Light, A Paradox
by Tess Frame
Light, according to science, is both a particle (a tangible thing), and a wave (intangible). How can this be? It can physically warm your skin – even burn you, or it can pass through your body entirely, without sensation. We believe we perceive light, but in actuality, we only see slower moving things lit by it.
The light paradox can be maddeningly difficult to comprehend, and absolutely simple and understandable other times. Einstein said about the subject, “It seems as though we must use sometimes the one theory and sometimes the other, while at times we may use either. We are faced with a new kind of difficulty. We have two contradictory pictures of reality; separately neither of them fully explains the phenomena of light, but together they do.”
With enough of an understanding of physics and earth science to grasp particle-wave duality, the more difficult thing for me to wrap my head around is how light is simultaneously tangible and invisible. We cannot see light – we can only see things lit by it. However, we can feel light. One of the most rudimentary concepts I remember learning in my high school chemistry class was that heat accompanies light. This means that even if a person is blind, she can still feel the sunshine on her arms. She can still feel the warmth of a fireplace. No one is excluded from experiencing light or its byproducts.
Christ perfectly fits this duality.
One of His many names is the Light. In John 1:4-5, it says, “In him was life; and the life was the light of men. And the light shineth in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not.” In John 8:12, Jesus says, “I am the light of the world: he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life.”
To call him Light is such an exact use of imagery. As humans, we live the entirety of our lives revolving around a sun, a source of physical light and life. As Christians, we live our lives (ideally) revolving around the Son, the source of spiritual light and life. In scriptural instances where Christ visits people of earth as an angel or resurrected being, he is described as a shining pillar of light, literally blinding people with brightness. He exudes actual light.
This comparison of Jesus to light is so much deeper than that, though. Nobel Prize winning physicist Niels Bohr said, “The opposite of a true statement is a false statement, but the opposite of a profound truth is usually another profound truth.”
Just as light is a scientific paradox, Jesus is an eternal one. He too, is tangible and intangible. We cannot see Him, but have faith that He is there and feel his presence and influence through the Spirit. He is with us, and also somehow with everybody else. He died, and yet, He is alive. He delivers rightful justice and endless mercy. He is the Son of God, and also tragically human, both mortal and immortal. He was made whole after resurrection, and still retains the scars by which he died. He is our servant, and also our king.
May we find guidance as He lights our path, comfort as he warms our hearts, and faith as he remains present, but just out of sight.