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Light for your Darkness
WELCOME TO TODAY'S WORSHIP SERVICE
January 10, 2009
Light for Your Darkness
Theme for 2009: The Spiritual Journey
Topic for Jan/Feb: Stage I: Creation. Light comes to darkness.
Movie of the Month[s]: Regarding Henry
Topic for Jan/Feb: Stage I: Creation. Light comes to darkness.
Movie of the Month[s]: Regarding Henry
Open your Bible
Light a candle
OPENING SONG:
"I Saw the Light"
Johnny Cash
READINGS
From the Bible:
John 1
The Word Became Flesh
1In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2He was with God in the beginning.
3Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. 4In him was life, and that life was the light of men. 5The light shines in the darkness, but the darkness has not understood[a] it.
6There came a man who was sent from God; his name was John. 7He came as a witness to testify concerning that light, so that through him all men might believe. 8He himself was not the light; he came only as a witness to the light. 9The true light that gives light to every man was coming into the world.[b]
Genesis 1 (New International Version)
Genesis 1
The Beginning
1 In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.
2 Now the earth was [a] formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters.
3 And God said, "Let there be light," and there was light. 4 God saw that the light was good, and He separated the light from the darkness. 5 God called the light "day," and the darkness he called "night." And there was evening, and there was morning—the first day.
6 And God said, "Let there be an expanse between the waters to separate water from water." 7 So God made the expanse and separated the water under the expanse from the water above it. And it was so. 8 God called the expanse "sky." And there was evening, and there was morning—the second day.
From Swedenborg
Genesis 1
The Beginning
1 In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.
2 Now the earth was [a] formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters.
3 And God said, "Let there be light," and there was light. 4 God saw that the light was good, and He separated the light from the darkness. 5 God called the light "day," and the darkness he called "night." And there was evening, and there was morning—the first day.
6 And God said, "Let there be an expanse between the waters to separate water from water." 7 So God made the expanse and separated the water under the expanse from the water above it. And it was so. 8 God called the expanse "sky." And there was evening, and there was morning—the second day.
From Swedenborg
Arcana Coelestia (Potts) n. 3223
3223. There are two lights whereby man is enlightened-the light of the world, and the light of heaven. The light of the world is from the sun; the light of heaven is from the Lord. The light of the world is for the natural or external man, thus for those things which are in him, and although the things which are therein do not appear to be of this light, they nevertheless are so; for nothing can be comprehended by the natural man except by such things as come forth and appear in the solar world, thus except they have somewhat of form from the light and shade therein. All ideas of time and ideas of space, which are of so much account in the natural man that he cannot think without them, are also of the light of the world. But the light of heaven is for the spiritual or internal man. Man's interior mind, in which are his intellectual ideas that are called immaterial, is in this light. Man is unaware of this, although he calls his intellect sight, and ascribes light to it; the reason is that so long as he is in worldly and corporeal things he has a perception only of such things as are of the light of the world, but not of such things as are of the light of heaven; the light of heaven is from the Lord alone, and the universal heaven is in this light.
[2] This light (namely, that of heaven) is immensely more perfect than the light of the world; the things which in the light of the world make one ray, in the light of heaven make myriads; within the light of heaven there are intelligence and wisdom. This light is that which flows into the light of the world which is in the external or natural man, and causes him to perceive sensuously the objects of actual things; and unless this light flowed in, man could not have any perception, for the things which are of the light of the world derive from it their life. Between these lights, or between the things which are in the light of heaven and those in the light of the world, there exists a correspondence when the external or natural man makes one with the internal or spiritual man, that is, when the former is subservient to the latter; and the things which then come forth in the light of the world are representative of such things as come forth in the light of heaven.
3223. There are two lights whereby man is enlightened-the light of the world, and the light of heaven. The light of the world is from the sun; the light of heaven is from the Lord. The light of the world is for the natural or external man, thus for those things which are in him, and although the things which are therein do not appear to be of this light, they nevertheless are so; for nothing can be comprehended by the natural man except by such things as come forth and appear in the solar world, thus except they have somewhat of form from the light and shade therein. All ideas of time and ideas of space, which are of so much account in the natural man that he cannot think without them, are also of the light of the world. But the light of heaven is for the spiritual or internal man. Man's interior mind, in which are his intellectual ideas that are called immaterial, is in this light. Man is unaware of this, although he calls his intellect sight, and ascribes light to it; the reason is that so long as he is in worldly and corporeal things he has a perception only of such things as are of the light of the world, but not of such things as are of the light of heaven; the light of heaven is from the Lord alone, and the universal heaven is in this light.
[2] This light (namely, that of heaven) is immensely more perfect than the light of the world; the things which in the light of the world make one ray, in the light of heaven make myriads; within the light of heaven there are intelligence and wisdom. This light is that which flows into the light of the world which is in the external or natural man, and causes him to perceive sensuously the objects of actual things; and unless this light flowed in, man could not have any perception, for the things which are of the light of the world derive from it their life. Between these lights, or between the things which are in the light of heaven and those in the light of the world, there exists a correspondence when the external or natural man makes one with the internal or spiritual man, that is, when the former is subservient to the latter; and the things which then come forth in the light of the world are representative of such things as come forth in the light of heaven.
ANOTHER SONG
This Little Light of Mine
sung by Bruce Springsteen
Message
Light for Your Darkness
Yes! I’m gonna let my little light shine! At least, I’ll do my best in the midst of a cold and dark Maine winter, where power outages leave us with just candles for shining the light!Light for Your Darkness
This has been one of my favorite songs since I sang it in my Baptist Sunday school as a child. I rediscovered it during the Civil Rights movement as a folk song.
This one is by Bruce Springsteen with the Sessions Band Live in Dublin in 2006.
