Tonight is a “Pink Moon.” If you don’t know what that is, you are in good company, because I didn’t know until just a few days ago. Prior to me googling it, I had only heard of a “Pink Moon” from the 1972 song of the same name by the artist Nick Drake. But after tonight, I plan on having something else to associate with it.
The “Pink Moon” has nothing to do with the color of a moon on a certain night. Instead, it is a supermoon in April that generally coincides with the one of the earliest blooming spring flowers in the US, Phlox subulata, commonly known as creeping or mountain phlox and is pink in color. A supermoon is when the moon is full and it is extremely close to the earth. Depending on your definition of “supermoon” we will have 2-3 of them this year and they will all happen in consecutive months. The first was in March, called the “Worm Moon” (coincides with worms coming out of the ground as the weather warms). It will then be followed by the one now in April, and then on May 26th, called the “Flower Moon” and by now you can guess why it was given this name. It will reach its “fullest phase” tonight at 11:32pm EST. I just checked the weather and we are supposed to have clear skies tonight with the temperature in the low 40’s. Could be a lot worse and not much better!
If you are able to stay awake that late, I invite you to head outside to see it. Even if you are not able to stay awake that late, at some point, before you go to bed, head outside. It might not be at its biggest, but it will still be pretty amazing.
Now, before you go out, find your Bible. (Don’t feel bad if you have to think about where it is or blow dust off of it. Heck, use your phone and download an app. I frequently do when I make visits! I use the one called “YouVersion.”) Find Psalm 8 and then step out the door. Locate the moon (hopefully it won’t be difficult otherwise be prepared to be disappointed) and take a few moments to look at it. Breathe in a few deep breaths of the cool air and let it fill your lungs. When you are ready and before you get too cold, read Psalm 8 aloud. Here it is for you to read now.
O Lord, our Sovereign,
how majestic is your name in all the earth!
You have set your glory above the heavens.
Out of the mouths of babes and infants
you have founded a bulwark because of your foes,
to silence the enemy and the avenger.
When I look at your heavens, the work of your fingers,
the moon and the stars that you have established;
what are human beings that you are mindful of them,
mortals that you care for them?
Yet you have made them a little lower than God,
and crowned them with glory and honor.
You have given them dominion over the works of your hands;
you have put all things under their feet,
all sheep and oxen,
and also the beasts of the field,
the birds of the air, and the fish of the sea,
whatever passes along the paths of the seas.
O Lord, our Sovereign,
how majestic is your name in all the earth!
The cosmos are absolutely stunning. It is mind boggling to think about how large it all is. Space is so vast and endless that it would be easy to feel insignificant. If you noticed in the Psalm people have been feeling that way since the beginning of time. Again, you are in good company if this thought crosses your mind. Yet, that is not the truth. In the midst of all of creation, God thinks of you, thinks of all us, as a little lower than God’s self!
Think of how beautiful and wonderful all of creation is. You are…we are…the pinnacle of God’s creation. We aren’t an afterthought; we are THE thought! You matter. You are important. You have value and worth simply because you are part of God’s creation. Not because of anything you have accomplished, or anything that you have failed at. No, simply because you can fill your lungs with the cool air of the night, you are God’s and you are loved. And when the time comes when you can’t fill your lungs with air, and those lungs have breathed their last breath, you will become part of God’s restoration project in a new way.
Remember, we are in the season of Easter. The hope of the risen Christ is among us! We have been talking about the goodness of creation and how there will be a physicality to the resurrected life! Look outside at the beauty and goodness of all of creation and be reminded of the goodness and beauty that is you.
Grace and Peace,
Pastor Tim