Flower Moon or Blood Moon, take your pic
It is again upon us. Last month, we had a Supermoon that was called a Pink Moon. This is when the moon is the closest to the earth in its orbit and it appears bigger and brighter than other full moons. If you remember, it is called a Pink Moon because it is supposed to coincide with the earliest blooming of the spring wild flowers, Phlox submata (Creeping Phlox), which is pink in color.
Coming to your skies next week is the Blood Moon (imagine Vincent Price saying that in a creepy way in your head), also known as the Flower Moon (imagine a little girl prancing in a field whispering this in your ear). The phenomenon that causes the Blood/Flower Moon is similar to the Pink Moon. Again, due to its orbit, the moon will be at its closest to the earth, therefore it will appear 7% larger and 15% brighter. But there is another aspect to the be aware of. It will also be a lunar eclipse. This means the earth will also be directly between the moon and the sun. This will cause the moon to appear reddish in nature as the light from the sun moves through the earths atmosphere on its way to illuminating the moon, giving it the name of Blood Moon. (When this does not occur, and it is just a Supermoon it is called a Flower Moon, due to it coinciding with the blooming of May flowers.)
Unfortunately, due to our location in the northeast of the US, we will not get to enjoy the reddish color of this eclipse. That will be best seen in Hawaii, at about 1am. Here in good ‘ol New Hampshire and the rest of the eastern seaboard, we might get a reddish glimpse, but it may not even be noticeable.
This makes me think of what I see and experience on a daily basis compared to what other people see and experience on a daily basis. I have come to thoroughly enjoy the phrase, “My experience does not make the rule.” What I mean by this is just because my life has led me to believe certain things about how the world works, that does not mean that everyone else experiences it the same way. They will have different experiences that will lead them to believe something different then myself. Just like we will view the moon one way on May 25th, and someone else will look at the same moon at the same time and see something different.
I think we do this with our lives. We like to use anecdotal stories from our lives to make a point, because one has a much harder time arguing against an experience that has occurred and the facts that surrounded it. What we need to remember, is that other people will have experiences also that are just as legitimate but have been affected in very different ways. That does not mean one is right and one is wrong, but it means they both exist and need to be honored and understood.
Empathy is a trait that I think is in short demand in the world today. The way I have come to grasp empathy is it means to be able to understand another person’s feelings and experiences. It does not mean that you agree with certain actions that may have been taken, but you can understand why someone did something. It is putting yourself in someone else’s shoes.
This is what I ask. On May 25th at approximately 9:30pm, the Blood Moon (or Flower Moon for us here in New England) will be the closest to us here in New Hampshire. Go outside and take a look at it. As you do, think about the people in Hawaii that will see the same thing, yet see something different. Then when you wake up the next morning and you interact with others throughout your day, look at them and remember this. They will see the same things in the world, yet have a different experience than you. They will have opinions developed and beliefs formed because of those experiences. Say a prayer of thanks for all of those experiences. And then ask for one thing. Ask for Love to be what is primarily felt in everyone’s experience.
Grace and Peace,
Pastor Tim