Thought of the Day-21^st. July, 2020

“Teacher, when will this be, and what will be the sign that this about to take place? And he said, beware that you are not led astray, for many will come in my name and say I am he and the time is near”. Luke 21: 7

July 21^st 1969, was a day after Neil Armstrong stepped out onto the moon followed by Edwin Buzz Aldrin.  Buzz Aldrin later wrote this piece about something he did some hours before stepping on the moon: “there are many thousands of things that God and man have made here on earth and before I blasted off, I got thinking and wondering what I would choose to take to the moon. So I said: What’s our greatest treasure here on earth? And I thought: It’s Christ’s gift of himself. So, shortly after touchdown, I opened two little plastic packages one containing bread and the other wine. I poured the wine into a chalice which our home church has given me and I read what St. John tells us Jesus said: I am the vine and you are the branches, in the one-sixth gravity of the moon the wine curled slowly and gracefully up the side of the cup. It was interesting to think that the very first liquid poured on the moon and the very first food eaten there were what Christ himself chose when he gave himself as our close friend”.

All the astronauts who landed on the moon that day July 20, 1969, were Christians about to enter an unknown part of God’s creation, a place where no man has been before. Friends, if you or I were about to go to a similar place in our lives where we have not been before- where we have no experience of and where we do not know whether we will come back alive or not, what would we be taking with us? For Buzz, he asked for the blessings of his church before the trip and he was given the bread and the wine the holy sacraments used for communion, symbolising the sacrifice that Christ made on the cross for all humanity. The bread and the wine symbolising God’s love for our world.  The bread and wine symbolising the perfect sacrifice of His Son made for all our sins.  What can our Christian communities give us If we are in a similar situation as Buzz entering an unknown part of our lives? The answer to this   question I do not know, but hopefully each one of us will be able to answer that for themselves. 

The incidence of the corona virus which has brought so much anguish and change to our world today is and was another journey into an unknown. Some have compared the time of this virus to the time of the ten plagues in Egypt when Pharaoh decided not to let the Israelites leave (Exodus chapters 7 to 12). For others, the corona virus is another dimension of man’s inhumanity to man and our total disregard for work of the Great Architect of our universe in the way we use or misuse each other and our world resources and still for others, the corona virus tells us the end is nigh and sooner or later we will all face God. 

I chose this Bible passage above from Luke because for those who think the end is nigh, Jesus is telling us: as to the time, place or sign, we need not worry so much about that, but what we should always be doing and looking for, is the Lord Jesus Christ and be committed to him. Buzz Aldrin, saw the Lord Jesus always in the communion he received in his church and that is why he took the bread and the wine with him to the moon. So my prayer for us today is; for the Lord to help each and every one of us see him and to choose him always in whatever the situation we may find ourselves.  Amen.

Prayer:

Almighty and ever living God, whose ways are beyond our understanding. Help us always make up our mind what we believe about you. Help us remain faithful to our beliefs. Help us to thee more clearly, love thee more dearly and follow thee more nearly, day by day. Dear Jesus we love you for loving us and in your great name we pray. Amen.

Prayer :( H. Bisseker)

Lord, help us this to run with patience the race that is set before us. May neither opposition without or discouragement within divert us from our goal. Inspire in us both strength of mind and steadfastness of purpose, that we may meet all fears and difficulties with unswerving courage and may fulfil with quiet fidelity the tasks committed to our charge, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen

Hymn: When Peace like a river: