John 3:19

AM Psalm 89:1-18 • PM Psalm 89:19-52
Judges 12:1-7 • Acts 5:12-26 • John 3:1-21

That title is not a typo. Most of us are all too familiar with John 3:16—the Bible verse plastered on bumper stickers, written on placards at sporting events, and seen just about anywhere folks feel compelled to share what is sometimes referred to as “the Summary of the Gospel.” If that single verse is the Bible in a nutshell, why not just stop there?!

But I wanted to consider the context of this well-known verse, so I reviewed the prelude (John 3:1-15), in which Nicodemus the Pharisee comes to Jesus by night to query him about the kingdom of God and then they get into a discussion about a grown man being born “again” by the Spirit and other heavenly things. There’s plenty to parse there, to be sure, but that was not the direction my mind was heading, so I looked at the verses that followed and paused when I got to John 3:19:

“And this is the judgment, that the light has come into the world, and people loved darkness rather than light because their deeds were evil.”

I read this verse with new eyes (and ears) after our parish’s recent viewing of several sermons and lectures by the Rev. Wil Gafney, Ph.D. who presented her thoughts on how the terms “light and dark” are frequently conflated with “good and evil” in the Bible. Until I heard Rev. Gafney’s presentations, I had never considered the negativity commonly associated with “darkness” and how that use of language throughout the Bible feeds into a racist narrative.

Adding to that revelation was my recent encounter with the book God is a Black Woman by Dr. Christena Cleveland and her thoughts on how Christianity has historically rejected “Blackness”—despite the many beloved Black Madonnas found throughout Europe—equating that which is “dark” with sin and evil.

As a 60+ year old white woman, I do not pretend to understand fully, but I have gained some insight as to how complicated language can be and how words that seem innocuous and descriptive can also be weaponized to inflict fear and loathing. Awareness is the first step toward understanding and change. The words we use matter.

Written by Shannon Dillard Mitchell

...who appreciates the beauty to be found in the darkness of the night sky and hopes to continue to grow in love and understanding.