Darkness

"He came to Jesus by night and said to him, ‘Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher who has come from God; for no one can do these signs that you do apart from the presence of God."
John 3: 2

As John wrote his gospel of Jesus Christ, he made sure we could properly envision the various scenes as he recorded them. Light and Darkness are characters in his gospel just as surely as the human players are. In his very first chapter, John equates Jesus with Light: The true light, which enlightens everyone, was coming into the world. (1:9) He continues in his gospel to present Jesus in the light, because he is the Light. Darkness, in his gospel, always accompanies characters who have not yet entered into the Light of Christ. Thus, Nicodemus’ visit to Jesus to learn more about him, takes place in the darkness, of night and of his own spiritual condition.

St. John of the Cross was a 16th Century Spanish mystic. His classic work, Dark Night of the Soul, was written long before scientific understandings of human psychology had been formulated, let alone understood in standardized language. He describes a particular ‘interior’ condition of the soul- the Dark Night of the Soul- in ways that we can easily understand as a description of deep depression. He relates one of the primary causes of that soul-state to not having entered into the Light of Christ.

"[It]...puts the sensory spiritual appetites to sleep, deadens them, and deprives them of the ability to find pleasure in anything. It binds the imagination, and impedes it from doing any good discursive work. It makes the memory cease, the intellect become dark and unable to understand anything, and hence it causes the will to become arid and constrained, and all the faculties empty and useless. And over this hangs a dense and burdensome cloud which afflicts the soul, and keeps it withdrawn from the good."

Winston Churchill called that same condition, one that afflicted him with some regularity his whole life, “the coming of the Black Dog.” We may know depression in more scientific and medical terms than either St. John or Churchill described it, but both of their definitions of it are valid descriptions of it, as anyone who suffers from it will agree.

Undiagnosed, depression may be perceived as a kind of unholy reality by the person suffering from it. They may not realize that there is something actually afflicting them, and see themselves only as different from the way they perceive those around them to be. Sometimes, oftentimes, the depressed person will find temporary alleviation of that ‘darkness’ by self-medicating themselves with alcohol or other drugs, or through compulsive or addictive behaviors of various sorts. Many people suffering from depression, whether it is a chronic condition or one caused by circumstances in the person’s life, will attribute the darkness they feel inside and around them, to an absence of God from their lives.

I believe all persons on the frontlines of interaction with other human beings (pastors, human resource directors, supervisors, teachers, etc.) should know the fundamental signs of depression, so they are able to make proper (sometimes life-saving) referrals to qualified professionals. Here is a very good place to familiarize yourself with the symptoms of depression: http://www.healthyplace.com/communities/depression/definition_2.asp#symptoms

But we should also be ready, as brothers and sisters bound together by the Light of Christ, to be the Light of Christ to those who are not now able to perceive it. Hackneyed old platitudes are not helpful. Don’t tell a depressed person to:

“Give all your problems to God.” (They’ve already tried that, a thousand times)
“Look on the bright side!” (They’ve tried that, too..it’s not there)
“C’mon, let’s see a big smile!” (Watch out! You might get punched for that one!)

Instead, listen. Listen for words, however quietly they may be being said, of hope. Then build, just a little at first on that spoken hope. Is a child coming home for a visit? Ask about one of the good things you know might happen on that visit. Is the person driving a new car, wearing a new dress, planting a garden, shopping for groceries? Comment on those things, the good taste being shown, or ask for advice from them on those activities.

Make a lunch date, play date, study date with them for tomorrow or sometime definite in the near future. Tomorrow is a very difficult reality for the depressed person. They need your light to look forward to, as they are usually unable to generate their own. Then, KEEP THAT DATE! Don’t ‘prove’ to them what they believe to be true- that they are without friends or people who care.

Nicodemus knew, even if he wasn’t aware of the particular vocabulary, that there was Light in the night. He went to that Light. Something (I believe it was the Holy Spirit) drew him toward that Light.

Others need help getting there. Each of us are called upon to be the tool of God the Holy Spirit in helping them to accomplish that journey. Most depressions are very treatable conditions. They do not need to place of seeming permanent hopelessness as St. John of the Cross described them to be. They do not need to be suffered through until they somehow go away. Without help, many depressions never go away, or, if they do for awhile, they almost always return, like Churchill’s Black Dog.

Depression has been described by some recent commentators, as a growing plague. It is so common, among believers and non-believers alike, that it may be one of the great mission fields for this part of the 21st Century. We should all (and you don’t hear me use that word ‘should’ very often), but we should all have some of the basic tools we need to be the representatives of Christ he needs us to be in this regard. Those tools are born of God’s Love and Christ’s Light, and no matter how inadequately you may feel you are qualified to carry them, they have been given to you for the purpose of helping others make it through their darkness.