It may not be wise to begin a sermon by focusing on dark times when we may be desperately struggling for light and hope in our dilemma, yet perhaps it is the best place to start.

            The fact of the matter is that most everyone, sooner or later, feels some of that darkness. Certainly everyone who is spiritually sensitive will recognize the situation which we may call “the darkness within.”

            Of course, the darkness is not something we want to widely broadcast. In fact, we may do a fair job of hiding it. When someone asks about the status of our lives, we are likely to smile and say, “I’m fine.” But down deep, we know that we are in some misery. And sometimes our cheery answer rings hollow. There are some perhaps who might identify with the man whom the poet, Edwin Arlington Robinson, described in an intriguing poem called “Richard Cory.” As the poet describes Richard Cory, he was a man others greatly envied. He was a true gentleman, mannerly, gracious, so well thought of that when he simply said “Good morning,” people felt their pulses flutter. He was clean-cut, his body nicely slim; he had it all. And yes, he was rich, “richer than a king.”

            His entire character and bearing made others wish they had what he had. But they could not change places with him so the majority of people knew that they could only remain what they were: ordinary people.

            But here are the closing words of the poem:

So on we worked, and waited for the light,

And went without the meat and cursed the bread;

And Richard Cory one calm summer night,

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