Allow me to share a story about a Sunday school teacher who gave
her class some homework. For the following week they were supposed
to read the words of the prophet Isaiah, the ninth chapter, which
talks about how, because of Jesus, “The people walking in
darkness have seen a great light.” Amazingly, the following
week when the teacher asked how many of her pupils had completed
the assignment, almost every hand went up. Feeling confident, she
asked, “Do you remember, in verse two, what the people saw?” Nobody
seemed to remember. Indeed, a couple of hands flew to their Bibles
and began to look up the passage. Undaunted the teacher encouraged, “I’ll
give you a hint. The passage begins, ‘The people walking in
darkness …’” Nobody was brave enough to answer.
Finally, with a fair amount of frustration, she decided to bribe
the class. “There’s a candy bar for the first one who
gets it right. The people walking in darkness …” With
the motivation of some sweets, hands popped up all over the place.
She called on one student. He answered, “The people walking
in darkness … use less electricity.” No, that wasn’t
right. Another said, “The people walking in darkness … stub
their toes on the coffee table.” No, that wouldn’t do,
either. Another volunteered, “The people walking in darkness … are
usually burglars.” One student, quite confidently said, “The
people walking in the darkness … could really use a flashlight.” Just
as the teacher was thinking about taking early retirement, one of
the students found the passage and finished it, “The people
walking in darkness have seen a great light; on those living in
the land of the shadow of death a light has dawned.” In the
dark. Most people, but not all.
