Morning Prayer: "Night is waning...dawn glows with light and splendor"

 



Light and darkness are among the most ancient and persistent metaphors in human religious imagination. In the Bible, they form a foundational symbolic pair—so foundational that Genesis opens with God separating light from darkness. That same contrast becomes a way of talking about truth vs. falsehood, good vs. evil, God’s presence vs. God’s absence, and spiritual awakening vs. spiritual blindness. This pattern appears across Judaism, Christianity, Islam, and many non‑Abrahamic traditions—but with important differences in nuance and meaning.

✨ Core Biblical Pattern: Light as Divine Presence, Darkness as Chaos or Estrangement

The biblical tradition consistently uses light to signify God’s creative order, guidance, revelation, and salvation. Darkness represents chaos, danger, ignorance, or moral corruption.

Old Testament Themes

  • Creation: Light is the first act of divine ordering (Genesis 1:3–4).

  • Guidance: God’s presence appears as light—pillar of fire, lamp, radiance (Exodus 13:21; Psalm 27:1).

  • Moral clarity: Prophets condemn those who “turn darkness to light and light to darkness” (Isaiah 5:20).

  • Judgment: Darkness symbolizes divine withdrawal or calamity (Exodus 10:21–23).

New Testament Themes

  • Christ as Light: “The light shines in the darkness” (John 1:4–5); “I am the light of the world” (John 8:12).

  • Discipleship: Believers are called “children of light” (Ephesians 5:8).

  • Mission: “Let your light shine before others” (Matthew 5:14–16).

Across Scripture, the metaphor is moral, spiritual, and relational—not merely visual.

🌙 Judaism: Light as Torah, Wisdom, and Divine Nearness

Judaism shares the biblical roots but emphasizes:

  • Light = Torah (Psalm 119:105).

  • Light = God’s face turned toward Israel (Numbers 6:25).

  • Hanukkah centers on miraculous light as divine fidelity.

  • Darkness often symbolizes exile, confusion, or moral failure.

Judaism avoids dualistic extremes: darkness is not an independent evil force but part of creation.

☀️ Christianity: Light as Christ, Darkness as Sin or Death

Christianity intensifies the metaphor:

  • Christ is the definitive Light breaking cosmic darkness.

  • Conversion is described as moving from darkness to light.

  • Mystical traditions (e.g., Eastern Orthodoxy) speak of the “Uncreated Light” of God.

Darkness is not ontologically equal to light; it is the absence of divine truth.

🌙 Islam: Light as Guidance (Nūr), Darkness as Misguidance (Ẓulumāt)

Islam uses the metaphor in a moral and epistemological sense:

  • Surah An‑Nur (24:35): “Allah is the Light of the heavens and the earth.”

  • Light = guidance, faith, clarity.

  • Darkness = layers of misguidance, injustice, or unbelief.

Islamic theology is explicitly non‑dualistic: darkness has no independent power.

🕉️ Hinduism: Light as Knowledge; Darkness as Ignorance (Avidyā)

Hindu traditions use the metaphor differently:

  • Light = spiritual knowledge, self-realization, liberation.

  • Darkness = ignorance of the true self.

  • Diwali celebrates the victory of inner light over spiritual ignorance.

This is not a moral dualism but a metaphysics of awareness.

☸️ Buddhism: Light as Enlightenment; Darkness as Delusion

Buddhism reframes the metaphor:

  • Light = awakening, insight into reality.

  • Darkness = delusion, craving, misperception.

There is no cosmic battle—only the mind’s clarity or confusion.

🕯️ Zoroastrianism: The Most Literal Light–Dark Dualism

Zoroastrianism is the closest to a true cosmic dualism:

  • Light = Ahura Mazda (good).

  • Darkness = Angra Mainyu (evil).

This is a metaphysical struggle between two opposing forces—unlike the Bible, where darkness is not a rival deity.

