“Lift up your eyes and look to the heavens: Who created all these? He who brings out the starry host one by one and calls forth each of them by name. Because of his great power and mighty strength, not one of them is missing.”
Isaiah 40:26 (NIV)

A recent series on space travel to Mars reminded me of a time long ago when all my brothers were glued to the old black-and-white television, mesmerized by the fuzzy picture of the first landing on the moon. Days leading up to that memorable summer day in 1969, we stood outside with Pops in the dark looking up at the moon through our Sears & Roebuck telescope only dreaming of what it would feel like to walk on the moon. These moonwalkers were far above the highest clouds, past the splendor of the stars, and beyond the heavens. The telescope made it appear we could reach out and touch the heavens. I remember our youngest brother asking, “does God live on the moon?”

“Who is like the Lord our God who is seated on high, who looks far down on the heavens and the earth.”
Psalm 113:5-6 (NRSV) 

Jim Irwin felt an overwhelming sense of the presence of God. Jim was an aeronautical engineer, a Colonel in the US Air Force, a test pilot, a NASA astronaut, and a Christian. NASA assigned him to be the Lunar Module pilot for Apollo 15 and he became the eighth of only twelve human beings to walk on the Moon. But the most remarkable thing about Irwin’s moonshot, for him at least, was the odd and quite surprising feeling he experienced while on the Moon—something that none of his technical training had prepared him for. “It was a strange feeling,” Irwin said. “Almost from the time we landed, and all the way back, I was acutely aware of a holy presence.”

“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?”
Psalms 8:3-4 (NRSV)

Astronaut Buzz Aldrin, the second man to walk on the moon, could not help but share a more appropriate, awe-inspiring scripture from Psalms 8 with a national television broadcast the night before their splashdown. In fact, the majority of the astronauts were men of faith and leaders within their churches. Astronaut Mike Good shared, “Heading out to the launchpad is like being in a foxhole. There’s not a lot of atheists in a foxhole. I don’t think there’s many atheists sitting atop the launchpad.”

Unfortunately, NASA clamped down on public expressions of faith.  This was the result of a lawsuit centered on violations of the first amendment.  The lawsuit was fueled by the same atheists who abolished prayer in schools.

It is disappointing when we are limited in our ability to practice free speech with regards to religion. We all struggle with that delicate balance outside of church. Paul reminded us not to be ashamed of the word for it has healing grace. We choose when and where to share our faith story with others. 

Do you struggle with when and how to share the good news of the gospel? 

The presence of the Holy Spirit will open those opportunities to share the gospel. 

“Do not be ashamed, then, of the testimony about our Lord or of me his prisoner, but join with me in suffering for the gospel, relying on the power of God, who saved us and called us with a holy calling, not according to our works but according to his own purpose and grace. This grace was given to us in Christ Jesus before the ages began, but it has now been revealed through the appearing of our Savior Christ Jesus, who abolished death and brought life and immortality to light through the gospel.”
2 Timothy 1:8-10 (NRSV)

In 2014, a NASA telescope discovered an image of an exploding star ejecting an enormous cloud of material. This pulsar wind nebula emitted material and particles that interacted with nearby magnetic fields to produce this x-ray glow in the shape of an enormous hand. It has been called the “Hand of God”. Marvel at this breathtaking image that makes you truly wonder if it could be the hand of God holding up the heavens.

 “My soul clings to you; your right hand upholds me.” Psalm 63:8 (NRSV)

A lasting image is “The Creation of Adam” (1508-1512) by Michelangelo on the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel, which has long been recognized as one of the world’s great art treasures. It depicts God reaching outward from the heavens to a reclining Adam. 

A special AUMCer gifted a “touching hands” sculpture placed on a table as you enter the Asbury sanctuary. As one AUMC spiritual mentor reminded me… Look closely at the painting and it seems as if God is in the clouds reaching down toward a reclining Adam reaching back rather passively. He posed a great question. Who should be reaching? Who should have faith?

God’s holy presence is always moving towards us.

Do we find ourselves at times reaching for God or are we waiting for God to reach out to us?

^“Then Jesus asked, “Who touched me?” When all denied it, Petersaid, “Master, the crowds surround you and press in on you.” But Jesus said, “Someone touched me; for I noticed that power had gone out from me.”
Luke 8:45-46 (NRSV)

What chasm in your life is keeping you from fully extending your reach to Christ? Are you holding back reluctantly? How can you be more like the woman in Luke who said, “if only I could touch the garments?”

“He said to her, ‘Daughter, your faith has made you well; go in peace.’”
Luke 8:48 (NRSV)

In his heart, Jim Erwin knew that the presence was real. He knew that he knew. “God was there with us. Of that I am certain.” In fact, God felt so immediate, Irwin said that one time he actually “turned around and looked over his shoulder”—out of sheer instinct—to see whether someone was standing there with him on the moon.

 “Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight and the sin that clings so closely, and let us run with perseverance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus the pioneer and perfecter of our faith, who for the sake of the joy that was set before him endured the cross, disregarding its shame, and has taken his seat at the right hand of the throne of God.”
Hebrews 12:1-2 (NRSV)

How have you felt the presence of God in your life? Did that presence come through someone’s witness in your life? Does someone you know need the presence of God?

Hear the good news! Look upward in faith immersed with awe and wonder. With or without a telescope. Reach outward in acceptance for the holy touch of Christ. With or without a rocket ship. Though we are as numerous as the stars, our God knows our name and reaches out to each of us who are open to receiving his grace that truly sets us free.

Peace be with you,

Kenny Shortsleeve, Lay Leader

“I see Jesus in the morning dew
I see Him in the sky so blue
He is there in the pale moonlight
and in the stars so bright                                       
He lights my way when darkness overcomes me                           
His tears fall down from heaven to wash away the sorrows that trouble me
My joy has no bounds when His love surrounds me
Let the tears He shed on calvary
Set m free Lord Jesus set me free
Come sing a song of joy and delight
Come sing a song to Him tonight
Singing glory hallelujah
Come sing a song to Him tonight.”
Pop’s Psalm (RIP)