SLUH Junior Theology Course '07-'08
Faith and Morality...
By Kevin Casey
Web Assign 3: Wonder and Awe
Once I thought about what makes me feel wonder and awe, I was amazed at how many things in nature came to my mind that I usually just take for granted in everyday circumstances. Just the other night I was in the car with my dad and I noticed the moon. It was a so-called “harvest moon,” brightly glowing on the dark horizon. It was a warm shade of red and just seemed to sit lazily on the horizon. It looked ten times larger than the average size of the moon we see, and I knew from past experiences that within minutes it would diminish back into a small, white disc.
Although I didn’t know the reasons that made the moon glow red and appear to be so much closer to our planet on night like this (especially in the autumn), I knew that it would only take a little research to discover those answers, whether it be pollution, its orbit, a certain reflection of sunlight, etc. It was not a mystery, and I had seen the moon in this situation many times before. Yet as we drove on I couldn’t help but keep my eyes off of it and followed it through trees and behind houses until I couldn’t see it anymore.
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So why do I often find myself, even when it isn’t a “harvest moon,” staring at the moon? It is something that I can be sure I will see everyday, and it is only on very rare occasions that the moon appears in some new way unfamiliar to humans. Besides, it isn’t like the moon is some kind of magical object; there are tons of proven scientific facts about the subject.
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Its simplicity is what captures me. Most of the time it doesn’t appear to be anything brilliant or special, but it in itself is beautiful. Whether it is the stark whiteness of it that lights up the sky, the burning red glow of it as it hovers just above the horizon, or the transparent milky look of it in the daytime, I am always mystified by it. What made it so this object that orbits around earth could have so many different appearances in the beginning? There are scientific explanations for many questions such as these (like, as I mentioned before, the different colors of the moon), but what made it so these scientific explanations could be?
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The moon also gives me comfort in it is something I can always count on. I know that, no matter where I am, at night I can look up and spot the moon. In a sense, sometimes it almost seems to be a beacon of light watching over me. I often think about how someone in some distant place, whether they are an acquaintance or a stranger to me, could be looking at the disc in the sky at the same time I am looking at it, and how in that way we are connected. The moon never fails me, but instead manages to humble me and encourage me. Some people may see it as just be some giant rock floating around in space, but whenever I see it sitting in the sky above me, I know that I am not alone.
Links
Back to My Junior Theology Homepage
Why are Moons Orange?
Scientific Facts About the Moon
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