly, 13 but everything exposed by the light becomes visible, 14 for everything that becomes visible is light. Therefore it says,
'Sleeper, awake!
Rise from the dead,
and Christ will shine on you.'"

I. Introduction--Thinking About Light and Darkness

The earliest Christian literature, of which this Epistle is a part, uniformly characterized the new life in Christ as a kind of journey from sin to grace, from death to life, from darkness to light. "He has rescued us from the power of darkness and transferred us into the kingdom of his beloved son..." (Col. 1:13). Paul's experience of Christ, in which he saw a light on the road to Damascus (Acts 9), was so foundational for his understanding of faith that he could say, "For it is the God who said, 'Let light shine out of darkness,' who has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ" (II Cor. 4:6). "For once you were darkness, but now in the Lord you are light" (Eph. 5:8).

This description of the Christian life as a deliverance, rescue or enlightenment has been picked up in Christian hymnody. Perhaps one of the most beloved, well-known of hymns, "Amazing Grace," goes as follows:

"Amazing grace! How sweet the sound,
That saved a wretch like me.
I once was lost, but now am found,
Was blind but now I see."

Lost and found, blind but now seeing, bound but free, in darkness but now in light--all of these characterize our songs as well.

When you put together the Biblical language and hymnic affirmations, you have two strong reasons why this adversative or contrasting language ought to be constitutive of how disciples think of the Christian life today. After all, if the Scripture says that I waas delivered from darkness into light, and if the hymns that I sing say the same sort of thing, how can I frame my Christian life in a different way? Or, alternatively, why would I want to frame it any differently?

It was this kind of thought process that led me for years to think of my Christian life in these terms. Indeed, I memorized the language of this passage, gladly affirming the thought that I ought to take no part in the unfruitful works of darkness but rather affirm what is "good and right and true" (5:9). For several years I lived with this self-understanding, and for many years I felt no need to see the world differently. But in the last decade or so I have begun to read passages like this in a different way. Rather than simply accepting the notion that I am "in the light" and that I bring "light" to "dark situations," I have tried to develop a more nuanced understanding of the Christian life. That understanding arises from the following points.

II. The Shades of Light and Darkness

First, when I read the passage which exhorts me to "live as [a child] of light" (5:8), I also read, "Take no part in the unfruitful works of darkness, but instead expose them" (5:10). And I think, 'What are the unfruitful works of darkness' in my culture today, works that I need to 'expose' in order to live true to the Scripture? Then, I become confused. Is the celebrity culture of America in 2008 an "unfruitful work of darkness?" Is the materially-oriented mentality an "unfruitful work of darkness?" Is disproportion in wealth? Pornography? Abortion? Is partisan politics? Is saving the environment? How about global warming? Darfur? Problems in Pakistan? East Timor? How about how the county commissioners spend money or the state system of taxation works? So, my first 'problem' in trying to apply this passage to my life was in identifying what would be an unfruitful work of darkness--i.e., something that I can oppose.

Added to this difficulty is another. Once you have found some "unfruitful work of darkness" which it is our duty to "expose," how do you go about "exposing" it? Do you pray for its demise, join a political action committee, give money to get rid fo the problem? If people do things in secret that it is even shameful to mention, how are we to expose it?

Finally, I have found it to be true by personal experience, that zero percent of those who divide the world into light and darkness feel that they are living in darkness. That is, the only people interested in so dividing the world are those convinced that they are living in light and that their efforts to bring "light" to the world are good and noble efforts. But is this really true? I have found it to be true that those who think of themselves as acting on principle, who try to expose evil things are just as often driven by motivations that I would be chary to embrace.

III. Conclusion--Where Does This Leave Us?

Contrary to the tenor of today's passage, then, I find it more useful not to think of myself and my life as a witness to the light. Oh, there may be glimmers where a radiant glow bathes me, or where I feel I have special insight into something. But, in general, I think the best we can expect is where we try to examine our motivations, and then go for what we think is best for ourselves, our children, our community. Often if we think of ourselves as Children of the Light, exposing the works of darkness as we go, we will take on a kind of arrogant confidence that wil run over those who disagree with us. Most of our life, believe it or not, is groping down dark hallways. Sometimes light enters along our way and we are grateful for it. But I think that rather than characterizing our life as "former darkness" and now "bathed in light," I see it as shadows punctuated by light. That, my friends, is life in 2008.

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