I can remember being woken up by my father and brought downstairs to watch the moment when three US astronauts landed on the moon for the very first time. The year was 1969. I was just five years old. It was a very vivid memory.
I heard last week that Neil Armstrong, Michael Collins and Buz Aldrin did something rather remarkable before stepping out of Apollo 11. The three of them read from the Book of Genesis, then apparently Neil Armstrong took Communion.
For reasons at the time, due to an atheist complaining about reading from a Bible in space, this latter fact had been concealed. I wonder what fresh meaning that simple meal of the bread and the wine had for Armstrong.
The Guardian on Saturday published its original front page. On it was an article quoting the Pope's reaction: "In an ecstasy of this prophetic day - a real triumph for man-made means for the dominion of the universe - we must not forget man's need and duty to dominate himself."
At the time there were three major conflicts raging back down on planet earth: Vietnam, Nigeria and the Middle East - with a fourth just erupted between El Salvador and Honduras.
The Pope concluded: "It is absolutely necessary that the heart of man should become freer, better, more religious as the power of his machines, his weapons, his instruments become greater and more dangerous."
To Armstrong, Collins and Aldrin's minds the world must have just looked plain innocent.
it makes me reflect on how Genesis chapter 1 must have read to them thousands of miles away from the earth; and how Jesus' death and resurrection was seen. One can only imagine. From their perspective, I am sure It would have looked perfect and untainted, and inconceivable that a tiny planet like theirs could hurt itself so much.
Neil Armstrong commented later, "It suddenly struck me that that tiny pea, pretty and blue, was the Earth. I put up my thumb and shut one eye, and my thumb blotted out the planet Earth. I didn't feel like a giant. I felt very, very small."
In John 3:30 when John the Baptist testifies about Jesus, he says forthrightly: "He must become greater; I must become less." When we have the kind of perspective of John the Bapist or Neil Armstrong there is hope for humanity. While we still want to be great we know the human race has its work cut out.
ASD

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