Today is the funeral service of Neil Armstrong, the first man on the moon
The seventh man to walk on the moon was James Irwin.
He later had a card printed with these words inscribed.
"Jesus Christ walking upon earth was more important than man walking on the moon."
It was when James Irwin stepped out of the lunar landing module and looked back to the jewelled orb of earth that he was suddenly arrested by an overwhelming sense of awe.
God got into his space suit and, in his own words:
"I was overcome by the knowledge of the presence and power of God."
He carried that transforming experience back to Earth.
Colonel Irwin was to shortly leave NASA to follow what he believed to be his new vocation.
He went on to write a book; "The Moon is not Enough" and to found an organization called "High Flight Ministries."
Just think, God was on the moon waiting for Armstrong and his successors to arrive!
This should not surprise us.
3,000 years ago King David wrote in Psalm 137:
" Whither shall I go from Thy Spirit? Or whither shall I flee from Thy Presence? If I ascend up into Heaven Thou art there:if I make my bed in Hell Thou art there.If I take the wings of the morning and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea, even there shall Thy hand lead me, and Thy right hand shall hold me."
And tonight in Ohio there is a full blue moon shining!
Jubilate
Ian
Some of you expressed astonishment when you heard how news of the first communion service on the moon was suppressed.
But this should not surprise us since lies are twice round the earth before the truth has tied up its shoelaces.
Neil Armstrong, who died on Sunday, was a committed christian and his family wish this to be made known.
There will be eulogies given at his funeral tomorrow but the story of his trip to Jerusalem will probably not be told.
While Armstrong was been shown around the Holy sites by Meir Ben Dov, an Israeli Archaeologist, they stopped at the Hulda Gate.
Here are the steps that lead up to the Temple Mount.
Armstrong asked whether these were the original stairs upon which Christ had walked up to the Temple.
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Ben Dov affirmed that they were.
Armstrong immediately replied with these words:
"I have to tell you that I am more excited about stepping on these stones than stepping on to the moon".
Words worth pondering as man gets ready to fly to Mars.
Jubilate
Ian
What was never reported in the rush of euphoria over the successful landing of Apollo 11 on the moon was the faith of the two modular pilots. Both Armstrong and Aldrin were committed Christians.
An elder in his church back on planet Earth, Buzz Aldrin had authority to conduct an extended serving of the Lord's Supper.
In 1970 Aldrin wrote in the "Guideposts" magazine:
"I opened the little plastic packages which contained the bread and the wine.
I poured the wine into a chalice provided by our church.
In the one sixth gravity of the moon the wine slowly curled and gracefully came up the side of the cup.
Then I read the scriptures;
'I am the Vine, you are the branches' from the 15th chapter of John's Gospel.
It was interesting for me to think that the very first liquid ever poured on the moon and the very first food eaten there were the Communion elements"
Why have you never read these things? Because on the previous flight of Apollo 10 Frank Bormann had read from the first chapter of Genesis as they circled the moon. A left wing loony called Madeline O Hare threatened to bring a law suit saying her civil liberties were being breached and NASA buckled. They gave permission for Aldrin to hold his service but asked that he do it in secret because they might get sued.
And there you have the rest of the story.
Jubilate.
Ian
After a journey of 40 million miles, a courageous little craft called "Curiosity" touched down last week on Martian soil.
It's quest to find the meaning of life is now underway with its array of instruments ready to probe through the Martian surface and relay its findings back to Earth.
Curiosity indeed.
Fifty years ago a short-sighted professor hung a limp hand over the pulpit of the chapel at Bede College in England and quaintly asked the question:
"What's it all about gentlemen? It's up to each one of you to find out for himself."
Challenges like that launched me on a voyage of discovery that has lasted to this present day.
In fact, this morning I asked a wealthy businessman the same question posed by Chaplain Paddy McDermott.
His response was to swear voluminously and tell me that no one can ever know. In his seventies all curiosity has died, all desire to explore further has faded. He is lost in a space-craft called "Cynicism" on a voyage to nowhere.
What ever you do I urge you to keep on the ship called "Curiosity". Go with God and it will take you to Heaven.
Luke 11:9
Ian
Ian
Word today that Neil Armstrong, the first man on the Moon, has departed Earth on his final journey.
This time he goes beyond the solar system to return to his Creator.
We hope he is well received.
Armstrong leaves behind him an indelible foot-print in the moon dust. He also leaves behind a statement that will never be erased from memory:
"One small step for a man;one giant leap for mankind."
None of us here below will leave such a foot-print on the Moon but each of us can leave on Earth some solid evidence for good that we have been here.
So live your life now that you will have no regrets when you meet the Great Adjudicator.
Jubilate.
Ian
