Awe and Wonder

CHRISTMAS DAY

Psalm 2, 85 • Psalm 110:1-5(6-7), 132
Zech. 2:10-13 • 1 John 4:7-16 • John 3:31-36

At your command all things came to be: the vast expanse of interstellar space, galaxies, suns, the planets in their courses, and this fragile earth, our island home.

Eucharistic Prayer C, BCP p. 370

On Christmas Eve, 1968, the crew of Apollo 8 began their return to earth from the first voyage around the moon, carrying with them a photograph that would become perhaps the most iconic picture of the 20th century. Video footage taken inside the space capsule shows rookie astronaut Bill Anders noticing the earth off to his right slowly rising from behind the moon as their capsule swung around from the dark side and then alerting his crew mates Frank Borman and Jim Lovell to the sight. Their ensuing conversation was filled with what can only be described as awe and wonder. “In lunar orbit it occurred to me,” Anders later recalled, “that here we are all the way up there at the moon, and we’re studying this thing, and it’s really the earth as seen from the Moon that’s the most interesting aspect of this flight.”

Our current version of The Book of Common Prayer was published in 1979, so it is possible that its reference to “this fragile earth, our island home” was inspired by that iconic photograph. Ancient peoples could see the moon and even worship it, but until the Apollo flights no human had ever seen this fragile orb which is “our island home.” Borman later marveled that from space he could hide the entire earth, and with it everything he knew, behind his upheld thumb. One wilderness photographer called this picture, which came to be known as “Earthrise,” “the most influential environmental photograph ever taken.”

The three Apollo astronauts had a chance to share with many millions of people the vista from their capsule windows. They needed words to go with that image, but what words could possibly do it justice? Those of you of a certain age have already remembered what Frank Borman said to all of us then: “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth…..”

Written by Bob McMath

Bob is thankful for the prayers and good wishes of many of you in recent weeks.

*After submitting this reflection I learned that an unmanned NASA Lunar Orbiter had taken pictures of the earth from the moon’s orbit in 1966.