Being God's Witness

Being God’s Witness on April 8, 2024

By Pastor Gary Lewis, Lead Pastor

Where were you during the Solar Eclipse? Did you travel to be in the “cone of totality” or did you watch the amazing coverage on TV news?

I traveled to Troy, Ohio, to celebrate with the Miller family – Aaron, Sarah, Amelia and Simon. Members of Aaron’s family also attended. It was a strikingly warm and sunny day in Troy and it was surreal to walk outside and expect, with incredible accuracy, the sun blocked by the Moon. About an hour before kickoff, it got a bit windy and the blazing sun began to drop in intensity just a bit. It felt like the weather was about to change. Like a June thunderstorm.

The grandkids are silly with anticipation and all of us took turns looking through our special glasses. It looked like someone had taken a bite out of the sun. As the moon began to grow larger, like a black coin overcoming the light, the sky suddenly changed. It was a 360-degree sunset. Everywhere you looked, it seemed as if the sun was setting. Yet, with my special solar eclipse glasses, I could see the blazing sun above peeking out from the moon.

According to the internet, a total solar eclipse occurs once every 18 months around the world. It is only visible from certain land places about once every 20 years or so in the United States. Someone estimated that my 7-year-old granddaughter, Amelia, would be 100 years old when it is visible in Ohio again.

We could see the planet Venus and another planet that I forget. When the darkness came it was instant. The temperature dropped, security lights came on, and the birds huddled in their trees. It was an awesome experience. The early darkness lasted nearly four minutes.

It is estimated that the moon is about 400 times smaller than the sun. The distance between the earth and the moon is about 400 times the distance between the earth to the sun. In other words, everything had to be in the exact location for the eclipse to be total.

The words of Psalm 8 came to my mind:

 Lord, our Lord,

    how majestic is your name in all the earth!

You have set your glory

    in the heavens.

Through the praise of children and infants

    you have established a stronghold against your enemies,

    to silence the foe and the avenger.

When I consider your heavens,

    the work of your fingers,

the moon and the stars,

    which you have set in place,

what is mankind that you are mindful of them,

    human beings that you care for them?

You have made them a little lower than the angels

    and crowned them with glory and honor.

You made them rulers over the works of your hands;

    you put everything under their feet:

all flocks and herds,

    and the animals of the wild,

the birds in the sky,

    and the fish in the sea,

    all that swim the paths of the seas.

Lord, our Lord,

  how majestic is your name in all the earth!