Night

At church this morning, the topic was thanksgiving. The pastor preached about Luke 17:11-19, the story of the ten lepers. Incidentally, that was also the text for last week’s sermon, but that was preached by the Pastor Emeritus, who preaches when the pastor is away. Last week, our usual pastor was in Washington D.C.

We were thinking of things that we were thankful for, and the pastor said that he’s thankful for the night—-since it is dark and helps us to fall asleep. I like the night-time, too, but I remember reading Karl Barth say that the Hebrew Bible does not think too highly of the night. Barth noted that the Hebrew Bible does not have the equivalent to English poems about the night being a blanket falling on the earth. Maybe Barth is right. I still like the night-time, however. I’ve liked to sleep at night. I’ve liked to read at night. I’ve liked to eat at night. I’ve liked to watch TV late into the night. There’s something relaxing about night-time.