Lights

I was at the "Why do I even bother?!?" point. Recent weeks had shown battle after battle fought with no victory in sight.

The state had recently approved slot machine gambling as its newest form of taxation. The city was working feverishly to establish a gambling hall only a few blocks from the church.

Under the guise of "helping," neighbors had organized and taken a NIMBY (Not In My Back Yard) approach to the issue of homelessness by having the people who lived under the bridge bussed to a shelter. Drivers at the off-ramp would no longer be bothered. (Given my familiarity with living conditions in most shelters, I would probably choose a freeway bridge over a shelter if I found myself needing to make that choice.)

The list of these types of events went on and on. The world's self-focus, exclusive dependence on the senses, and short-sighted time frames [If I don't pay the tax then it must be good. If I don't see homeless people then there must not be a problem with homelessness. All my problems must be solved to my satisfaction NOW.] out voiced Jesus' call to love our neighbors, care for the poor, work for justice, and share generously.

It was in this defeated state of mind that I boarded the airplane that evening. I was headed to some training in California and had a direct flight to LAX with a brief stop in Las Vegas.

Flying into Vegas on a clear, dark, desert night is quite a spectacle, even by Vegas standards. The city's lights glow against the barren darkness from more than 100 miles out. The clear, dry air lets you pick out details of buildings along Las Vegas Boulevard as you descend. The end of the runway seems to almost touch the properties at the south end of the Strip.

It's quite a sight. And as we touched down and the plane slowed I could see the emerald glow of the MGM. Nealy in front of me was the brightest light ever created by man beaming upward from Luxor. The myriad of other bright, sprawling casinos shown proudly against the black sky.

All I could think in this instant was, "How can the Truths of the Gospel, how can the ways of God win? The spectacle and allure of the world seem just too appealing."

As the plane rounded the end of the runway and u-turned to head to the gate, an audible gasp! arose from the folks on my side of the plane. There was a buzzing of voices and a pointing of fingers outside.

As I looked out the window I saw a scene usually reserved for science-fiction fantasy posters. Rising above the shadowed mountains was a giant full moon. In my experience, a giant full moon looks orange and is much dimmer than when it's at its regular size. This night, however, the moon seemed to shine at its full brightness and appeared close enough to require planes to be routed around it.

The glowing lights of the Strip seemed a pathetic amateurish attempt and failure at imitation. The strong, solid, silent presence of real light was there for all who would turn their gaze toward it.

I'm sure more people bought tickets to shows at the famous and infamous stages of the casinos than spent five minutes looking up to see the real show in the desert that evening. The performance was free, available to all, and required that one only look away from the glitz of the world to fully experience it.

The full moon has been rising over the Nevada desert from well before it was called Nevada or even was a desert. It will continue to do so long after the last of the neon has flickered out and the sands reclaim their domain.

So when I find myself in a dark valley with the harsh, glaring ways of the world seeming to be the only guide for the people around me, I need to remember to look up, gasp, point my finger toward what's really happening, and passionately encourage them to look up, too. The true Light is here, close enough to reroute traffic and bright enough to guide those who will stop and stand, even for a few minutes, in awe, allowing His glow to trump our world's pathetic amateurish attempt and failure at imitation.

Lord Jesus, be the Light in my darkness. Give me the wisdom to look to You and to experience You, timelessness amid the temporal imitations of circumstance and place. Let me point to You so that others may see your Light and join in the awe of your Way.