Did you see the supermoon last night? Brightest around 3.30 this morning. A supermoon or pink moon occurs when you get a full moon closest to the earth. It’s about 10% closer and in consequence 20% bigger in area and brightness.
The moon has always fascinated humanity. Over the centuries, the moon has been seen as a god (Old Testament prophets were keen to challenge the worship of all heavenly bodies, such as the moon), as a kind of revelation of the future (the Bible uses it sometimes as a symbol of impending major disruption), as a timekeeper, calendar, and it has been an important source of light at night when no other light would have been available. Throughout history the moon has inspired artists, poets, scientists, writers and musicians the world over. It could make you insane! (lunatic being derived from the name of the Roman Goddess of the moon – Luna.)
You could amuse yourself thinking of songs with moon in the title. “Moon river” (dreams which may not be fulfilled), “The dark side of the moon” (using the dark side of the moon as a symbol for madness and greed), “Fly me to the moon” (the ecstacy of being with a lover), “Blue moon” (the luck of finding a lover), etc, etc.
You can tell that the moon has a huge place in our consciousness.
The writer of the Book of Genesis tells us: “And God made the two great lights—the greater light to rule the day and the lesser light to rule the night...” (1:16).
For the Psalmist, the moon sparks wonder at God's power: “When I look at your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars, which you have set in place, what is man that you are mindful of him, and the son of man that you care for him?” (Psalm 8.3–4). The Psalmist is astonished by God's creative power, and awestruck by the fact that he still cares for his human creation. That sense of wonder still strikes Christians today: the God who created the universe loves us.
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