Not Invisible

“The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not overcome it.” John 1:1-18  In the “Invisible Man” Ralph Waldo Ellison describes invisibility like being in a dark, black hole; lighted with 1369 light bulbs. When he is out of the hole, he speaks of struggles, battles, and disappointments, trying to do the right thing as those around him define what was right. Yet somehow, he could never be seen. I have to admit, sometimes life in Christ feels much like Ellison’s character. Given the time and place, I wonder if Christ sometimes felt the same way – at least until the day he climbed up that mountain. Literally or figuratively, to climb atop any mountain is in itself a feat to be celebrated and not without internal reward. However, eventually the journey back down the mountain has to be made. Upon his return, Jesus met with the same anxieties of life that plagued God’s people before he went up to pray. But he met them with a re-affirmation, a stronger resolve to accomplish the Father’s will and the confirmation that he in fact is the light that brightens a dark world. Today, through our faith in Christ we too are that light for a veiled world. We meet with the same anxieties of the poor in spirit, the marginalized and the disinherited. And, yes sometimes we go unnoticed. But the affirmation and confirmation that is Christ’s is also our affirmation and confirmation, a gift from God for those who choose to climb that mountain and return re-affrmed to continue the mission of Christ, in a veiled and broken world, knowing that no matter how dark it gets, we are never invisible to God.