Prior to the First World War, western European countries were driven by an exceptional optimism made possible by the Industrial Revolution.  Advancements in technology and manufacturing created great wealth for a few, and had significant positive effects for wider society, as well.   

The growth of manufacturing provided new jobs and revenue to all sectors of society.  The increased availability of consumer products stimulated economic growth.  The wider access to capital and leisure time provided new impetus to education, scholarship, and global exploration.   

The social benefits of technology and economic growth led industrialized nations to expect that the betterment of all people’s lives would continue unabated.  The First World War dashed those expectations completely.  On the battlefield, the technology and wealth that everyone expected to be the salvation of western European society became the cause of its near total destruction.  Suddenly, technology and manufacturing seemed to hold a dark secret, namely, that the means of human advancement could become the means of unprecedented loss and death. 

In 1927, the British author J. B. Priestly wrote a short novel that dramatized his observations about the aftermath of the war.  The story took place in an isolated family house in the British countryside.  Three travelers sought refuge from a storm that had washed out the road they were driving on, but their refuge turned out to be no less dangerous than the storm they fled.  The family that gave refuge to the travelers was a collection of sinister, dangerous, neurotic people who guarded frightening family secrets. 

At first, the travelers wondered if they would be safer facing the storm outside the house rather than facing the human dangers that lie within the house.  Eventually, the travelers came to realize that they, too, were capable of callous, destructive, even evil behavior.  The author of the novel wasn’t trying to paint a pessimistic picture of society; rather, he intended his story as a cautionary tale.  In the end, the innermost thoughts of all the novel’s characters were revealed; each person turned out to be an admixture of goodness, loss, tragedy, fear, selfishness, hope, passion, and helplessness. 

The Infancy Narrative in Luke’s Gospel describes the family life of Joseph, Mary, and Jesus in terms surprisingly similar to those in J. B. Priestly’s novel.  Joseph and Mary made an arduous journey under difficult circumstances and, like the three travelers in the novel, they had to seek shelter in inhospitable surroundings.  While fulfilling the requirements of the Mosaic Covenant for their child, they were told that their child would endure conflict “so that the thoughts of many hearts may be revealed.” (Lk 2:35)  The promise of revelation of people’s innermost thoughts came with an allusion to the contrast between light and darkness, the same contrast at the center of Priestly’s novel. 

Priestly’s novel and Luke’s Infancy Narrative are very similar in that they try to portray human existence without the sort of illusions and fantasies that are the popular means to live in denial about the difficulties of life in a finite universe.  There is, however, a significant difference between the two stories.  Priestly’s novel focuses on the dark side of human nature while Luke’s Infancy Narrative focuses on the Divine light that shines on humankind. 

In Luke’s Infancy Narrative, the approaching death of the devout man Simeon was redeemed by the fulfillment of a Divine promise that he would see the Messiah. (Lk 2:26)  The prophecy of conflict and destruction for the People of Israel ended with a promise of revelation. (Lk 2:34-35)  The Holy Family’s visit to the Temple concluded with the experience of Divine consolation. (Lk 2:38) 

Today, we enjoy the tremendous benefits made possible by technological advancements, economic growth, and space exploration.  Like western society before the First World War, we face the temptation of expecting our good fortune to bring us only good, with no shadow of evil.  In our more honest moments, we might be willing to admit that the benefits we enjoy are a two-edged sword that can be misused for destructive purposes, as well. 

Priestly’s novel and Luke’s Infancy Narrative reveal the truth about human existence.  The novel, entitled “Benighted,” is a reference to nighttime, that is, the darkness of evil that shrouds the world.  Luke described his narrative as the series of events that fulfilled the biblical prophecies of redemption and reconciliation. (Lk 1:1-2)  Both stories are revelations of both darkness and light, but one storyteller had an unique advantage.  Both authors witnessed firsthand the terror of destruction on an unprecedented scale, but Luke had the advantage of standing in the light of the revelation of the Savior.  “Benighted” is a cautionary tale; Luke’s Gospel is a cautionary tale situated within the promise of redemption. 

Luke’s Gospel doesn’t offer an escape from the darkness of sin and evil; rather, the Gospel proclaims the Divine Revelation of God’s promise to redeem the world from sin and death.  The Gospel, then, is an alternative to a benighted life, but the alternative isn’t merely a choice to avoid the darkness. A benighted existence is the inevitable result of the natural order of things in the universe. The redeeming alternative is not escape from the natural order but to proclaim God’s salvation to the world. Luke’s Gospel both proclaims and models how to live the new life of Grace. The Gospel proclaimed the coming of the Light; when we participate actively in that mission of proclaiming the Gospel, we find redemption and new life.