Following light
Neil I MacLennan
January 11, 2024
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Psalm 119: 105-112 (NRSVA)
105 Your word is a lamp to my feet
and a light to my path.
106 I have sworn an oath and confirmed it,
to observe your righteous ordinances.
107 I am severely afflicted;
give me life, O Lord, according to your word.
108 Accept my offerings of praise, O Lord,
and teach me your ordinances.
109 I hold my life in my hand continually,
but I do not forget your law.
110 The wicked have laid a snare for me,
but I do not stray from your precepts.
111 Your decrees are my heritage for ever;
they are the joy of my heart.
112 I incline my heart to perform your statutes
for ever, to the end.
Light is fast. In fact, it’s the fastest thing we know of. But it’s only *so* fast. It travels at 186,000 miles per second, roughly. Light from the moon takes 1.3 seconds to reach us. Light from the sun takes just over 8 minutes. To put it another way, we see the sun as it was just over 8 minutes ago. If the sun were to “turn off”, suddenly, we wouldn’t know about it for 8 minutes. Then it would get dark and cold!
Our image for today is of the Southern Ring Nebula in the constellation of Vela and was taken in 2022. It’s around 2,000 light years away and the light that we see in this image left the nebula around the time Jesus walked the land, during his earthly ministry.
On the flip side, sunlight reflected off Jesus’ tunic is on its way back to the nebula and — were we there today, and with a powerful enough telescope — we could perhaps be watching him preach his sermon on the mount!
Prayer:
Everlasting God,
Some days life seems to come at us pretty fast, yet just one day is but the merest ripple in the fabric of space and time.
Grant us a sense of perspective about things that matter: to overcome our hurdles and brush off our anxieties.
We praise you!
Everlasting God,
Some days life seems to be interminably slow, yet just one day is but the merest ripple in the fabric of space and time.
Grant us patience and serenity to sail through our seconds, minutes and hours; and in times of stillness to turn our thoughts to you.
We praise you!
Everlasting God,
“Outer Space” carries — for all time — the story of the world. Your story, His story, our stories.
Grant us a time of mindfulness to appreciate our part, our value and our story in the ripples of the universe.
We praise you!
Amen.
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