Wednesday, January 26, 2022
Your eternal word,
O Lord, stands firm in heaven. Your faithfulness extends to every
generation, as enduring as the earth you created. Your regulations remain true to this
day, for everything serves your plans. Psalm 119:89-91
The panels of the mirror were
folded-up and stuffed inside a rocket that was deployed earlier this
month. When it got to this point in its
million-mile planned journey, the folks at mission control pressed the right
buttons on the remote control, and the thing unfolded. I suppose, if it didn’t, they’d have spent a
zillion bucks to send a repairman. That’s
roughly what my plumber gets.
According to NASA’s plans, the telescope will map out the universe, that which can be known, and give scientists more understanding of how it expanded, evolved, and became what we can see, along with what will become of us.[2]
To do all this the telescope’s mirror/receiver will travel a million miles towards the sun to enter a “perfect” orbit, circling another piece of NASA hardware, Lagrange 2, which is itself circling the sun. You can see the animation of the orbit HERE.
The so-called “perfect” orbit is
achieved in Lagrange Points, special locations in planetary systems where
gravitational and rotational forces cancel out. It’s something like having a gyro balance
your iPhone’s camera, giving a clear, stable video. I suppose if you’re going to take pictures of
the universe’s 62-bazillion light year sized expanse, you need a good camera.
On the other hand, if you see the
value of a stable orbit trajectory and don’t have the 9.7-billion-dollar
startup cost, you could spend $12.99 at the Cokesbury store and get a copy of
God’s Word. According to what David, the
Psalmist wrote, what you will find in every little nook and cranny of the
universe, both seen and unseen, is the evidence of God’s faithfulness. A “perfect” orbit is where God’s will and
man’s compliance places humans and all creation in harmony with God and
humankind.
As you listen/read here today, don’t
let the abrupt switch from a science observation to theological musing, turn
you off. I’m not against science. Quite the contrary; it fascinates me. It seems the more scientific discovery is
reported, the more theology and reality come into focus. Faith is best understood when His Creation
unfolds like the James Webb telescope.
For You Today
To understand just how magnificent
creation is, you must keep your eyes, ears, and heart opened to God’s ways,
which is found in God’s Word, and through prayer. That reaches far beyond what NASA has planned
for Webb’s spacecraft.
[1] Title and Other Images:
NASA on Youtube.com
Unless noted, Scripture quoted from The New Living Translation©
