“Anguish has taken wing, dispelled is darkness: for there is no gloom where but now there was distress.” – Isaiah 9:1
Imagine you walk into a completely dark room. You turn on the light, and the darkness is gone. Where does it go? Darkness doesn’t go anywhere, because it is not a thing. Darkness is a lack of light. The darkness is dispelled by the light. Wherever the light is, darkness cannot exist. Our Sunday readings this week focus on the promise of Jesus coming as the “light of the world” (John 8:12). Especially this repeated verse: “the people who sit in darkness have seen a great light, on those dwelling in a land overshadowed by death light has arisen” (Isaiah 9:1 and Matthew 4:16).
If Jesus is light, then darkness cannot exist in His presence: “…the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it” (John 1:5). How is it then that sometimes we who have faith in Christ also sometimes experience hopelessness? Feeling a lack of hope in a certain situation, such as a relationship, an illness, or other time of trial can be an invitation from God to place our hope in Him to guide us.
When we’re dwelling in the land of gloom, we need God’s great light to shine on us. In our first reading, why did the people who once walked in darkness rejoice? Isaiah tells us: “For a child is born to us, a son is given to us” (Isaiah 9:5). Jesus is present in every moment of our lives, especially when we need Him most. When we’re in dark and seemingly hopeless situations, we can pray for Christ’s light to bring us consolation and hope. It can be all too easy to give up in the middle of difficult situations by sitting in the darkness. Instead, we can strive to respond to God’s invitation to grow in hope by placing our trust in His promises and rely on His strength and grace (see CCC 1817).
“Hope is the theological virtue by which we desire the kingdom of heaven and eternal life as our happiness, placing our trust in Christ’s promises and relying not on our own strength, but on the help of the grace of the Holy Spirit.” (CCC 1817)
I am personally experiencing this invitation from God to grow in hope in a time of trial and darkness. Some ways I’m seeking the light of Christ is by focusing on the good in the situation and finding something small to be thankful for each day, like lighting a little candle in the darkness. There’s a poem I’ve been reading by Emily Dickinson, “Hope is the thing with feathers.” I’m also praying for God to bless me with the grace of hope whenever I feel the darkness closing in on me: “Jesus, I trust in You,” or “Jesus, be my light.”
Jesus, I know it’s only human to respond to trials with sadness, but please help me never to lose hope and trust in Your goodness and providence. Sustain me in Your grace and bring me Your light when I sit in gloom.