The Darkness of a Youniverse

The Darkness of a Youniverse
Sermon Starter
by Leonard Sweet

John 3:14-21 Of all the bad ideas that have come out of highly centralized government, one of the worst "bad ideas" has got to be Daylight Savings Time. Benjamin Franklin originally came up with this idea of a "Daylight Savings Time" in the first part of March. It may have been the dumbest idea of his brilliant mind. But it was Woodrow Wilson who implemented Franklin's suggestion in 1918. After just barely beginning to be able to see to eat breakfast, for the past three weeks we have been plunged back into rising in blackness, driving kids to schools with the headlights on, and eating the first meal of the "day" by moonlight. With all the houselights burning, the furnace blazing, and moods plummeting, it is hard to envision anything being "saved" by this "Daylight Savings Time." The farmers of southern Indiana had it right until 2006: ignore it; ignore DST. Get up with the sun. That's what the all earth's other non-nocturnal creatures do. Now the state of Indiana has joined everyone else in observing this bad idea. Here's to the only two hold-outs: Arizona and Hawaii. This loss of light, however, coupled with some Lenten reading, has brought a new appreciation for the second-to-the-last "plague" that hit ancient Egypt. Do you remember that story of the 10 plagues? Thanks to Pharaoh's pride, and Moses' obedience to God, the ancients were inflicted with some pretty nasty-to-terrifying sets of experiences. Even today, with all our horror shows and apocalyptic movies, these plagues send chills up the spine when you think about them. Water turned to blood. Swarms of frogs, gnats, flies, and locusts. Blistering boils. Dying cattle, And of course the final tragedy, the death of all the first born -- unless protected by a blood-painted portal so that the angel of the Lord would "pass over" your household. But there is one plague that stands out as strange, almost benign, to our twenty-first century sensibilities. That is the plague of "darkness." Why's so bad about darkness? For those of us who grew up or still live in lands far from the equator, "darkness" is a big part of each year. Days of "night" are present for three to five months, depending on your latitude. So what's a little darkness?

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