The anticipation of today's eclipse has had many of us rushing to drug stores for glasses, worrying about South Carolina traffic, traveling to stay with friends and family...
Perhaps you bought some of the Krispy Kreme eclipse donuts:
Or maybe you've been listening to Total Eclipse of the heart all day long:
(or you've been waiting to hear as Ms. Tyler sings it during the eclipse!)
Maybe you've been frantically reading about eye damage or listening to news stories of how the eclipse affects people's moods or the environment.
As I've been hearing about the eclipse for the past few weeks, because I'm a nerdy pastor and it's what I do, I've been reflecting on scripture that records what we can assume are eclipse-like events.
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In Exodus, as Moses is appearing before the Pharaoh to free the Israelite people, God causes 10 plagues, the ninth of which was darkness.
And there was dense darkness in all the land of Egypt for three days.
Exodus 10.22
The darkness interferes with the daily lives of the Egyptians: they can't see or move or do their work. The plague of darkness did not, however, affect the Israelites, who continue about their business. The plague shows the mighty power and clear authority of God in the world: even the sun and moon and stars listen to the Lord our God.
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Then in Joshua, as the army of the Israelites is conquering the land of Canaan, God makes the sun stand still.
The sun stopped in midheaven, and did not hurry to set for about a whole day. There has been no day like it before or since, when the Lord heeded a human voice; for the Lord fought for Israel.
Joshua 10.14
It is debatable whether this is a true "eclipse" but the stillness of the sun in the sky is unique and interesting. Again, we witness a God who stands on behalf of God's people, and we are made aware of God's presence by the altering of the normal patterns of the sun.
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The prophets describe the "Day of the Lord" or the day of God's judgment, as a day when the sun is dark and the world is topsy turvy.
See, the day of the Lord comes,
cruel, with wrath and fierce anger,
to make the earth a desolation,
and to destroy its sinners from it.
For the stars of the heavens and their constellations
will not give there light;
the sun will be dark in its rising,
and the moon will not shed its light.
Isaiah 13.9-11
When I blot you out, I will cover the heavens,
and make their stars dark.
I will cover the sun with a cloud,
and the moon will not give its light.
All the shining lights of the heavens
I will darken above you and put darkness in your land, says the Lord.
Ezekiel 32.7
The earth quakes before them,
the heavens tremble.
The sun and moon are darkened,
and the stars withdraw their shining....
Truly the day of the Lord is great;
terrible indeed - who can endure it?
Joel 2.10-11b
On that day, says the Lord God,
I will make the sun go down at noon,
and darken the earth in broad daylight.
Amos 8.9
The idea of darkness during the day is one of terror, judgment, and fear.
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In the gospels, we also witness an eclipse at Jesus' death.
From noon on, darkness came over the whole land until three o'clock in the afternoon. ... Then Jesus cried again with a loud voice and breathed his last.
Matthew 27.45;50
When it was noon, darkness came over the whole land until three in the afternoon. ... Then Jesus gave a loud cry and breathed his last.
Mark 15.33;37
It was now about noon, and darkness came over the whole land, until three in the afternoon, while the sun's light failed; and the curtain of the temple was torn in two. Then Jesus, crying out with a loud voice, said "Father, into your hands I commend my spirit." Having said this, he breathed his last.
Luke 23.44-46
There is a sense that the cosmic power of Jesus' death is so enormous that it overwhelms even the sun. I also like to imagine that the scene of Jesus on the cross was so tragic that God averted God's eyes and drew the shade over the shame and pain of God's son.
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So, it should come as a surprise to us that over the centuries we have gone from an eclipse being a symbol of fear and pain and terror, a sign that the divine powers that be were enacting judgment on the land, to a marketing event. Instead of something to fear, an eclipse has become something that causes traffic jams, something to travel 100 miles to see, and something to have a sweet party about. With scientific study, we've learned that eclipses happen on a reliable basis; they are something that simply happens, a shift from the normal routine of the celestial bodies and, just as quickly, a shift back to the habitual orbits.
Of course, when I emerged from our church office to a chorus of cicadas and the automatic evening lights had come on in front of the sanctuary and all the air had a cloudy mysterious haze to it, I wasn't really thinking about science and orbits. It was downright spooky and a strange and almost a stumbling block to my brain and senses. Even this weird snake living next door to my friend, Mel, was thrown off his little groove as he stared at the sun {literally the only time I'm going to say anything cute about a snake}.
There's a reason we stepped out from work or we drove 100 miles; there's a reason we hunted down eclipse glasses and purchased Sun Drop. Somewhere in the midst of this eclipse, we all experience something ethereal, surreal, and divine. The God who made the darkness over Egypt centuries ago eclipsed the sun today. The God who ordered the heavenly bodies made sure that there would be moments like these that would remind us that God is in charge. Whether you're black or white, Democrat or Republican, Christian or not, all of us craned our necks and shielded our eyes as the world stood still in darkness this afternoon. When the darkness crept into our world, we did what God has always called us to do: we looked up.
I keep coming back to the gospel of John (who oddly does not record the eclipse at Jesus' death). John begins with these famous lines:
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things came into being through him, and without him not one thing came into being. What has come into being in him was life, and the life was the light of all people. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not overcome it.
John 1.1-5
Today's eclipse for me is a reminder that the darkness of the world does not last. I am comforted that even when the darkness seems to settle and turn the world topsy turvy, God, just like the sun sitting behind the moon, is still present, still active. The light and love of God is not something that can be contained by the dark and simple presence of the moon; no, the light is something that bursts forth, even when the shadows are unbearable and the world is in chaos.
It seems appropriate to me that yesterday our youth led us in worship and we were able to experience such joy and light coming from the youth of our church, from the future of our church. It seems appropriate to me that we've kicked off another year of Sunday School. It seems right to me that people of literally all ages gathered yesterday for the ice cream social. These are the ways that the Kingdom of God was bursting through the darkness within the walls of our church. These are the ways that our church refuses to be blinded by darkness but constantly seeks the light.
The light of God shines in the darkness, and darkness did not, can not, and will never overcome it.
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