THERE IS A DARKNESS DEEPER THAN DARKNESS
Why light and darkness?
On of my favourite songs in the late sixties was, the ‘Sounds of Silence’ sung by Simon and Garfunkel. These were some of the lyrics.
Hello darkness, my old friend,
I’ve come to talk with you again,
Because a vision softly creeping, Left its seeds while I was sleeping,
And the vision that was planted in my brain
Still remains
Within the sound of silence.
I remember when Doordarshan called my friend Anand and I one morning and asked us if we could sing this very song live on TV (mind you it was black and white, those days). And there was no such thing as copyright. You were welcome if you copied it right!
I was shocked when Anand came home all excited. My Dad thought we were pulling a fast one on him. We left him to his thoughts and we made a beeline for the studios.
We were told to wear white shirts and dark trousers. Anand was one of the best tenors I knew, and this wiry little fellow could take high notes with so much ease it boggled me. I had a decent guitar those days but, in the studios, it somehow refused to tune. After some very embarrassing moments we did three takes, one better than the other.
It was 1969. We became heroes overnight!
What am I saying…we sang songs more for the tune and not understanding the lyrics at all. I wish we would have understood the lyrics those days. But we were dumb…Hello darkness, my old friend!
But at that time, we stood on the precipice of one of the greatest changes the world ever went through. A revolution that changed millions of youth all over the world. The revolution of music, drugs, sex and a rebellious, rambunctious lifestyle. Arrogant, opinionated, independent, rowdy, defiant and uncontrollable…we changed overnight. Hurtling down on a highway to Hell.
We got caught in the vortex of this new thing happening all over the earth. The quagmire was too deep. It infected us worse than a virus. Today, after 50 years we can see the devastation. If it were not for Jesus, I would have died a hundred times over, and that too steeped in my sin in the depths of the occult.
So then, what is darkness? It is the opposite of light. Darkness is understood as a lack of brilliance or an absence of observable light. I know that because I reveled in it. I caroused it with my soul. I celebrated it with my body. I journeyed within the recesses of it. And went hand in hand with dark demons and hideous rites. I was impregnated with it. I was interwoven with its lust and intertwined in its intrigue.
Like I said, I met Jesus face to face. His Light, His love, His power of forgiveness, His hand of mercy, His acceptance of a sinner like me…changed me forever. I had to repent. And repent I did. 1973 was a turn of events that changed my whole life forever.
But can we dispel darkness by ourselves? Do we have the ability to push it out and replace that with light? What lies in the darkness?
The Apostle John says…And this is the basis for judgment: The light has come into the world, but people loved the darkness more than the light because their actions were evil.
On the 5th of April in this coming week. We will be celebrating Palm Sunday. This was the very day 2000 years ago that Jesus rode into Jerusalem. People welcomed Him with shouts of ‘Hosanna’ and spread their garments before Him, actions fit for a king. Soon that was to change. These same people would cry putrid hatred shouting, “Crucify him. Crucify him!”
At 9pm of the same day, Palm Sunday, all of India will be suddenly plunged into darkness.
Who then can be our Light? Jesus is the Light of the world. Jesus is the Light of our India. Church candles cannot dispel darkness. Jesus can.
There is a darker darkness that is more powerful than the darkness we can see. That is the darkness of sin. The darkness of dark deeds done in secret, which we think are hidden away forever, and no one can ever see or know.
But the Light has come. The Light which lighteth every man in the world. That light is Jesus. He will come to reveal who we really are. His Light will give us Life. His Life will give us Eternity. His Light will take way every sin if we come in true heartfelt repentance.
True repentance dispels the darkness of sin and bring in the Light of Jesus.
Yes, there is a darkness deeper than darkness…but…there is a Light brighter than any other light.
And the Light shines in the darkness, and the darkness cannot comprehend it.
Pray.