This song is either a negro spiritual, or written as a gospel children’s song by Harry Dixon Loes [1895-1965]. I’ve been thinking a lot about how God’s light comes into our darkness, since this is the first stage on the spiritual journey.
There are so many people who come to mind whose lives demonstrate how God does this in our lives. Probably my favorite is Helen Keller, whose book Light in My Darkness tells of her spiritual journey that was guided by the writings of Emanuel Swedenborg.
Like many people, when I first became interested in the Swedenborgian Church, I had no idea that Swedenborg’s writings had been so central to Helen Keller’s life. She wrote:
I do not know whether I adopted the faith, or the faith adopted me. I can only say that the heart of the young girl sitting with a big book of raised letters on her lap in the sublime sunshine was thrilled by a radiant presence and inexpressibly endearing voice … the teachings of Emanuel Swedenborg have been my light and a staff in my hand, and by his vision splendid I am attended on my way.
If you don’t know much about Helen Keller and Swedenborg, be sure to visit our page about her on our site. While there, you’ll be able to read the text of the talk she gave to our 1919 convention.
And you can read a sermon by her good friend and minister in the NY Church, Clayton Priestnal.
These are some of the words he spoke at her memorial service, after her death in 1968 at the age of 85.
At least two foundation stones of Miss Keller's religious philosophy were hewn out of Swedenborg's teachings on the afterlife. The first was hope. She began to see clearly that this world was not an end in itself, but a seminary of heaven--a proving ground for the life eternal. Her faith assured her that she would not be burdened forever by sightlessness and a total inability to hear and distinguish sounds. Helen Keller could now look upon her handicaps as a challenge, as a means of spiritual growth, as an education for a future life when she would be able to see, hear, and speak without impediment. There was no bitterness in her towards divine providence, for she knew the Lord was good to all, and he was not in any way accountable for the visitation of a dreadful affliction. This hope that shone forth so radiantly in her personality shone into the dark corners of despair where sat others who were also without sight.
The other foundation stone of her faith was this: love and use are synonymous. Over and over again her thoughts turned to this basic doctrine of Swedenborg: "The kingdom of heaven is a kingdom of uses" (Heaven and Hell #387). This truth became the driving force of Miss Keller's life. Love has no reality, no existence, no meaning, until it goes forth into the lives of others in the form of some essential service.
As a teen-ager, Helen came to have many questions about spirituality. It so happened that a very prominent Swedenborgian wandered into her life about that time. He was John Hitz. He worked with Alexander Graham Bell in an organization to provide material about deafness. When Helen took her questions to him, he provided her with a Braille volume of his writing.
Reading it in Braille, she had a spiritual awakening similar to the one she had had years earlier with her teacher, Anne Sullivan when she realized at the water pump that letters had meaning.
Helen Keller was an ardent advocate of the rights of the disabled and others socially disadvantaged by society.
Her spiritual comprehension is profound. When we talk about God’s light in our darkness, most of us are using the term metaphorically, to refer a spiritual or emotional state. Most of us see physically with our eyes, but encounter many periods of spiritual darkness.
In our opening song, Johnny Cash sang:
Just like a blind man I wandered astray
Straight is the gate and narrow the way
then like the blind man that got back his sight
Praise the Lord I saw the light.
I saw the light I saw the light
No more darkness no more night
now I'm so happy no sorrow in sight
Praise the Lord I saw the light.
He wasn’t really singing about a physical light, but rather comparing God’s light that is beyond the physical eyes.
For Helen, her darkness was only to the physical world. Her spiritual eyes within saw God, giving her far clearer sight that those of us with physical seeing.
What we need to see God are spiritual eyes; not physical eyes. We need to hear God whispering in our heart; we don’t need physical ears for that.
Helen Keller did not just say those words … she lived them in her busy life of social activism. As a Swedenborgian, she believed that action is the greatest form of spirituality.
If Helen Keller could find God’s light in her darkness, then so can the rest of us. Some days it feels so hard to sense any Divine presence in our lives. We can feel very much cut off and alone. In those times, remember Helen Keller who could not see or hear on this physical plane. But she came to learn that those senses are of little lasting value. It is our capacity to hear and see God in our hearts that is important. And this hearing and seeing are preparation for the spiritual senses we will have for eternity.
She wrote:
“I cannot see the stars scattered in the heavens; but other stars just as bright shine in my soul. Soul is very real and important to me."
When we despair of God’s light guiding us through darkness, let’s remember that God’s light is inside. We may not see the divine light with our physical eyes. But we can see clearly with our spiritual eyes. So many of us have “spiritual disabilities” and are fortunate to have the leadership of one with such perfect spiritual sight as Helen Keller.
Join in our closing song, “I Can See Clearly Now.” As you sing, focus on “seeing” with spiritual eyes, as Helen Keller taught us:
I can see clearly now, the rain is gone,
I can see all obstacles in my way
Gone are the dark clouds that had me blind
It’s gonna be a bright (bright), bright (bright)
Sun-Shiny day.
I am singing this song with you this morning, and I can assure you that it is not literally true, for yet another snow storm blankets the clear skies of Maine.
However, that only matters to the physical. As you sing this, let it be true in your heart:
Here is the rainbow I’ve been prayin for
it’s gonna be a bright (bright), bright (bright)
Sun-Shiny day.
CLOSING SONG
I Can See Clearly Now
I Can See Clearly Now
Now extinguish your candle 
And close the Bible. 
Go forth; knowing that God is bringing spiritual light into your life every moment.
To learn more about Helen Keller: There is an outstanding video about her life and her religion, "A Shining Soul" put out by the Swedenborg Foundation. You can see part of this film on their web site. It is well worth the price to purchase your own copy and see it in its entirety.
Downloads
| Title | Date | |
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| Light for your Darkness |
01/11/2009
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