Big things are about to happen in the sky: The Super Blue Blood Moon Wednesday Is Something the US Hasn’t Seen Since 1866. Early Wednesday morning (Jan. 31), a Blue Moon, a total lunar eclipse and a supermoon coincide to create a rare lunar event that hasn’t been seen in North America in more than 150 years. (SPACE.com). Ever since people have gazed at the heavens they have found meaning there – the Sun as a God, the constellations as fortune-tellers. What happens in the sky affects us here on Earth big time. How is your sleep in a full-moon night?
As human beings we are part of the natural ecosystem and we suffer and prosper alongside the rest of creation. We adjust to nature’s rhythm because it is our own. Halfway between the winter solstice in December and the spring equinox in March we ask a groundhog what the weather is going to be like. Since 1792 the Farmer’s Almanac has had all kinds of other folklore and wisdom. Also the Almanac reveals an inconvenient truth: Punxsutawney Phil gets his predictions right only 39% of the time. And while everybody understands that the moon is not literally bleeding, let’s not forget the fact that the upcoming Super Moon is not so super after all: the last supermoon and lunar eclipse combination happened on 27 September 2015 and the next one is just around the corner on 21 January 2019.
Maybe things in the sky aren’t as big as they seem. Maybe our entanglement in natural processes is overrated. Prophets have warned about that for thousands of years:
“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.” (Deuteronomy 4:19)
There is something oddly comforting about being subject to cosmological powers. If our fate is in the stars we are not really in charge. Well, the God of Israel does not allow much room for that kind of thinking: Do not let the sun, the moon and the stars guide you! It is much more important to focus on what is going on down here on Earth among God’s children. When people are hungry, feed them! When children need direction, educate them! Next Sunday at St. John’s UCC you will have opportunities to be part of both: We will be kicking off our month-long food-drive as well as celebrate Scout Sunday. So don’t let the stars tell you how to live but instead, support Boy Scouts so they can camp out under the stars! Don’t let some cosmological fate determine people’s destiny but bring food donations and turn people’s lives around!
