LIGHT IN THE DARK
by Rev. Kealahou Alika
“Listen to me, you that pursue righteousness, you that seek the Lord. Listen to me, my people, my nation: for a teaching will go out from me and my justice for a light to the peoples.”
– Isaiah 51, 1, 4, NRSV*
Leonard Cohen was a Canadian poet and singer. In 1992, he released the album, “The Future.” Among the most well-known set of powerful lyrics is the message of hope in darkness from his song, “Anthem.”
In an article written in 2016 in Quartz, a business-focused international news organization based in New York City, Cassie Webster wrote that “in dark times, poetry and music often become more important to us, providing the kind of transcendence we need to interpret painful events in a wider context.” “Anthem” will always be a song of hope for every generation in every country that finds itself in the midst of tumultuous times.
While Cohen appears to employ Christian images of “the dove” and “bells,” he also manages to combine the “sacred and profane” from different traditions. He was Jewish and studied Zen Buddhism deeply, becoming a monk for several years, and was drawn to other religious traditions. As such, we would be safe to assume that he was very familiar with the words of the psalmist and the prophet Isaiah.
The Psalms (89:15; 56:13; 119:105) and Isaiah (5:20; 9:2; 45:7; 51:4) are among the primary sources in the Hebrew text that provide us with metaphors for light. It has been said by others that God is the source of life; of goodness; of life; of wisdom; of compassion; of justice, and that light is the very source of God’s being.
The writer of the First Letter of John in the New Testament wrote centuries ago:
“God is light, in him (sic) there is no darkness at all.” 1 John 1:5, NRSV
The Rev. Kealahou Alika retired on February 16, 2020, as the pastor of Keawalaʻi Congregational Church – United Church of Christ (USA), Makena, Maui having served the church for 29 years. He currently serves as an officer of the Hawaiʻi Conference Foundation of the Hawaiʻi Conference – United Church of Christ; as an officer for the State Council of Hawaiian Congregational Churches; and as a member of the Reconciliation Working Group of the Hawaiʻi Conference (UCC). He previously served as the Executive Director for what was then known as the Pacific & Asian American Center for Theology & Strategies in Berkeley, California from 1979 – 1985, and later as an Administrative Assistant for Mission & Evangelism for the Presbytery of San Francisco, Presbyterian Church USA from 1986 – 1991.
New Revised Standard Version Bible, copyright © 1989 National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
