Thought for Today

Deuteronomy 4:19 And when you look up to the heavens and see the sun, the moon, and the stars, all the host of heaven, do not be led astray and bow down to them and serve them, things that the LORD your God has allotted to all the peoples everywhere under heaven.

Psalm 136:3 O give thanks to the Lord of lords, for his steadfast love endures forever . . . 7 who made the great lights, for his steadfast love endures forever; 8 the sun to rule over the day, for his steadfast love endures forever 9 the moon and stars to rule over the night, for his steadfast love endures forever;  

Matthew 24:29 "Immediately after the suffering of those days the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light; the stars will fall from heaven, and the powers of heaven will be shaken.

1 Corinthians 15:41 There is one glory of the sun, and another glory of the moon, and another glory of the stars; indeed, star differs from star in glory.

This morning, the 800 lb. gorilla in the room is the very successful ending to the Artemis II mission. This mission took humans deeper into space than any preceding space journeys. NASA has sent unmanned craft to the outer reaches of our solar system (and beyond),  but those did not expose humans to the dangers and rigors of deep space. There is also the issue of ‘the dark side of the moon.’

I’m not sure who first realized that the moon always presents a single side to the earth. It does. “The concept of the Moon always presenting the same side to Earth is a result of tidal locking, a phenomenon that occurs due to the gravitational pull between the Earth and the Moon. This process began shortly after the Moon’s formation and continued to slow its rotation over millions of years, eventually causing it to synchronize with its orbit around the Earth.” (Copilot Search)

The side of the moon not presented to the earth is not, of course, dark. Conspiracy theorist aside, that side of the moon is greatly similar to the side we always see. This mission did not photograph an ‘ancient alien’ bases, did not find any colonies of other nations, peoples or lifeforms. But the photographs they did take will provide vital information for countless scientists to identify and study. The mission itself will provide valuable information for future space missions.

Once Artemis II headed back toward earth, television was abuzz with stories about reentry into the earth’s atmosphere. Evidently, this reentry took a slightly different, shallower approach angle. We heard numerous reports of how dangerous and potentially deadly reentry would be.

Almost every aspect of space exploration is dangerous and deadly. The technical challenges are immense. However, the basic mathematics of ballistic trajectories have been known for centuries. The Roman military engineers calculated the trajectories of the rocks launched against the walls of cities they besieged. Admittedly, the speeds of reentering spacecraft exceed anything the Romans could imagine. The temperatures generated by reentering spacecraft exceed anything most of us can imagine. But, NASA engineers and others have spent years studying and analyzing the technical issues involved.

I am amazed this morning at the thoughts concerning the moon of our earliest ancestors-in-the-faith. They did not understand the mathematics of relative motion. They did not know about centrifugal force, centripetal force or the Coriolis effect. Universal gravitation attraction was not part of their knowledge. But, they did understand that what they observed in the night sky was all created. Others believed that the sun or other objects were gods. Our ancestors understood that these were things created by our Creator God. They understood God “made the great lights,” “the sun to rule over the day,” the moon and stars to rule over the night,” and they understood God did so because “his steadfast love endures forever.” They imagined that only the end of time itself would dim those great lights.

More than all the mathematics and science I studied, I find the realization of the enormity of God’s Creation and the enduring magnitude of God’s love most impressive. Eternal. Omnipotent. Omniscient. Omnipresent. Most importantly. Loving.

Stay safe, ponder God’s power and God’s love, trust God,

Pastor Ray