🪶 Indigenous and Non‑Dual Traditions: Light and Dark as Complementary

Many Indigenous traditions (e.g., Navajo, Māori, Yoruba) treat light and dark as complementary, not moral opposites:

  • Night is a time of dreaming, ancestors, gestation.

  • Day is a time of action, clarity, growth.

  • Harmony requires both.

This is closer to yin–yang in Chinese thought:

  • Light (yang) = activity, clarity, expansion.

  • Dark (yin) = rest, mystery, receptivity. Neither is “good” or “bad.”

🧭 So Is the Biblical Use Unique?

Yes and no.

Shared Across Religions

  • Light = knowledge, truth, guidance, awakening.

  • Darkness = ignorance, confusion, danger.

Distinctive Biblical Features

  • Light is always rooted in God’s character.

  • Darkness is not a rival force—it is the absence of God’s presence or moral clarity.

  • The metaphor is relational (walking with or without God), not merely cognitive.

Distinctive Non‑Abrahamic Features

  • Hinduism/Buddhism: darkness = ignorance, not moral evil.

  • Indigenous traditions: darkness is sacred, not negative.

  • Zoroastrianism: true dualism—light vs. dark as cosmic powers.

🌅 Why “Night is waning…dawn glows with light and splendor” resonates

Morning Prayer draws on the biblical conviction that:

  • Light signals God’s renewing action,

  • Darkness is temporary,

  • Dawn is a metaphor for hope, revelation, and moral clarity.

This is deeply Abrahamic—but the emotional power of dawn as renewal is universal.

image and some content generated by AI


Read more Morning Prayer posts: MSI Press Blog


Note about Morning Prayer: Each morning prayer post reflects on one phrase from the Morning Prayer from the Liturgy of the Hours. which can be found in the iBreviary (a downloadable app), Universalis (website) or Divine Office (publication and website).

post production may be assisted by AI in image generation and content (research and wording)


Read more Morning Prayer posts.

Morning Prayer posts inspired by Being Catholic in Troubled Times (Dennis Ortman)


Book Description:

These are times that try our souls. This book is addressed to all, not just Catholics, who search for deeper meaning in tough times. Our age is marked by division and alienation. We long for some message that will bring peace to our world and our hearts.

This book suggests that the Catholic faith can provide strength in these troubled times. The word "catholic" means "all-embracing, universal." Nothing is excluded in the catholic mind. The truth that sets us free can be found everywhere, especially in unexpected places. It is often hidden in plain sight. In our darkest moments, we find new light and life. When we are most despairing, a ray of hope shines through.



Dr. Dennis Ortman, former priest and current psychologist, is the author of Anger Anonymous, Anxiety Anonymous, Depression Anonymous, Being Catholic in Troubled Times, and Life, Liberty, and COVID-19.


For more posts by and about Dennis and his award-winning books, click HERE.



CONTACT editor@msipress.com FOR A REVIEW COPY


MSI Press, a veteran-owned publishing house based in California, United States
best known for turning new writers into award-winning authors,
has gained mass recognition for releasing highly acclaimed books of varying genres
that are distributed internationally. Check us out on Wikitia.


To purchase copies of any MSI Press book at 25% discount,

use code FF25 at MSI Press webstore;

for free shipping, use code ship4free.

(Codes cannot be used together; they are meant to provide a choice of discount.)



Want to read an MSI Press book and not have to pay for it?
(1) Ask your local library to purchase and shelve it.
(2) Ask us for a review copy; we love to have our books reviewed.


VISIT OUR WEBSITE TO LEARN MORE ABOUT ALL OUR AUTHORS AND TITLES.




    Sign up for the MSI Press LLC monthly newsletter: get inside information before others see it and access to additional book content
    (recent releases, sales/discounts, awards, reviews, Amazon top 100 list, links to precerpts/excerpts, author advice, and more)

    Check out recent issues.

     

     



    Follow MSI Press on Twitter, Face Book, Pinterest, and Bluesky. 



