What do we do with people we don't understand?
What does it look like to live a life that cannot be overcome?
"The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it."
- John 1v5
This is one of the verses in the Bible that have a footnote. Perched on the end of the word 'overcome' is a little ‘a’ that asks the reader to let their eyes drop to the bottom of the page where another translation of the Greek word katelben is given. There we find that what reads ‘overcome,’ could also read ‘understood.’
"The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not understood it."
A quick read of any of the four accounts of Jesus' life found in the Bible (Matthew, Mark, Luke or John) show how both of these translations make sense. Jesus is the 'light' being referred to here by John. Saying that Jesus was not understood would be more than accurate (how many times does he say, "do you still not understand?") as would saying that Jesus was not overcome (read the last several chapters of any of the four accounts.) Jesus came into this world as a light in a dark place and the darkness did not understand or overcome him.
What do we do with people we don't understand?
What does it look like to live a life that cannot be overcome?
Could these be the questions that drove Jonathan Glazer and Radiohead to put this video together?
