A Certain Light

33 miners.
 
For 69 days.
Trapped 2,000 feet under the surface of the earth.

It was two years ago this week that the Chilean Copiapo’ mine disaster began, dominating the deadlines for more than two months that late summer and early fall. We remember the horror at learning of the cave-in and we remember the emotional and dramatic rescues of the miners, all brought to the surface safe and alive. It was hard not to be moved and riveted to the screen as each one emerged, on live TV and streaming video, from the darkness and into the light, embraced their families and exuberantly greeted those around them, and began their entrance back into their everyday lives again.

We remember how refreshing it was to hear the commentators, typically cynical and often critical, exude overflowing excitement and even sentimentality at the sight of each man as he stepped out of the rescue cage that had brought him to the surface. It was hard not to listen and be impressed as they described what they knew of the conditions in the chamber where the men were trapped and how they reacted – seemingly so positively – throughout their ordeal. In their shared trial, it was reported over and over again, that the men bonded as one. It was not “every man for himself” as it often is in extreme, threatening circumstances. It was, instead, every man for every other man, all in it, committed to supporting each other, sharing a common experience, as one. A brotherhood of solidarity, a community of grace, a spirit of “we are in this together and we will work together to make it through”. Theirs was a shared trauma that was apparently vastly devoid of the shocking and unsettling drama that is far too often seen in the news today. We heard it said that it was “reality TV” not at its sensational worst, but at its life-affirming best. It appeared to highlight the better angels of human reaction, the most wonderful of human responses, to very real human challenges and potentially profound human pain.

Plunged into the darkness. Buried alive. Trapped. Alone. With limited physical resources. With uncertainty and the odds overwhelming against them. No one knew if that subterranean chamber would be their final resting place, if those miners would ever see the light of day and those they loved again.

Plunged into disease, disappointment, despair and even death, causing overwhelming dis-ease, the realities of life can brings their own darkness, their own feelings of being buried under seemingly impenetrable obstacles. Too many of those realities bring so much loneliness at times, so many limitations. Their circumstances are often painful to acknowledge. Their certain uncertainties cause fear and doubt to rise. We wonder, will light ever come back into life again?

The response of the 33 Chilean miners to their shared reality for those 69 uncertain days spent 2,000 feet under the ground was a witness to the power of humans reaching out together to find deliverance and support and hope and new life again. It is a testament to the awesome power of the human spirit. We don’t know, of course, just how the rest of their lives will unfold, what challenges will ultimately emerge, what consequences will ultimately emerge. But what we do know is that when we choose to respond to a shared crisis with support for one another there with us, with faith that answers can come, with hope that there can be realistic options, with unselfishness as a foundation, with grace as a rule, with love as a guide, even the deepest darkness and the fiercest challenge can be met and overcome. May each of us find the same to be so when we feel plunged, in over our heads, alone, having to rely on forces beyond our control to set us free, not sure if there is any hope at all.

While it was the joyful rescues that got the world’s riveted attention in 2010, it was what we have learned of these miners’ months in the darkness that compelled the world to take notice, too (and for us was even more impressive). It is not just the miraculous triumphs that we need to celebrate, but also the light that is still able to pierce the darkness even when we feel trapped and that life is out of control. It is that light that shines and brings healing to our troubled spirits, our frightened souls.

Photo by Pedro Henrique Santos on Unsplash