Around this time of year I like to take what I call “dark walks.” What is a dark walk? It’s a walk outside with no flashlight or light on so that you can enjoy the experience of being completely immersed--swallowed up--in darkness.

But, you see, right there is the problem! Almost everywhere we turn--almost everywhere we live--as soon as the sun sets (which, these days, is still well before 5), artificial lights go on. There is almost no place left where true darkness can be experienced.

Fortunately for me I know of one place. About 130 miles north of here there’s a place near a lake where--especially this time of year--when the sun goes down it gets dark. Really dark.

It’s there where I can do my “dark walks.” Turning off all the outside lights, I venture outside--with no flashlight--and walk along a quiet and deserted roadway enjoying the increasingly rare experience of being completely and totally immersed--swallowed up--in darkness. A true “dark walk”!

Except, guess what? It isn’t so dark after all! After a couple of minutes, your eyes adjust to the dark, and you realize that--despite appearances--it really isn’t dark at all! Thousands of stars fill the sky. And, if the moon’s out, you realize that it’s bright enough to cast shadows on the ground!

Darkness isn’t as dark as it first seemed. It’s filled with light. But--and this is the point--darkness is filled with light that you can only see--that you can only see--if you first trust being in darkness. ...

We’re celebrating today as Epiphany, the twelfth day of Christmas. Epiphany is actually three days away--today is, in fact, the tenth day of Christmas--but I want to be sure that we get to celebrate this special day this year.

“God of grace and truth,” we prayed in this morning’s confession, “in Christ Jesus you have come among us as a light shining in the darkness. We confess,” however, we then said, “that we have not welcomed the light, and have not trusted the good news of great joy. Forgive us,” we prayed, “... so that we may live in the fullness of your love ...”

In fulfillment of that prayer, my hope today is that we will all take a sort of “dark walk” together. That is to say, my hope for today is that we walk away from all the artificial lights we use to disguise the darkness in our lives and, instead, do as Jesus did--and as Jesus calls us to do.

Don’t be afraid of the dark! Trust that, even in the midst of what first seems to be deep darkness, light will shine. “God of grace and truth, in Christ Jesus you have come among us as a light shining in the darkness. We confess, that we have not welcomed the light, and have not trusted the good news of great joy. Forgive us and renew our hope, so that we may live in the fullness of your love!”

The magi that we read about today, how did they find their way to Jesus? It wasn’t by flooding themselves with artificial light! No, the only way that they could find their way to Jesus was by venturing out into the dark until light--a star--emerged. It was this star--this light in the midst of darkness--that led them to Christ.

Contrast that with so-called “king” Herod! Herod was actually a Saddam Hussein-like figure who strong-armed his way into power and who remained in power by being a thug and a bully for the Romans who protected him.

He called himself “king of the Jews,” but that was artificial light at best. When he learned from the magi that a light--a star--shining in the midst of darkness had revealed that the true King of the Jews had just been born, Herod reacted violently. One paragraph further and our reading would have told us that Herod sent soldiers to Bethlehem to try and annihilate the true king of Jews. Every child near the age of Jesus was slaughtered to try and keep Herod in the artificial light of his reign of terror.

In that sense, then, Herod embodies the first part of this morning’s confession: “God of grace and truth, in Christ Jesus you have come among us as a light shining in the darkness. We confess, that we have not welcomed the light, and have not trusted the good news of great joy.”

How do we flood our world with artificial light? By pretending that everything’s fine! By refusing to look at--or even notice--the darkness all around us!

When someone is baptized we give them a candle and announce to them, “You are the light of the world; let your light so shine before others that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven.” If you notice, that candle is itself lit by the Christ candle. In other words, we get our light by sharing in the light of Christ! We’ve got work to do. We are to be light in the midst of darkness, but we can’t do that if we pretend there is no darkness around us!

How else do we flood our world with artificial light? We deny the darkness in life by over-medicating ourselves. We drink. We drug. We perpetually entertain ourselves in hopes of never seeing or never feeling the darkness around us.

We go on diets. We make lists of resolutions. We lie.
A Persian proverb says, “When it is dark enough, we can see the stars.” Think about that. “When it is dark enough, we can see the stars.”

The magi ventured into the dark, and so saw the star that led them to Christ. What darkness do you need to enter and so see the stars and find the light that is truly there?

When it is dark enough, you can see the stars. I’m not an especially brave person but, for the most part, I’m not afraid of the dark. Over the years I’ve learned that, if I trust, when I venture out into the dark, it’s never as dark as I first imagined it! Stars pop out of the skies and the moon is so astonishingly bright that it actually casts shadows on the ground!

How can you apply this truth to your spiritual life? When it is dark enough, you can see the stars. Many of us love the song, “I cast all my cares upon you. I lay all of my burdens down at your feet ...” How about spending some time--today--actually doing that? What are your cares? What are your burdens? Don’t deny them! Don’t avoid them! Accept them and, in so doing, give them to God!

Venture into the darkness, knowing that--there--you will find light. In Jesus’ name. Amen!