Today was the first day of school for my children. It was also the first time I’ve ever checked them out of school for a non-medical reason. But in the Dallas area, the 2017 eclipse reached 77% coverage, and I didn’t want them to miss it.
My husband, who works in a high-ranking position within the school district, officially had nothing to say about my decision to pull the kids out for an hour.
Yes, I am that mom.
As fun as our 45-minute outing was, passing around the one pair of legit solar glasses we owned while munching on moon pies and sunchips, the celestial event of the century (thus far) reminded me of why it’s easy to worship God on days like this. Some have been tempted to worship the creation, but make no mistake, the universe is too orderly to have randomly come together.
Psalm 19:1
“The heavens declare the glory of the Lord, and the sky above proclaims his handiwork.”
- The eclipse’s total predictability: As far back as 2500 BC, the Chinese and later the Babylonians were predicting and documenting solar eclipses with astonishing success rates. By the 1600s, scientists had more precise ways of measuring the behavior of the stars and moons. In 1605 astronomer Johannes Kepler gave a scientific description of a total solar eclipse, and Edmund Halley (of Halley’s Comet fame) predicted the timing and path of the total solar eclipse on May 3, 1715. His calculations were only 4 minutes and about 18 miles off from the actual timing and path of the eclipse.
- Such predictability leads to my next observation: the mathematical order inherent in the universe. For instance, why is the moon large enough to cover the entire surface of the sun as viewed from Earth? Because, math: the sun’s diameter is about 400 times larger than that of the moon, and the sun is also about 400 times farther from Earth. So the sun and moon appear nearly the same size as seen from Earth. This similarity is unique among the planets and moons in our solar system. What are the odds?
Psalm 148:4–6
Praise him, you highest heavens, and you waters above the heavens! Let them praise the name of the Lord! For he commanded and they were created. And he established them forever and ever; he gave a decree, and it shall not pass away.
The study of the stars relies on mathematics, a system of numbers and rules that govern how they relate to one another. I see math—which has never been my best friend—as evidence of a creator, a God of order. As my mother said of college algebra, “At least with math, you know if your answer is right or wrong. As opposed to English, where your writing grade depends on your grader’s subjective opinion.”
The ancients feared eclipses, which seemed to jar the normal pattern of the world as they knew it: morning, afternoon, evening, night. The sun rises and the sun sets; day comes, then night. So having the sun be dimmed or blocked totally during midday, in any society without scientific knowledge, would have understandably resulted in fear, mythology, and wonder. What powers could overcome the sun itself?
Such wondering is healthy even today when we know the science behind the phenomenon. As much as we can know what’s going to happen—thanks to math—we can do nothing to control it. We can’t stop the moon and sun from aligning several times a year, we can’t stop earthquakes from shaking the foundation of the earth, we can’t make the rain come or go as needed. We’ve learned to predict much of it, but despite our every effort, nature itself is beyond humanity’s control.
ISAIAH 42: 5
GOD, THE LORD, WHO CREATED THE HEAVENS AND STRETCHED THEM OUT, WHO SPREAD OUT THE EARTH AND WHAT COMES FROM IT, WHO GIVES BREATH TO THE PEOPLE ON IT AND SPIRIT TO THOSE WHO WALK IN IT. . .
Our spiritual lesson for the day? As Jim Denison puts it, “Today’s eclipse teaches us that we are not the masters of our world. All the accumulated power of our planet’s most powerful nation cannot prevent this blackening of our sky. For a few minutes, we will be shown that we are creatures, not Creator, that this world is not of our making or within our control.”
Crescent-shaped shadows on my sidewalk as the eclipse waned.
In our current society that emphasizes knowledge and power, such truth may be hard to swallow. But for those who love the Lord, the Creator of these same heavens and earth, this reminder of his all-powerful control over our world should comfort and humble us.