|
“Then God said, ‘Let there be light’; and there was light.”
–– Genesis 1:3
And God made the two great lights—the greater light to rule the day and the lesser light to rule the night—and the stars. –– Genesis 1:16
“Like the moon it shall be established forever, a faithful witness in the skies.”
–– Psalm 89:37
“Thus says the Lord, who gives the sun for light by day and the fixed order of the moon and the stars for light by night, who stirs up the sea so that its waves roar— the Lord of hosts is his name…” –– Jeremiah 31:35
I may have discovered a mistake on the NASA website where it states: “Earth's Moon is the brightest and largest object in our night sky.” Though it may appear that way to the human eye, neither claim is technically valid … by a long shot. Sirius (the star, not the satellite radio company), which is located in the constellation Canis Major, shines with a much greater magnitude. Twice as massive as our own sun, Sirius shines with a luminosity 10,000 times brighter than its companion star, Sirius B. In its orbit, even the moon would be reaching for sunglasses and some SPF 1000. As far as brightness goes, the Moon emits no more light than the river rock in your garden. Its light is actually sunlight bouncing off its surface. There is nothing dynamic about the moon itself. It is a large stone that is dependent on exterior forces for its presence to be known and felt.
Neither is the moon the largest object in the night sky, though I am continually awed by the immensity of its appearance as it rises in the evening and just before it sets in the morning. However, our moon isn’t even the largest moon in our solar system. Titan, Ganymede, and Callisto would render our Moon to the junior varsity. The Moon is just over ¼ the size of Earth, and the Earth is ⅒ the size of Jupiter. Oh, and let’s not forget that the sun is nearly 110 times the size of earth, so the largest object award is out of the Moon’s grasp before we even get out of the neighborhood.
And yet, the Moon remains a significant presence in our lives, bearing an undeniable influence on our days, and providing a muse for our imagination. The soothing, spirit cleansing rhythmic sounds of gentle waves at landfall on the coast are made possible through the gravitational attraction of the Earth and the Moon. In addition, the Moon moderates the wobble of the Earth on its axis, thus reducing those falls that result from losing your balance. Plus, this pockmarked lunar wobble regulator provides for a relatively stable climate down here on Earth. And let’s face it, the Moon has always been a source of fascination, inspiring the creative genius of folks from Van Gogh to Van Morrison, from Mozart to Frank Sinatra, from The Doors to The Police.
That said, our awareness of the Moon is a result of its light, which is not actually its light at all. Thus, moonlight is a misnomer because moonlight is actually sunlight made accessible through reflection. You shouldn’t look directly at the Sun, but you’d be a fool not to look directly at the Moon and relish its mysteries, its beauty, its inspiration. That moonlight is a reflection of sunlight is a powerful metaphor for the relationship between God and humanity, Creator and created. Jesus told his disciples, “Apart from me you can do nothing.” Our capacities for love, for creativity, for goodness, for mercy, for good works are not possible without the creative and intentional movement of God’s Spirit within us. Thus, the light we offer to the world is actually a reflection of God’s light shining through us.
| 
