For Wilshire Baptist Church
After months of buildup and weeks of fretting about the weather, the eclipse finally happened. Thanks to well-timed cloud breaks, we saw everything we hoped to see, and it was spectacular. If you saw the eclipse, you don’t need any descriptions from me, but here are a few random observations about the event:
- The only disappointment was that it was so brief. Like so many big events in our lives, it came and went and now is seemingly forgotten. Some people are still posting pictures, but the incessant chatter is over. I’ve felt the same letdown I sometimes feel after Christmas and Easter.
- As interesting to me as the spectacle of the little moon blocking the giant sun was the almost four minutes of darkness at midday. It was eerie and yet there also was something cozy and peaceful about it. The dog across the street quit barking, the doves quit cooing and blue jays stopped cawing, the street light on the corner popped on. For a moment, the moon-sun combo was less bright than a full moon.
- Instead of going to a watch party, we saw the eclipse at home with our mothers and another couple. Our ages ranged from 65 to 100 – an older crowd for sure – but nobody said anything that hinted at boredom or jaded disinterest. Judging from our comments and reactions, which included silence, there’s no age limit on awe and wonder.
- While an eclipse is a heavenly event that rouses thoughts about the wonder and infinite reaches of God’s creation, I find it remarkable that humankind is able to pinpoint the precise time when an eclipse will occur in each community along the path of totality. That blows my mind almost as much as the cosmic event itself. But then humans have been calculating the movements of the earth, sun and moon with amazing precision for thousands of years. Our calendar, the monoliths at Stonehenge and other ancient structures around the globe were conceived based on celestial movements. Perhaps there is something heavenly about that as well.
- There were countless gatherings encompassing millions of people up and down the band of totality across the United States, and I’ve not heard of any violence. I’ve heard of traffic jams – a relative reported it took four hours to drive 10 miles on an interstate highway in Vermont – but I’ve not heard of violence such as what we too often hear about at parades, concerts and other large gatherings. Is there something intrinsically sacred about an eclipse that stirs the waters of reverence and keeps human rage and selfishness in check?
- Sadly – or maybe just predictably – the eclipse was quickly eclipsed by life. The local and national news rolled back around to the usual subjects: politics, sports, crime and spring thunderstorms. Meanwhile, the sun and moon have rolled across the sky every day and night since then as they always do, but we are too busy to notice.