     

     


    MSI Press welcomes submissions that reflect legacy and lived experience. Learn more about our publishing process on our website. We help writers become award-winning published authors, one writer at a time. We are a family, not a factory. Check our listing in Writer's Market, the most trusted guide to publishing.




    Turned away by other publishers because you are a first-time author and/or do not have a strong platform yet? If you have a strong manuscript, San Juan Books, our hybrid publishing division, may be able to help. Ask us. Check out more information at www.msipress.com.

     






    Planning on self-publishing and don't know where to start? Our author au pair services will mentor you through the process. See what we can do for your at www.msipress.com.






    Interested in receiving a free copy of this or any MSI Press LLC book in exchange for reviewing a current or forthcoming MSI Press LLC book? Contact editor@msipress.com.



    Want an author-signed copy of this book? Purchase the book at 25% discount (use coupon code FF25) and concurrently send a written request to orders@msipress.com.

    Julia Aziz, signing her book, Lessons of Labor, at an event at Book People in Austin, Texas.


    Want to communicate with one of our authors? You can! Find their contact information on our Authors' Pages.

    Steven Greenebaum, author of award-winning books, An Afternoon's Discussion and One Family: Indivisible, talking to a reader at Barnes & Noble in Gilroy, California.




       
    MSI Press is ranked among the top publishers in California.
    Check out our rankings -- and more --     HERE.


    Comments

    Post a Comment

    Popular posts from this blog

    Guest Post from Dr. Dennis Ortman: Words Matter

    Image
      WORDS MATTER “If I speak with human tongues and angelic as well, but do not have love, I am a noisy gong, a clanging symbol.” --I Corinthians 13: 1   My three brothers recently visited from afar. We spent a week together crammed into my small apartment. We exhausted ourselves talking about our lives and our favorite subjects--religion, psychology, and politics. I daily used up my quota of words. Many family and friends avoid talking about these subjects to avoid conflict. But we relish the give-and-take of debate. Coincidentally, the Republican National Convention was televised each night. We watched it diligently and exchanged views. Our convictions ranged across the political spectrum. So our conversations were animated, our disagreements passionate. However, at the end of the week, we learned something from each other and parted friends. Words matter. They have power. Our traditions attest to this fact. For example, God created the world with His word. He be...
    Read more

    Tuesday's Tip for Language Learning: Language Islands, A Shortcut to Language Fluency

    Image
      If you've ever found yourself struggling mid-conversation in another language, desperately searching for words, translating in your head, and praying for a merciful topic change… you’re not alone. We've all been there. But today’s tip might just change the way you approach language learning — and save your dignity at the next international gathering. Let’s talk about language islands . What Are Language Islands? Back in the mid-1980s, Boris Shekhtman, a brilliant and wildly successful instructor at the Foreign Service Institute (and later the Specialized Language Training Center), coined the term “language islands.” His students — diplomats, international journalists, and world travelers — swore by his methods. And no wonder. A language island is a memorized chunk of speech — a little monologue, a practiced story, a polished opinion — that you know so well, you can say it without thinking. No mental translation. No stuttering. No panicked flailing for vocabulary. Just smooth...
    Read more

    A Publisher's Conversation with Authors: De-confusing Royalty Structure

    Image
      Authors frequently confuse LIST and NET and, in this way, end up with contracts that pay lower royalties when they believe that they are getting a good deal. Often, they cannot negotiate in ways that benefit themselves because they do not understand this difference and its significance. Let's break this down. List refers to the retail price of the book. Payment on list means a percentage of the retail price of the book. If royalties are 8% of list (5-8% is typical), then on a $10 book, royalties would be 80 cents; if they are 10%, royalties are $1, on every book sold. Easy to calculate, easy to predict income, and always standardized, no surprises or overestimations. Net refers to what is leftover after expenses. Gross revenue gets adjusted by a number of expenses: printing costs, printer set-up fees, shipping costs, handling fees, distributor percentage of sales (typically, 40%-55% per book), distributors' initial and continuing catalogue listing costs (without which online ...
    Read more