Poetic Prophets, Cracked Creation and Dispelled Darkness

“Ring the bells that still can ring,

Forget your perfect offering.

There is a crack, a crack in everything

That’s where the light gets in.”

(“Anthem”, Leonard Cohen).

Working in the craziness of Bangkok, in daily contact with the brokenness of students at The Well, and having to confront one’s own brokenness, could easily be seen as an invite to despair, hopelessness and depression! Whatever our natural disposition, it is a challenge to realize hope in the midst of the desperate situations people find themselves in, sometimes through no fault of their own. Faith, hope and love are stretched, sometimes near to breaking point. And yet.....

In the words of Leonard Cohen, a poetic prophet (is there any other kind?), there is a crack in everything. Everything in this world is broken, imperfect, marred in some way, twisted from its original intent.That would be a recipe for despair if it was the whole story, but Laughing Lenny (as our family call him) is quick to counterbalance his reflection on the brokenness of our world with the awesome, mind-blowing statement that it is precisely there that light breaks through! It is in the darkness, the brokenness, the damage and pain that the light of Christ shines brightest. It is not in our incredibly organized and neat churches, our structured “sin-management” discipleship models, our shallow “fellowship over coffee”, our tailored “worship experiences”, but it is in the dark recesses, the messiness of daily life, the bars, the slums, the inner cities, the dysfunctional families, the sweatshops and massage parlors....

And it is precisely in the brokenness of our own lives, our insecurities, our sin, our fumbling, stumbling attempts at fully following Jesus, our misunderstanding and misappropriation of His Kingdom, our slowness and dullness of heart towards Him and towards those who God treasures, that the light is seen! It is not in our perfect offerings, our personal righteousness, our having it all together, but it is seen in and through the cracks in our lives. Often the cracks are barely seen, having been carefully concealed, sometimes for many years. They appear as mere hairline fractures, similar to when the seed breaks through the dry earth, when the oyster opens up to reveal its hidden treasure, when a beautiful aroma is released through the fissures in the crust of newly baked bread, where yeast has done its work. But we know that once the seed has pushed through, it is destined to grow; the oyster will release its splendor; the bread will be broken, shared and feasted on. The hidden things will be revealed.

This may be nothing new, but there is a need to be regularly reminded of these things as we live out the promise that we are the light of the world. As we seek to reflect His light, recognizing that we are cracked people serving other broken people in a fractured world, we can draw courage, hope and faith from the reality that this, here and now, is where the light gets in. As another poetic prophet, Isaiah, declares:

"Arise, shine, for your light has come, and the glory of the Lord rises upon you. See, darkness covers the earth and thick darkness is over the peoples, but the Lord rises upon you and his glory appears over you. Nations will come to your light, and kings to the brightness of your dawn.” (Is. 60: 1-3).

May we have eyes to see beyond the darkness, through the cracks, to see the brightness of the inbreaking of God’s Kingdom dawning in the darkest of places.