1/09/2010
--AND THE STARS
HE MADE THE SUN AND THE MOON--AND STARS GENESIS 1.16
NUMBER 211
Andromeda Island Universe
Credit & Copyright: Martin Pugh
Explanation: The most distant object easily visible to the eye is M31, the great Andromeda Galaxy some two and a half million light-years away. But without a telescope, even this immense spiral galaxy - spanning over 200,000 light years - appears as a faint, nebulous cloud in the constellation Andromeda. While even casual skygazers are now inspired by the knowledge that there are many distant galaxies like M31, astronomers seriously debated this fundamental concept in the 20th century. Were these "spiral nebulae" simply outlying components of our own Milky Way Galaxy or were they instead "island universes" -- distant systems of stars comparable to the Milky Way itself? This question was central to the famous Shapley-Curtis debate of 1920, which was later resolved byobservations of M31 in favor of Andromeda, island universe.
I have become an occasional blogger--being infrequent may not mean being more concise. Beginning a new year that, even in the most optimistic eyes, may not have a lot to commend its possibilities, I think a few words of encouragement might be in order.
I once heard Elisabeth Elliot tell of a young woman seeker at Yale University who took a Bible Course but did not find what she was looking for. One phrase from the creation account in Genesis (1.16) stuck in her mind: "--and the stars." God made the two great lights, the sun and the moon, and, oh yes, the stars.
The woman at the bookstore where she had bought the Bible had been very helpful. The student went back and asked her, "Is there a school where they actually believe this book?" There was, and the young seeker ended up at Wheaton College where she met the Maker of the stars.
Would you like a personal message from the Maker of the Stars as you begin 2010? You will have to turn off your cell phone, your iPod, your stereo, your TV, your radio, and everything else that crowds around to keep you in the center of noise.
C.S. Lewis' Senior Demon Screwtape spells out the place of noise in the Adversary's program:
"Music and silence--how I detest them both! How thankful we should be that ever since our Father entered Hell--though longer ago than humans, reckoning in light years, could express--no square inch of infernal space and no moment of infernal time has been surrendered to either of those abominable forces, but all has been occupied by Noise--Noise, the grand dynamism, the audible expression of all that is exultant, ruthless and virile--noise which alone defends us from silly qualms, despairing scruples and impossible desires. We will make the whole universe in the end. We have already made great strides in this direction as regards the earth. (This was even before 'Christian Rock Worship Music,' singing on the wall) The melodies and silences of Heaven will be shouted down in the end."
Here is the message for God's children who will listen:
I have called you by name, from the very beginning. You are mine and I am yours. You are my Beloved, on you my favor rests. I have molded you in the depths of the earth and knitted you together in your mother’s womb. I have carved you in the palms of my hands and hidden you in the shadow of my embrace. I look at you with infinite tenderness and care for you with a care more intimate than that of a mother for her child. I have counted every hair on your head and guided you at every step. Wherever you go, I go with you, and wherever you rest, I keep watch. I will give you food that will satisfy all your hunger and drink that will quench all your thirst. I will not hide my face from you. You know me as your own as I know you as my own. You belong to me. I am your father, your mother, your brother, your sister, your lover, and your spouse…yes, even your child…wherever you are I will be. Nothing will ever separate us. We are one.
From Life of the Beloved by Henri J.M. Nouwen
Joan and I are looking forward eagerly to 2010, knowing it is all in the hands of the Maker of the Stars and we are His Beloved.
Jerry / Joan Sweers
Rabbi, is there a blessing for the President?
Of course my son;
Let his days be few; let another take his office.
Psalm 109.8
NUMBER 211
Andromeda Island Universe
Credit & Copyright: Martin Pugh
Explanation: The most distant object easily visible to the eye is M31, the great Andromeda Galaxy some two and a half million light-years away. But without a telescope, even this immense spiral galaxy - spanning over 200,000 light years - appears as a faint, nebulous cloud in the constellation Andromeda. While even casual skygazers are now inspired by the knowledge that there are many distant galaxies like M31, astronomers seriously debated this fundamental concept in the 20th century. Were these "spiral nebulae" simply outlying components of our own Milky Way Galaxy or were they instead "island universes" -- distant systems of stars comparable to the Milky Way itself? This question was central to the famous Shapley-Curtis debate of 1920, which was later resolved byobservations of M31 in favor of Andromeda, island universe.
I have become an occasional blogger--being infrequent may not mean being more concise. Beginning a new year that, even in the most optimistic eyes, may not have a lot to commend its possibilities, I think a few words of encouragement might be in order.
I once heard Elisabeth Elliot tell of a young woman seeker at Yale University who took a Bible Course but did not find what she was looking for. One phrase from the creation account in Genesis (1.16) stuck in her mind: "--and the stars." God made the two great lights, the sun and the moon, and, oh yes, the stars.
The woman at the bookstore where she had bought the Bible had been very helpful. The student went back and asked her, "Is there a school where they actually believe this book?" There was, and the young seeker ended up at Wheaton College where she met the Maker of the stars.
Would you like a personal message from the Maker of the Stars as you begin 2010? You will have to turn off your cell phone, your iPod, your stereo, your TV, your radio, and everything else that crowds around to keep you in the center of noise.
C.S. Lewis' Senior Demon Screwtape spells out the place of noise in the Adversary's program:
"Music and silence--how I detest them both! How thankful we should be that ever since our Father entered Hell--though longer ago than humans, reckoning in light years, could express--no square inch of infernal space and no moment of infernal time has been surrendered to either of those abominable forces, but all has been occupied by Noise--Noise, the grand dynamism, the audible expression of all that is exultant, ruthless and virile--noise which alone defends us from silly qualms, despairing scruples and impossible desires. We will make the whole universe in the end. We have already made great strides in this direction as regards the earth. (This was even before 'Christian Rock Worship Music,' singing on the wall) The melodies and silences of Heaven will be shouted down in the end."
Here is the message for God's children who will listen:
I have called you by name, from the very beginning. You are mine and I am yours. You are my Beloved, on you my favor rests. I have molded you in the depths of the earth and knitted you together in your mother’s womb. I have carved you in the palms of my hands and hidden you in the shadow of my embrace. I look at you with infinite tenderness and care for you with a care more intimate than that of a mother for her child. I have counted every hair on your head and guided you at every step. Wherever you go, I go with you, and wherever you rest, I keep watch. I will give you food that will satisfy all your hunger and drink that will quench all your thirst. I will not hide my face from you. You know me as your own as I know you as my own. You belong to me. I am your father, your mother, your brother, your sister, your lover, and your spouse…yes, even your child…wherever you are I will be. Nothing will ever separate us. We are one.
From Life of the Beloved by Henri J.M. Nouwen
Joan and I are looking forward eagerly to 2010, knowing it is all in the hands of the Maker of the Stars and we are His Beloved.
Jerry / Joan Sweers
Rabbi, is there a blessing for the President?
Of course my son;
Let his days be few; let another take his office.
Psalm 109.8
