Another Word

I heard words tonight that resonated with me: anxiety and paralyzing fear. What do they have in common? Maybe not much at first blush, but on reflection they are reactions to the state of the world today.

One of us at our book group confessed that she had been closely following all the news about the fiscal cliff and feeling a great deal of anxiety, while her husband was not that absorbed by it. The tension and anxiety have been contagious. Some times it is easy to be paralyzed by them.

In contrast to the paralyzing anxiety and dread, I think about people who are faithfully going through their daily struggles and maintaining trust in the midst of it. I remember my brother-in-law Alan who radiates a calm spirit in the midst of dealing with his cancer. Karen, as she describes her experience of picking out a wig, reminds me that humor can get us through some dark places.

It’s all too easy to focus on the words and images of the world and see darkness, fear, anxiety, and forget that there is another Word proclaimed. The Light has come. “The people who sat in darkness have seen a great light.”

The media—print, broadcast and online—are filled with the news that the fiscal cliff was averted, for now. That’s good news, and yet the true great good news has nothing to do with political machinations. This is the news that speaks of joy and hope—the Light has come and the darkness cannot overcome it.

John 1:5

The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not overcome it.