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1/19/20 Faith in the Dark Sermon Series - Matthew 2:13-23
Rev. Kyle McDougall - Faith in the Dark
Now after they had left (Wise men), an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream and said, 'Get up, take the child and his mother, and flee to Egypt, and remain there until I tell you; for Herod is about to search for the child to destroy him.' Then Joseph got up, took the child and his mother by night, and went to Egypt.
-Matthew 2:13-14
As a child, the darkness was not my friend. From a young age I suffered from night terrors. I would wake up screaming. I would wake up in different parts of the house. I would even wake up in different clothing. I blamed these night terrors on the darkness itself, so I did everything in my power to avoid bedtime. This was hard on my parents, but they knew that nights were hard for me. They would regularly find me sleeping at the foot of their bed, or curled up on the floor in the bed skirt. I slept with a night-light in my room until I was 14 years old. It didn't stop the nightmares, but when I woke up frightened, I could at least see what was going on around me.
Today, I still suffer from night terrors, but as an adult, I have a better understanding of what's real and what isn't. I have black-out curtains in my bedroom and can't stand any bright light when I'm trying to sleep.
I have learned that the dark isn't always bad; that it isn't always scary.
The Holy Family learns that the dark can protect them, just as God protects them, in our gospel lesson this Sunday. They fled by night to safety. They fled by night toward a new hope.
I invite you to think about an experience in your life when the darkness (metaphorically or literally) wasn't all bad. Maybe you were able to learn something from being in the dark. Maybe you felt protected by the darkness.
God is there with us in the light, because God is the light. But, the promise of our gospel story from Matthew is that God is also there in the darkness as our protection.
Peace,
Kyle
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By First Christian Church BG, KYRev. Kyle McDougall - Faith in the Dark
Now after they had left (Wise men), an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream and said, 'Get up, take the child and his mother, and flee to Egypt, and remain there until I tell you; for Herod is about to search for the child to destroy him.' Then Joseph got up, took the child and his mother by night, and went to Egypt.
-Matthew 2:13-14
As a child, the darkness was not my friend. From a young age I suffered from night terrors. I would wake up screaming. I would wake up in different parts of the house. I would even wake up in different clothing. I blamed these night terrors on the darkness itself, so I did everything in my power to avoid bedtime. This was hard on my parents, but they knew that nights were hard for me. They would regularly find me sleeping at the foot of their bed, or curled up on the floor in the bed skirt. I slept with a night-light in my room until I was 14 years old. It didn't stop the nightmares, but when I woke up frightened, I could at least see what was going on around me.
Today, I still suffer from night terrors, but as an adult, I have a better understanding of what's real and what isn't. I have black-out curtains in my bedroom and can't stand any bright light when I'm trying to sleep.
I have learned that the dark isn't always bad; that it isn't always scary.
The Holy Family learns that the dark can protect them, just as God protects them, in our gospel lesson this Sunday. They fled by night to safety. They fled by night toward a new hope.
I invite you to think about an experience in your life when the darkness (metaphorically or literally) wasn't all bad. Maybe you were able to learn something from being in the dark. Maybe you felt protected by the darkness.
God is there with us in the light, because God is the light. But, the promise of our gospel story from Matthew is that God is also there in the darkness as our protection.
Peace,
Kyle