en
Winter Light
There are not many communicants when the priest Tomas Ericsson holds his morning service. The small congregation includes the teacher, Märta, who faithfully follows Tomas everywhere. She is reasonably convinced that God does not exist – at least not in the way that Tomas wants him to – but once when she prayed to him she received an answer: he has spoken to her and told her to take care of Tomas. Tomas, the doubter, who is in a profound crisis because of God’s silence. Tomas, who shies away from reality because it is ugly. Tomas, who has created his own God who he locks away in a dark room so that no one can defile him. Tomas who mourns the death of his wife and does not want Märta because she lives so close to reality.There is also the Persson couple. Karin, another woman with common sense, and Jonas, who like Tomas, despairs because of God’s silence. Can He really exist when people are dying like flies in various wars and when country after country can wipe out His creation with atomic weapons? Jonas is on the verge of taking his own life and, clutching at a straw, looks for guidance from Tomas.But Tomas can offer no help – perhaps life becomes immediately understandable if we realise that God does not exist? Incomprehensible suffering no longer needs to be explained and God’s silence is no longer a silence, because something that does not exist cannot provide answers. Tomas has always wanted to be special, he has always wanted to believe that God loves him more than others, but his fear of ugliness prevents him from feeling love. Both Märta and the verger assure Tomas that love can open the way to God, but this is impossible for Tomas.
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There are not many communicants when the priest Tomas Ericsson holds his morning service. The small congregation includes the teacher, Märta, who faithfully follows Tomas everywhere. She is reasonably convinced that God does not exist – at least not in the way that Tomas wants him to – but once when she prayed to him she received an answer: he has spoken to her and told her to take care of Tomas. Tomas, the doubter, who is in a profound crisis because of God’s silence. Tomas, who shies away from reality because it is ugly. Tomas, who has created his own God who he locks away in a dark room so that no one can defile him. Tomas who mourns the death of his wife and does not want Märta because she lives so close to reality.There is also the Persson couple. Karin, another woman with common sense, and Jonas, who like Tomas, despairs because of God’s silence. Can He really exist when people are dying like flies in various wars and when country after country can wipe out His creation with atomic weapons? Jonas is on the verge of taking his own life and, clutching at a straw, looks for guidance from Tomas.But Tomas can offer no help – perhaps life becomes immediately understandable if we realise that God does not exist? Incomprehensible suffering no longer needs to be explained and God’s silence is no longer a silence, because something that does not exist cannot provide answers. Tomas has always wanted to be special, he has always wanted to believe that God loves him more than others, but his fear of ugliness prevents him from feeling love. Both Märta and the verger assure Tomas that love can open the way to God, but this is impossible for Tomas.
