When Your World Falls Apart: The Unbreakable Light That Darkness Cannot Overcome
When Everything Goes Wrong
We have all had those moments—or perhaps those days, weeks, or even years—when it feels like everything is going wrong at once. It’s the feeling of being caught in a cascade of misfortune, where one problem tumbles into the next, leaving us overwhelmed and wondering how we can possibly move forward. The chaos can feel all-consuming, a darkness that seems to blot out any possibility of hope.
A pastor and seminary friend recently shared a story of a Christmas Eve that became what he called a "litany of absurdity." Yet, in the midst of this professional and personal unraveling, he didn't break. Instead, his experience at the altar that night revealed a profound and ancient truth—a truth about the resilient nature of light and the ultimate powerlessness of darkness.
The Cascade of Calamity and the Unbreakable Light
The pastor, who ministers in northern Pennsylvania, was preparing for one of the most significant services of the year. But his Christmas Eve began to fall apart piece by piece. First, the church boiler quit overnight, leaving the nave without heat. Then, the family coordinating the children's nativity pageant called to say they had all come down with the flu.
The bad news continued. A pillar of the parish, a beloved matriarch, had died unexpectedly. Just hours before the first service, he received messages that two servers had to cancel due to last-minute family plans. To cap it all off, a choir section leader stormed out just ten minutes before the service was set to begin.
Carrying the weight of a freezing church, a defunct pageant, a grieving congregation, missing servers, and a fractured choir, the pastor finally stood at the altar. It was at this moment, in the face of utter chaos, that he cracked a smile. Knowing him as a very dry man who would never guffaw, this was a smile not of amusement, but of profound recognition as he prayed a specific, ancient line.
The light shines in the darkness. And the darkness does not overcome it.
This single sentence, offered in the midst of his turmoil, provided a powerful shift in perspective. His disastrous Christmas Eve was not just a series of unfortunate events; it was a microcosm of a much larger, more enduring truth.
The Surprising Power of the "Last Gospel"
The scripture that brought the pastor such clarity is the opening of the Gospel of John, a passage known in Christian history as "the last gospel." This title has two significant origins. First, John's gospel was chronologically the last of the four to be written, likely between 90 and 110 CE. More importantly, however, is its traditional role in the Eucharist service.
Beginning in the Middle Ages, a tradition arose where the priest, after the final blessing, would move to the corner of the altar, kneel, and recite the first fourteen verses of John's gospel. These were the very last words the congregation would hear before re-entering the world. This passage was chosen to crown the service of thanksgiving and to fix in our minds all that we could know, all that we need to know about who God is. This God revealed in Jesus Christ.
Creation's Built-In Promise
This theme of light overcoming darkness is not just a theological concept; it is embedded in the very fabric of the natural world. God could have created the laws of nature, light, and darkness to behave any way he wanted. Yet God, in making our island home, intentionally created light to be in a dance with darkness. This choice established a built-in promise within creation itself. In our northern hemisphere, the calendar reflects this spiritual reality: the moment of greatest physical darkness—the deep winter around the solstice—is precisely when we celebrate the coming of "the light into the world."
The physical properties of light and dark offer a simple but powerful analogy. If you stand in a completely dark room, the space can still be illumined by just two small candles. This is because darkness has no power of its own; it is merely the absence of light and cannot overcome even a single spark. This physical law mirrors a spiritual one, echoed in the Psalms.
...darkness and weeping may spend the night, but joy comes in the morning.
The Enduring Truth
The central message of the Incarnation is that light shines in the darkness and the darkness cannot, does not, shall never overcome it. This is a truth that holds steady not just during a chaotic Christmas Eve, but in the face of life's most profound struggles. It applies whether we are looking back on a year of political upheaval and economic strain, or facing a personal health diagnosis, a job loss, or a broken relationship.
This truth, written into the natural world, the arc of our lives, and the bent of history, was true in a first-century stable and remains true today. It is a reminder that even when we feel engulfed by uncertainty or sorrow, the light is present and its nature is to endure.
In the midst of your own darkness, where can you see the light that will not be overcome?
