Advent, Day 2
THEN THERE WAS DARKNESS
Darkness invaded, just as God knew it would. Adam and Eve, the king and queen of the humans, were deceived into launching a mutinous rebellion, a war that would define the rest of the human story. Pain quickly filled the world, and began to eat away at everything that was good. The humans multiplied and spread across the face of the land, but rather than life and flourishing spreading in their wake, they brought suffering and death everywhere they went. And God so loved the world that He felt all this pain as if it landed upon his own back, just as any loving father would feel the pain of his hurting children. But God was unwilling to release his children to the death they pursued. He was unwilling to blot them from his story.
Darkness grew and grew, and all hope was lost.
…except…
There was just one. little. dot · (of hope, that is)
You see, God gave one promise—one little ray of light that pointed like a laser toward a future hope that would come CRASHING into the story. God said that someday, a son would be born, and He would crush the very head of evil, even though it would cost him dearly.
And so, every day since that day, the regular human condition has become one of deep darkness pierced by the expectant search for this promised light from God. For generations, the earth continued sinking deeper into spiritual dusk, and the children of each generation looked around for the promised light. Those who loved God were few and far between, yet they yearned and surveyed the horizon. They studied and longed for the future. They squinted and strained to see the light that God would bring.
For thousands of years, God’s chosen people stumbled through a series of sagas that always unraveled back into blackness. They saw glimpses of God’s rescue, time and again, but still the war raged, and they were on the wrong side. Even when they attempted to make peace with God, their hearts kept betraying them, and they betrayed God in turn. They ran toward evil. They caused pain, and God felt that pain as his own, because they were his own. But no matter how dark things got, God wouldn’t let go of them.
SCRIPTURE READING
The Lord God said to the serpent, “Because you have done this, cursed are you above all livestock and above all beasts of the field; on your belly you shall go, and dust you shall eat all the days of your life. I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and her offspring; he shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise his heel.”
To the woman he said, I will surely multiply your pain in childbearing; in pain you shall bring forth children. Your desire shall be contrary to your husband, but he shall rule over you.”
And to Adam he said, “Because you have listened to the voice of your wife and have eaten of the tree of which I commanded you, ‘You shall not eat of it,’ cursed is the ground because of you;
in pain you shall eat of it all the days of your life; thorns and thistles it shall bring forth for you; and you shall eat the plants of the field. By the sweat of your face you shall eat bread, till you return to the ground, for out of it you were taken; for you are dust, and to dust you shall return.”
– Genesis 3:14-19
The Lord saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intention of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually… the earth was corrupt in God’s sight, and the earth was filled with violence. And God saw the earth, and behold, it was corrupt, for all flesh had corrupted their way on the earth.
– Genesis 6:5, 11-12
REFLECTION QUESTIONS
– Look back at Genesis 1:28. What were the marching orders of humanity?
– Look again at Genesis 3:14-19 (above)—how would God’s curses on humanity have made it difficult for humans to carry out our marching orders?
– Imagine the first humans for whom these promises would have been their whole Bible (because the rest had not been written yet). Read from their perspective. What lessons and hope might they have found in this passage?
– How can we continue to follow God’s marching orders today?
PRAYER
God, we have sinned against you. All of us have tried to rule instead of trusting your rule. We have tried to make ourselves king. And because of this we have hurt people—even people we say we love. We have been unkind to our siblings, to our friends, to our neighbors, and to strangers. We have hurt your creation and your creatures and you. Thank you for entering the darkness to find us. You have not abandoned us. Thank you for pulling us away from evil. Please change our hearts until they only love what is good. Amen.