Images of lightness and darkness are used throughout scripture. Darkness is not always bad. In the story of creation, God does not annihilate darkness. Rather, God adds light. Darkness is part of human experience. The question to me is, how shall we use the light?

Well, “to see,” of course. But what does that mean?

Years ago, I heard the story of a blind person who was suddenly “sighted” through surgery. That person’s reaction was to say:  “I now know some things that I didn’t know before, but I am not sure why.”

One of my favorite things to do is to take photos of subtle light illuminating familiar things. The light reveals the wondrous beauty of God’s creation.  One of my least favorite things is the harsh illumination of noon sun or “flash.” But this too reveals God’s creation.

The story of the Resurrection is the story of darkness and light, with all of the terrible beauty of both.

—Bren Ortega Murphy, PhD is a faculty member in Communications Studies at Loyola University Chicago. She holds a joint appointment in Loyola’s Women’s Studies program.