In a way, it s like hiding under the covers of the bed. Numbness is one way of coping with the terrible anxieties and fears that emerge from that chaotic darkness. But numbness finally doesn't face the powers that overwhelm us and won't go away. Numbness doesn't have the power to defeat this age of overwhelmedness. It's significant that on this last Sunday of the church year the traditional Bible reading comes from the last book of the Bible.
Revelation begins with singing in the dark.
John has every reason to begin with despair. He is an exiled Christian, a prisoner on the isolated island of Patmos off Turkey. The Roman Emperor is cracking down on Christians everywhere, persecuting them, jailing them, exiling them, hanging them, unless they renounce their faith in a weak leader who couldn't stand up to Pilate, and restore their loyalty to their real leader, Caesar. Every one has to declare that Caesar is in charge of the world whether they believe it or not. Yet John begins with a confident hymn of praise.