Sitting at the end of the living room with the patio doors, I can hardly see the computer screen for the early morning sunshine. My face is warm, eyes are dazzled and my instinct is to move across the other side where I can write more easily and see without squinting.
Last night I read one of Miroslav Volf's essays where he tells of his fascination for the phrase "the Lord make his face to shine upon you". That is enough of a reminder of how the sunshine is one of the great metaphors for the delight and grace of God. "He makes his sun to shine one the righteous and the unrighteous…." "From the rising of the sun, to the going down of the same, the Lord's name is to be praised…"
So rather than seeing the dazzling sunlight as a nuisance to be avoided by migrating to the far end of the room, instead of putting on sunglasses indoors which would look ridiculous rather than cool, I stay and enjoy the sunlight, and let the brilliance of light and the radiance of warmth on my face, bathe me in awareness. So I sit here writing this, nearly blinded by morning sunlight and say the Aaronic blessing.
The Lord bless thee and keep thee
The Lord make his facce to shine upon thee
And be gracious unto thee
The Lord lift up the light of his countenance upon thee
And give thee peace.
It's Holy Week. When Christians can become morose and solemn, thinking more of shade, shadow and darkness than the searching, life-giving brightness of light. The light shines in the darkness and the darkness has not comprehended it; has not overcome it; has not, and will not extinguish it. Yes this week leads to the cross, when once again darkness was upon the face of the deep. But it ends in a new beginning, "Early in the morning, as the sun was rising, they came to the tomb….."
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