The Eclipse: What 3% of sunlight taught me about God

Faced with the choice of walking 100m from my front door to a local beauty spot with an amazing view of a 97% solar eclipse, or driving 7 hours for the 100% experience, I thought it can’t be worth the effort for the extra 3%. 

A crowd of all ages had gathered, many as families and groups of neighbours, a few with tables of food to share. Some wearing safety glasses and others holding homemade viewing paraphernalia, we bonded around a common purpose. Many stockists had run out of glasses earlier in the day and spontaneous sharing broke out so that all could take part in this rare event. 

With the moon approaching the full extent of its transit across the disc of the sun, just a sliver remained. The landscape took on a peculiar yellow hue, but crisp shadows still fell despite the encroaching darkness. 

Against all medical advice I cast a sneaky direct peek at the sun. I was struck by the overwhelming brightness with no hint of the moon at all. I had imagined that 97% darkness would be pretty dark indeed, but not when you have 3% light it seems.  

Light is astoundingly good at dispelling darkness. It hit me in an instant that this is why we read so many passages using of light to express the character of God and what he does in the world. In Genesis 1, the word ‘light’ appears 13 times in the first 19 verses. Its absence stands for chaos, its presence signals order and God’s creative touch. We get our first hint that the purpose of light is to stand in contradiction to darkness. 

John takes up the theme in the first chapter of his Gospel. The Word (logos) was with God and brought life which is the light of the people; the light pushes back the darkness; the darkness cannot overcome it; the true light enlightens everyone.  

Later on, John writes that Jesus declared himself to be the light of the world and that His followers will never walk in darkness.  

The New Testament is flooded with references to light. We see it stand for holiness and good works (Matthew 5:16, Luke 11:34-35, 1 John 1:5-9); for truth, wisdom and insight (John 12:35); intimacy with God (James 1:17, 1 Peter 2:9, Rev 21:23), the Church as a visible beacon and witness to the good news (Matthew 5:14). 

In noting that darkness is simply an absence of light rather than a thing in itself, we understand something profound. St Augustine of Hippo spotted that sin is not a real entity, it is simply the absence of a good that should have been there. We chase idols, not because they are inherently evil, but because they offer the false promise of a shortcut to something that only God can provide. The goods that God offers flow from his creativity, for which light stands as a metaphor. Evil never created anything – it is the antithesis of creativity just as darkness stands as the absence of light. Satan can only tempt us by disfiguring the goods that God creates - evil ends up being dull, uniformly bland, and boring as hell. 

But what of my eclipse experience? What I learned from the 3% of the sun that escaped the moon’s shadow, is that the darkness really can’t overcome the light. Let’s all take heart from this.  

How often we feel ourselves to be on the back foot in such a dark world. Our influence seems to be minimal against the backdrop of disturbing current affairs - our voices rarely heard against the clamour of bad news.  

But how powerful and transforming just 3% of the sun’s light can be. The capacity of just a sliver of light to change the landscape is immense and we must never underestimate what God is doing in and through us in the world. As Jesus told his disciples: “You are the light of the world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.” (Matthew 5:14-16) 

“The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not overcome it.” (John 1:5)