MEDITATION ON LIGHT AND DARKNESS

 

"In  the  beginning  God  created  the

heavens and the earth. The earth was
without form and void; and darkness
was on the face of the deep.   And the
Spirit of God was hovering   over   the
face   of   the   waters.    Then God   said,
‘Let there be light’; and there was light.
And   God   saw   the   light,    that it was
good; and God divided the light from
the darkness. God called the light Day,
and   the   darkness   He   called    Night.
So the evening and the morning werethe
first day." (Gen. 1:1 -5).

 

O Lord, You did not say, 'Let there be no darkness' but You said, 'Let there be light' and there was light, but the darkness remained and both existed together..

Why did You not put an end to the darkness since You
found that the light was good?  Why did You keep it?  Why
did You give it a name?  And why did You give it power as
You  said,  "But  this  is  your  hour,  and  the  power  of
darkness" !

 

Why did You not make all the times day and light being
Yourself the true Light, the unapproachable Light!   Why did
You allow the darkness to exist and be loved by people ' rather
than the light?   You could have abolished the darkness entirely
as if it had not come into existence or could have prevented its
existence... Yet, You let it be though it does not conform with
Your nature.  For what reason did You do that?

 

You let the tares and the wheat grow together until the
time of harvest when the tares would be burnt.. Does the
darkness also have time in which it will end?, at which time
the sons of light will live in the light which they were unable to
approach while they were in the darkness?   But is it not true
that the wicked will remain for ever in the outer darkness?
Then the outer darkness is also eternal! but certainly it is
outside the heavenly Jerusalem, far from God's children and a
deep pit separates them..

 

When did the darkness come into being?

 

"..darkness was on the face of the deep".   This was in the very beginning of creation, before God said, "Let there be light"!  Since when then?

 

When God was alone in eternity, there was no darkness because there was nothing at all.. God was alone.. and He is Light.. Then the darkness came into being?  When did this take place?, and how?, and for what reason?   Please God, give me an answer for I do not know...

Did darkness precede light in the process of creation?  What
is the relation between this and the theory of nebula?  No doubt light came first.. while darkness-as a physical phenomenon-
came into being as a result of the effect of the heat of the solar
system  on  the  face  of  the  deep..  Thus,  the  vast  waters
evaporated quickly and this formed a thick layer of mist which
veiled  the  light  of  the  nebula..  So,  there  was  darkness...
However I do not like to think in such a material way but I shall
meditate on the light in a spiritual way as I ought to do...

 

“..darkness was on the face of the deep".. This means that there was the deep. (ie. the waters), the earth and the darkness..

Neither  the  earth  nor  the  waters  knew  God..  was darkness ignorance concerning God?

The Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters
but the waters did not recognise Him; was that what the apostle
meant by saying, "And the light shines in the darkness, and the
darkness did not comprehend it" (John. 1:5)?   Then God said,
"Let there be light" and there was light.. Was that light” the
motive behind the beautiful verse which says, "The heavens
declare the glory of God; and the firmament shows His
handiwork." (Ps. 19:1) ?

Was that the first light that entered into the world?   But though it existed, the darkness did not end.. Why then was there darkness?  O  Lord,  I  do  want  to  know..  Please  let  me understand.. Enlighten my mind and my heart to grasp Your words which give life...

There are other lights as well.. The sun, the moon and the
stars are said to be lights..; the Lord said to His disciples, "You
are the light of the world", the Son (God Incarnate) is Light out of Light, He dwelt among us and we beheld His glory.. The Father whom no one has ever seen is then the unapproachable, Light.. Man's acceptance of God's action within him is called enlightenment.. Good in general is called light; righteousness, wisdom and knowledge are called lights as well..

In  the  beginning  God  created  the  light  as  a  physical
substance recognised by the senses... and God saw that the light
was good.. But this light was the inferior degree of light, for
there is another light which works in the living creation until it
finds the person who can, through the Spirit, attain God
Himself.. What is the nature of such light found in all kinds of
plants and animals?   How do they differ from the inanimate
creation and surpass it?   What is the relation of this creation
with God before and after the creation of man ? God is the
Light;  He  pours  from  His  light  upon  the  nature  to  be
illuminated, and upon the mind, the soul, the senses and the
spirit to have light.. But their light comes from the abundance of
His light not from the essence of His light.. The same can be
said concerning life.. God is the life..; He gave life to His
creation, but this life is from His abundance not from His
essence.. God is also an intellect and Spirit.., He gave man
intellect and spirit as a gift of His abundance not of His
essence... and so on..

But why did God see that the light was good?   That is because it conforms to His nature... God is the Light and no darkness is in Him.. nor does He exist in the darkness otherwise it will be light.. Moreover, those who submit to darkness, will be cast into the outer darkness which means, will be far from enjoying God's presence.. Now, I'd like to ask, since God has divided the light from the darkness, how did it enter into man?   How did it take a firm hold of him?   How did man come to love it rather than the light? I leave the answer to these questions and the like to the meditation of everyone of us..