Walk In The Dark

When sifting through discarded magazines at the Sandwich Library, I came across an April issue of TIME Magazine.  The cover story was “Finding God in the Dark” by Elizabeth Dias who wrote about Barbara Brown Taylor.  Catching my attention was Taylor's claim: "A walk in the dark can lead to wisdom, deliver us from fear, and bring us closer to God." 

Taylor is a well-known preacher in the Episcopal Church.  In her own words provided in her book “Leaving Church,” she had a "lovers’ quarrel" with her faith that she lost.  She struggled to find God whom she thought at times was gone altogether.  She said, "I cannot say for sure when my reliable ideas about God began to slip away, but the big chest I used to keep them in is smaller than a shoebox now."

According to one reviewer of "Leaving Church:" "Taylor describes a rich spiritual journey in which God has given her more questions than answers.  As she becomes part of the flock instead of the shepherd, she describes her poignant and sincere struggle to regain her footing in the world without her defining collar.  Taylor's realization that this may in fact be God's surprising path for her leads her to a refreshing search to find Him in new places.  Leaving Church will remind even the most skeptical among us that life is about both disappointment and hope - and ultimately, renewal."

I’ve never read anything written by Taylor, but now I will, especially her latest.  In her new book, "Learning To Walk in the Dark," she says: "God and darkness have been friends for a long time.  It’s just one nighttime story after another – amazing."   She says we are taught to fear the dark as children and the Church correctly says, “Let there be light.”  But, Taylor stresses, "If we turn away from darkness on principle doing everything we can to avoid it because there is simply no telling what it contains, isn’t there a chance we are running away from God?"

Much of what she says is appealing.  Yes, darkness can be unsettling.   However, God is still present. 

Darkness is usually accompanied by complete silence, and that can be unsettling as well.  Still, that type of silence can calm the mind and make us more receptive to what God is saying – a voice not heard during hectic, noisy days.   

Two of her most insightful remarks are: “How do we develop the courage to walk in the dark if we are never asked to practice?” and “Sitting deep in the heart of Organ Cave, I let this sink in: new life starts in the dark.  Whether it is a seed in the ground, a baby in the womb, or Jesus in the tomb, it starts in the dark.”

Henceforth, it seems we should all try to find God in the dark.  Let there be darkness, if we dare.

Deacon David Pierce