CPTnet
19 January 2006

WASHINGTON D.C. REFLECTION: The dark before dawn--thoughts on an Epiphany
fast
by Jonathan Wilson-Hartgrove

In the darkness of Sunday morning, 8 January, CPTer Cliff Kindy noticed an
increase in activity outside the White House. Secret Service officers
hurried across the lawn. Dogs searched Lafayette Park for bombs. Police
closed surrounding streets. Finally, a caravan of fifteen cars emerged
from the driveway, passed through the gates, and drove one city block to
St. John's Episcopal Church. There President Bush celebrated Epiphany at a
7:30 a.m. service.

Epiphany is the season of light. A star appeared in the East at the birth
of the Light of the world. Magi saw that light, and they followed to
worship. It seems fair to assume that the magi must have arrived at night.
They who followed a star must have reached their destination in the
darkness.

> From Friday morning until Sunday noon, Cliff Kindy, Leah
Wilson-Hartgrove, and I kept vigil, fasting and praying, on the sidewalk
outside the White House. There we told stories to passers-by about the
Iraqis in Rutba who saved Cliff's life, about the Shia Muslims who started
a Muslim Peacemaker Team by helping Sunnis rebuild their city, about the
insurgents who asked to learn the tools of nonviolence because violence is
not working. We remembered those signs of hope, tiny lights in
a sky of darkness and we prayed for courage to follow the light.

2006 marks just over three years of Christian Peacemaker Teams work in
Iraq. But the war is not only fought in Iraq but also in Washington, so
our peace witness must be directed toward the decision makers who need to
hear the good news of another way. We who have followed the light of
Christ to Iraq must shine the light at home. On Epiphany weekend, the
Iraq team expanded its work from Baghdad to Washington. Our "Follow the
Light Epiphany Fast" was a spiritual preparation for the "Shine the Light"
Campaign to follow, 15-29 January 2006.

After fifty-two hours, we could report that we witnessed a fifteen-car
caravan to transport our President one city block. We have seen the
darkness. But we know it is the dark before the dawn. We see another way.

 The magi followed the light, and Matthew's gospel says, "they returned
home by another way." It's time to shine the light. It's time to expose
the darkness of captivity. It's time to proclaim another way. In the
midst of this present darkness, those of us who have seen the light must
let it be reflected in our way of life. We need to shine the light on
our captivity to war and trust that light to guide our steps
forward. Another way is possible. We can see it now, even in the
darkness. With bold humility, we whisper gospel hope. Always death before
resurrection and dark before the dawn.