By Danny Minton

“Who knows what evil lurks in the hearts of men? The Shadow knows!” Thus, a detective radio program from the 1930s to the 1950s opened each episode. There is something about shadows that gives people an uneasy feeling. Combining shadows with darkness, the uneasiness will cause one’s heart to race with unknown expectations of both the seen and unseen. 

The one shadow in history that has brought fear, anxiety, and numerous speculations is the shadow of the moon as it covers the sun during an eclipse. A total eclipse such as the one on April 8 of this year is somewhat rare, occurring somewhere on the earth on average every 18 months to two years. The one on April 8 is talked about more since it is happening at a time when the sun and moon cycles are in a position that only happens every 54 years. This year’s eclipse will cover a path approximately fifty miles wide. The chances of an eclipse in the same spot won’t come for another 360 to 400 years. Since Christ’s birth, the earth has experienced close to 1,400 total eclipses. 

Legends in many countries have the sun being devoured by some being, then released. In Vietnam, a giant frog swallows the sun and is convinced by the lord of Hahn to spit it out. The Javanese, an ethnic group of Indonesia, have a legend that Batara Kala swallows the sun. The villagers then sacrifice and beat drums until it is released. The Andeans believed the sun was swallowed by a giant puma that had to be scared away by children, while the Choctaw legend has the sun being gnawed by a black squirrel. Bears, sky creatures, dragons, and giant wolves pepper the legends of what happens to the sun during an eclipse. 

For the Navajo, the eclipse doesn’t represent something to fear; it is a sacred time of renewal. The people are encouraged to go inside and not look at the sun as the moon interacts with the sun. They use the time to contemplate their life. The tribe has studied the cosmos for centuries and feels one with it. 

Modern-day is not absent of myths about a total eclipse. There are dangerous rays from the eclipse that will harm the baby if you look at it and are pregnant. An eclipse will poison food prepared during the time. An eclipse foretells significant life changes, and events are about to happen. Solar eclipses on your birthday or six months after are a sign of bad health to come. Some groups say a total eclipse represents a sign that the Lord will return soon. 

These present interesting readings expressing the fears and uncertainty of being in the shadows. Most people today understand that a total eclipse is simply three objects lining up where the middle one throws a shadow blocking light for a few minutes. The point that makes this year different is that the moon is closer to the Earth, so it will cover the light from the sun entirely for as many as 4 minutes and 28 seconds in some locations. For a small section of the Earth, the day, for those few minutes, will appear to be night.

This time of year also represents another time when the day turned into the night. This time, it lasted for three hours instead of minutes. As Christ hung on the cross, Luke records, “ It was now about the sixth hour, and darkness fell over the whole land until the ninth hour,  because the Sun was obscured; and the veil of the temple was torn in two. And Jesus, crying out with a loud voice, said, ‘Father, INTO YOUR HANDS I COMMIT MY SPIRIT.’ Having said this, He breathed His last.” 

He died on the cross so that men could be freed from the shadows and darkness of their sins. The critical thing to remember is that as dark as a shadow may be, when the light shines, shadows disappear. As long as we remain in the light of Jesus, the shadows and darkness of life will be covered by His light. If you are near the eclipse this year, stop and think about God’s love for us when he sent his Son. As the shadow fades, remember how the light of the sun of our solar system and the Son of God both erase the darkness we might fear.

Is the eclipse a prediction of the coming of Christ? Jesus’ words erase this myth. “Therefore, be on the alert, for you do not know which day your Lord is coming. But be sure of this, that if the head of the house had known at what time of the night the thief was coming, he would have been on the alert and would not have allowed his house to be broken into. For this reason you also must be ready; for the Son of Man is coming at an hour when you do not think He will.” Matthew 24:42-44 (NASB) Both Paul (1 Thessalonians 5:2) and Peter (2 Peter 3:10) repeat when it will happen. 

Remember, if we remain in the Light, we have no fear of the shadows. Enjoy the eclipse and be thankful for the light to return in more ways than one.

Photo credit: Image by kjpargeter on Freepik

Danny Minton is a former Elder and minister at Southern Hills Church of Christ