Lux lucet in tenebris

From the desk of the general secretary

In most African cultures, age is equated with wisdom. Last month, the executive committee of the Alliance was hosted by our oldest member church - the Waldensian Evangelical Church. The Waldensians have a history of more than eight centuries, stretching back to the 1170s. To meet in Torre Pellice, the centre of Waldensian life in Italy, enabled the committee to drink deeply from the wisdom of our oldest church in our final year of preparing for the 24th general council.

The Waldensian history is one of faithful witness to the Lord even in the face of adversity. However fiercely persecuted by church or secular authorities, they never gave up hope. One symbol of this hope is their motto Lux lucet in tenebris. It comes from the prologue to John's gospel: "The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not overcome it" (Jn 1.5). They have always known that in Jesus Christ there is light - darkness does not have the last word.

Dark clouds of suffering and division hang over our world today. Conflict and war, cultural and racial stereotyping, the devastating pandemic of HIV/Aids, the recklessness with which we destroy our environment, a global economy in which a few are super-rich while many are wretchedly poor and excluded, the Manichaean division of the world into "those who are for us" and "those who are against us": all these realities plunge us into darkness.

When our Lord Jesus walked on this earth, he encountered many whose lives were dark - those who were ill, those who were oppressed, those who were excluded because they were diseased or just "different". Through healing and words of peace, he brought light into their darkness. The summaries of his ministry in Luke 4.18f and elsewhere list the many ways in which he enabled people in their diverse needs to move from darkness into light. In the words of John 10.10 from which the Alliance has taken its 24th general council theme, he came that they might have life in fullness.

In scripture, darkness is taken seriously but is never given the last word. The Lord is our light and our salvation. In the world we have tribulation, but be of good cheer: Jesus has overcome the world.

These are not unrealistic words of empty comfort. They are words of defiance thrown into the teeth of darkness, destruction and death. They invite us to take courage as we identify the signs of darkness in the world and inspire us to offer ourselves anew as God's instruments in challenging the night. After the darkness, light will surely come.