subversivepreacher.org

surfing the reformation on a wave of religion-less Christianity

surfing the reformation on a wave of religion-less Christianity
  • Books, Poems, & Events
  • Cairn
  • Denim Spirit
  • Sermons
  • Podcasts
  • Books, Poems, & Events
  • Cairn
  • Denim Spirit
  • Sermons
  • Podcasts

Forty Thousand Years from Now

June 5, 2019 By Cam Miller Leave a Comment

After all the talk, we finally got a peek at a black hole. It isn’t the one at the center of our solar system, Sagittarius A, it was in Messier 87 – a nearby galaxy much larger than our own Milky Way.

So, I was a little disappointed that a black hole turns out to look like a glazed red velvet cake donut. I wasn’t expecting the silhouette of Darth Vader’s helmeted head exactly, but a keyhole would have been nice.

I confess to very little interest in the anniversary of the moon landing. I didn’t get patriotic shivers down my spine in 1969, and while I think it is cool there is a moon rock in the stained glass “space window” at the National Cathedral, my only marvel is at the human beings who climb into those space vehicles and suits with a willingness to trust our rudimentary technology. Landing on the moon, or even when we make it as far as mars, amounts to stopping by Byrne Dairy in Geneva on your way to Mount Kilimanjaro. Sure, it is a beginning, but relative to what there is to explore it does not even amount to a crawl.

Much more compelling, at least to me, is Voyager 1 and 2. After thirty-five years wafting through space on a mission to explore the outer planets of our solar system, the little engines that could are thirteen and fourteen billion miles away, respectively. They left our solar system in 2012 and 2013 and now wander interstellar space, a sensory fingertip for humankind. One of them carries a golden record with human voices and animal sounds from our planet, a note in a bottle for whoever or whatever else is out there.

In case my nonchalance about the moon landing seems hard-hearted or short-sighted, allow me to offer this perspective. Voyager 1’s new mission, now that it has escaped the heliosphere bubble surrounding our solar system, is an encounter with a star we call AC+79 3888 – a mere 17.6 light years from Earth. That meeting is schedule for forty thousand years from now. No, that is not a typo: forty thousandyears from now. It seems more likely that Voyager 1 will fulfill its mission than it does human beings will still be breathing oxygen on Earth by then.

Meanwhile, my dog sits alert in the sunroom staring at squirrels outside. She is content to sit and stare motionless for long periods of time, perhaps imagining herself leaving the limits of the glass bubble enclosing us and jettisoning toward the squirrel who taunts her from the edge of the patio. Her universe does not include AC+ 3888 or Sagittarius A, but her happiness knows no bounds in the world exposed by the length of her leash.

For myself, I am content to enjoy the crisp morning light. The sky is pure blue this morning and the sun, that single star at the center our solar system, washes through the oak and Japanese maples leaving shade art on stunningly green spring grass. We may be able to walk on the moon but where else in the cosmos is there such a lush view as the one I have right here?

 

 

 

Filed Under: DENIM SPIRIT Tagged With: black holes, moon landing, the back yard

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Follow Me

Sign up for newsletter and keep in touch

* indicates required

Books, Poems, & Events

NOMINATED FOR A PUSHCART PRIZE 2020 Unsolicited Press (Portland, OR) chose "Cairn" among its many fine publications this year, as a nominee for one of the most respected literary awards in the … ...Read more

Books, Poems, & Events

Books, Poems, Sermons, and Columns for navigating the globalization of spirituality, and author visits and lectures available for building up the sacred community. Read more...


Each of these posts appeared first in The Finger Lakes Times (NY) as an entry in the weekly series, “Denim Spirit.”

 

Sermons, and preaching as an art, are not for dispensing content or proclaiming doctrines and dogma. Like poetry, prose, and music, they are for provoking and inspiring thought, memory, and imagination within those receiving them. Please allow your thoughts to wander as they will in response to what you hear, rather than following along word for word.

  • What the heck is this?
  • Who the heck is this?

Copyright © 2021 R. Cameron Miller · Site managed by True Image Web Production · Parallax Pro Theme On Genesis Framework · Log in