Eyes Full of Darkness Are Hungry for the Light

"Lazarus Come Out!"

Jesus Christ, Gospel of John

At this time of the year we hear a lot about caves or tombs. There are scripture readings about Jesus calling Lazarus out of the darkness of his tomb and into the light of day. On Easter Sunday we hear of how God the Father raises Jesus from the dead, calling him out of his tomb and into the light of eternal life

These readings remind me of Plato’s allegory of “The Cave.” If I remember correctly, Plato tells a story of people who are chained facing the wall of a cave. They have never been outside the cave and have never experienced daylight. There is a fire burning behind them and all they experience, aside from darkness, are the shadows of objects. When something moves behind them, the firelight casts shadows across the wall of the cave. The inhabitants believe that the cave is the only reality life offers. 

Plato proposes the idea that one of the chained persons is freed, stands up, looks around and is attracted to the fire he has never actually seen.  Looking beyond the fire, he can see a distant light coming dimly from the mouth of the cave. The man is curious about the light. He follows it to the outside world, where his eyes, unaccustomed to the brightness of sunlight, suffer sharp pains. As his eyes adjust, however, they become dazzled with the real world and all it has to offer.

In many ways, these three cave stories are “recovery” stories. People in recovery are like Lazarus, Jesus and the man in Plato’s cave. We are resurrected in different ways and brought back to life—real life. Many of us, prior to recovery, had been hopelessly lost in the darkness of our inner-caves where we were fearful with self-loathing. We believed that our caves were the only reality that life had to offer. We saw no other way to live aside from manipulation and acting-out. Turned-in on ourselves, our hearts became tombs for our deadened souls. Then one day, by God’s grace, we saw strains of light as we have never noticed them before. We were drawn to the light, broke our chains, stood up and walked through our personal darkness. We followed the light until it led us into a new world: The real world of recovery, relationship, spiritual practices, self-care and eternal love.

Like the man in Plato’s “The Cave,” are eyes were dazzled by the discovery of this new way of life. Like Lazarus, we know this new life is right for us because God has called us to “come out” of our caves. We are dazzled and yet we are afraid. Facing the world with new eyes and new attitudes is exciting but challenging. We have been called out of our comfort zones, and although we are thrilled with this healthy new way of life, part of us is anxiously clinging to the cave, to our old behaviors and our old beliefs about ourselves. We want to trust God to lead us forever in the light, but we also want to turn and run back into our caves of comfort.

There are days when we return to our caves, engage in all of the old self-pity and self-defeating behaviors. Sometimes we want to wallow there in the familiar, but the Light always calls us back into the real world of recovery. Our hearts long to feel again, our souls long to dance again and our entire being longs for the happiness we have never allowed ourselves to experience. We have love to offer ourselves and others, and there are others who are waiting to offer their love to us. And so we allow God to call us by name once more and shout “Come out!” We may have to be called to come out many, many times, but each time we return t the light, we make strides toward finally breaking the chains that have held us bound to misery.

Easter is a great season of the year to celebrate new life in Christ and in self. Everyone who has been called out of their caves has experienced the light of love that is eternal. There can be no turning back to our caves as permanent residences. We have been freed. Our hearts and souls are now free. We have tasted the greatness of God’s love and the beauty of life in the real world. And even if it is messy at times, we are called to keep on marching from darkness into light. Cast away the chains that keep you returning to your inner-cave of self-deception. Ask God for help and you will find yourself drawn to the Light that allows your soul to shine!