PENTECOST X
August 1, 2021
“Look to the Heavens”
“The heavens are telling the glory of God; and the firmament proclaims his handiwork.” (Psalm 19:1)
The intense hot spell that we’ve been grumbling through recently might bring to mind memories of warm summer days of youth and childhood. Did you ever stretch out on the grass on a summer night and look at the stars? You might have been at your grandparents’ farm, camping in a remote area, or visiting a wide-open-spaces area, but as the soft darkness of a summer night fell, and you looked up, it was like seeing a whole different world.
It’s easy to forget just how breathtaking the night sky is, with the far reaches of light pollution around us, but somehow those persistent little pinpricks of God’s brightness penetrate the darkness, telling us they’re still there. At times, it appears that we humans are determined to block out that beauty, as we generate an endless variety of pollutants into our atmosphere. The smoke from wildfires many hundreds of miles away have created vivid sunsets and a colorful full moon, but I’d be happy with less pollution-related color and cleaner air.
Ancient people looked to the heavens for signs and meaning, perhaps wondering if there were magical messages in those sparkling heavenly bodies. The Book of Genesis (1:14-19) describes God’s creation of the sun, moon, and stars to bring light to his creation. Throughout the Bible, we read of people both humbled by and celebrating the beauty of the skies above them. The Psalms, in particular, speak to the hearts of people across the centuries, as eloquent and fresh as when they were written.
“When I look at your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars that you have established; what are human beings that you are mindful of them, mortals that you care for them? Yet you have made them a little lower than God, and crowned them with glory and honor.” (Psalm 8:3-5)
As King David was inspired to write these words, we can envision him out in the desert, with no lights to intrude on his view, gazing into the inky blackness of the night sky, at the myriad of stars, mysteriously shining down. In the midst of this vastness, he sees humans as small and insignificant, and he can’t help but wonder why God, creator of all, would even care for them. But he also knows that God intentionally and uniquely created humans, not only to be part of the world, but to be good stewards of it as well. They may be crowned with honor, but they have great responsibilities as well.
Whether environmental or spiritual, unrelenting darkness is terrifying, and we long for some glimmer of light to give us hope. We have the promise that even if it seems that God is distant, or when the stars aren’t visible, they aren’t absent. We are only human, humble before God’s strength and power, and whether or not we see the stars or feel God’s presence isn’t the measure of their existence. Whether hidden by clouds or impaired by our focus on the problems and negativity in this world, the stars are still there, and God is always with us.
Remembering to look up,
Your friend in Christ,
Mary Rogers