A fitting Lenten read: The Darkness Divine by the Unitarian Universalist Rev. Dr. Kristen L. Harper.
ID: book pages titled "A Theology of Darkness," beginning with a poem titled "The Darkness Divine" [breaks added for readability] and continue into prose paragraphs:
" God resides in depths of darkness
as in the light of sunbeams.
The moon shines brighter surrounded by night
and life is secure in the black waters of the womb.
As the night sky littered with stars demonstrates
again and again,
there is beauty in darkness and beauty in light—
one no more brilliant then the other,
one no more necessary than the other,
one always complementing the other.
Without the heated darkness of the Universe,
splitting neutrons, electrons, and protons from atoms,
life and light would never be.
The task for us today
is to recognize God in both —
To see the divine in the rich brown earth,
the textured black walnut,
as well as the white snow and the pale pink jellyfish.
To see the sacred in the panther and the swan.
To embrace the dignity of the Black Madonna,
as it is embodied in the Virgin Mary.
The task for us today
is to look into the multifaceted colors of the onyx
and see the miraculous spectrum of color
produced in the prism of a diamond.
To begin the dismantling of our racist language, we first need a new theology of darkness—a new way to relate to the darkness, blackness, and brownness that surrounds us, and to the people whose skin is often reflected in our disempowering language. Poetry can help us cultivate a different relationship with and to blackness and darkness. In the darkness exists a time for rest, a time of regeneration and healing, a time of safety and nourishment, and a time of letting go to relax in God's embrace.
As a spiritual humanist, I believe that which we call God — the energetic force of love and creation — is within us and around us, connecting and empowering us as we move toward one another and through the world. While there are many definitions of theology, I lead with a theology rooted in relationship with one another, the earth, God, the spirit of life, all that is holy, and the higher good that can occur when we recognize and affirm our interdependence. This relationship, both conscious and unconscious, impacts how we operate in the world, how we view and treat others, and how we respond to injustices in which we play a part. "
Last image shows the back cover of the book, which has a blurb and then a pic of the author, a Black woman with dark hair and glasses smiling at the viewer, next to an about the author section:
" Too often in U.S. culture-and notably in faith communities— a culture of white supremacy is reinforced in damaging but unexamined ways.
In The Darkness Divine, minister and poet Kristen L. Harper confronts and unpacks the language, imagery, buzzwords, and cultural touchstones that demean and dehumanize Black people but are so commonplace they can easily escape notice.
More importantly, in a brilliant arrangement of essays and poems in the vein of Claudia Rankine, Harper lifts up the strength, beauty, and resilience of Black people and outlines a path forward. She invites readers to explore what they have learned and assimilated so they might de-center whiteness and stretch their understanding and imagination to radically transform perceptions of blackness.
While directed at her own Unitarian Universalist tradition, The Darkness Divine is a powerful and loving challenge to all those committed to the work of dismantling white supremacy.
Rev. Dr. Kristen L. Harper is the minister of the Unitarian Church of Barnstable, Massachusetts, where she has served for 18 years. Rev. Harper previously served in Ormond Beach, Florida. She received her D.Min from Meadville Lombard Theological School in 1999, and was only the second Black woman to be called to a Unitarian Universalist Congregation as sole minister. She has contributed to Voices from the Margins: An Anthology of Meditations and Centering: Navigating Race, Authenticity, and Power in Ministry. "