LIGHT IN DARK PLACES

I have been thinking a lot about sin lately.  Yes, I know it is a loaded word that conjures up all sorts of churchy baggage and may turn some of you off from reading any further.  But “give me another word for it, you who are so good with words and at keeping things vague.”  (That’s a quote, by the way, from a Joan Baez song about Bob Dylan.)  Of all the alternatives my thesaurus and crossword dictionary offer, I find that the word “villainy” somehow resonates for me.  

Whatever word we might choose, it is hard to ignore the reality behind it.  I am thinking about the Russian invasion of Ukraine, for example, and, in particular, of whatever convoluted reasons and outright lies Putin might put forward to justify it.  I am heartsick as I read about more mass shootings – in Buffalo and Uvalde most recently as I write,  though there are Canadian examples as well – and of the minds twisted enough by racist propaganda and wingnut conspiracy theories to actually take a weapon into a store and a school and start shooting.  I think of the sexual exploitation of children, of the hidden stories behind lists of murdered and missing women and girls, of systemic abuse evident in the history of residential schools, of homophobia entrenched in our public institutions as well as in individual minds and hearts, of the perfidy of crime syndicates and drug cartels ….  Well, a postcard doesn’t provide much space to list very many examples from the headlines or the history books.  Feel free to add your own examples that make your mind reel and your heart sick.   I also know that I have my own secrets that haunt me, though – and I hope I am not trying to justify myself here – mine are not as dramatic and horrific as the big, public acts of sin I have mentioned.

I could try to get theological here and explore how sin and evil fit into a spiritual worldview.  I could try to do a psychological and sociological analysis of what it is that leads individuals and social systems to commit such heinous acts and inflict such suffering.  I shall attempt neither, both because I am not up to it and because it is not my point, though I think both are essential pursuits in their place. 

What I am thinking about in particular this month is how to speak of the primacy of divine love and the essential goodness at the heart of all creation in a way that is not Pollyanna fluff.  What holds me on the spiritual path is a deep conviction that love is the energy that holds the universe together, that goodness and love are part of the molecular structure of every entity in the universe and of the DNA of every living creature and organism on Earth and beyond, that even those who are capable of careless cruelty or calculated atrocity are essentially good at their core no matter how deeply that goodness is buried within them and how twisted has become their worldview and behaviour.  What leads me into ministry and even to write this postcard is my hope that love and goodness will prevail and that my scribblings might somehow contribute to that.  

What I am increasingly aware of is that we cannot speak of love and goodness with any credibility or integrity without looking unflinchingly at their shadows and then proclaiming – and living – goodness and love large enough to pierce the shadows with light, even if we put ourselves at risk in the process.  After all, I stake my life on one who did just that.

Pretty naïve, eh?  I wonder which way will ultimately prevail?

Peace to you

Ted Hicks