Misunderstanding April 8, 2024
The heavens declare the glory of God,
and the sky above proclaims his handiwork.
Day to day pours out speech,
and night to night reveals knowledge.
There is no speech, nor are there words,
whose voice is not heard.
Their voice goes out through all the earth,
and their words to the end of the world. – Psalm 19:1-4a, ESV
“The heavens do not reveal something that was hidden but draw attention to something that has always been apparent.” – John Goldingay
April 8, 2024, all of northwest Ohio (and much of the Eastern half of the United States) was looking up. Why? Because, a total solar eclipse was happening. What a day it was! Thousands of people traveled to see the phenomenon. It is estimated that people spent $6 billion on tourism related to the event. There were mass wedding/vow renewal ceremonies in my hometown. People didn’t work. Businesses closed. The sky proclaimed the handiwork of God. And most of the people watching misunderstood. Attributing the eclipse to ‘nature’ or astronomy. People worshiped the sun. And so it is when the Creator’s grandeur strikes a chord on our broken humanity. We rarely hear with clarity all that the skies have to say. We are far too busy, distracted, off on our own mission, worshiping the created thing rather than the Creator. Who else could hang the sun, moon, and earth in such an arrangement that the shadow would work like that? Who else could make the heavenly bodies behave in such a precise manner that we can predict solar eclipses for 100 years from now? And yet, for most of us the wonder of that moment has already faded into the timeline of our own history. Here’s my prayer for us this week: God, may we hear what the skies have to say. May we join in with them to make much of You. Amen.
Here are some blog bonus videos:
This one is a classic Francis Chan clip on Psalm 19.
This one is an astronomy video on the size/scope of the universe- and the producers definitely missed what the skies are saying!
‘Just’ a few galaxies!
