Portents of doom

No this isn't about Pat Robertson.

It seems we have a new comet in the neighborhood. And this one, if it lives up to expectations, may be brighter than the Hale-Bopp comet in the late 1990s. Let's pray that no doomsday cult attaches themselves to this one.

This reminds me of the discussion on Epiphany earlier this week. The magi were astronomers and astrologers who studied the heavens for signs. Comets were often portents of doom, and caused great fear in the people. We kind of laugh at their superstitions, but there is some reality to their fear. Things do fall out of the sky.

Just last week a family in N.J found an iron meteorite in their bathroom, along with holes in the ceiling and roof. And the photo I have attached would cause great fear for people who didn't understand the difference between a comet and the shooting stars that we know as meteorites

The heavens are a magical and beautiful place. But there are also many loose objects flying around out there. I have not doubt that the ancients knew of impacts, had seen and heard them, and feared that the God of the Universe was punishing them.

We understand a little better than them what is going on. But we still are powerless to interfere with the sovereignty of the God who made the universe.

Maybe a little fear should accompany our awe at the celestial light show he puts on for us.

Vanity

Is this just the most vain gift idea you have seen? I hear this ad on the radio frequently, where you can name a star after someone you love. Aside from the sheer folly of giving a gift that is basically a name in a book somewhere, there is an issue with this that struck me today.
Can we really name stars? I see in the Bible where Adam was given the authority to name the animals. We have continued this to name plants and minerals, merely to help classify them. But naming a big ball of gas billions of light years away after your uncle because you can't think of anything else to get him seems a bit pretentious to me.

After all, the heavens for the most part are God's domain. There are very few instances in the Bible where a man exerts some control over the heavens. Elijah made the rain stop for 31/2 years, but typically the heavens are assigned grandeur and majesty. They are not a wall to pick a gift from.

Psalms 19:1 The Heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands.

Nope, nothing in there about gift giving, or Aunt Edna.

I encourage you to go outside on a clear night, stare at the grandeur of what God created for our viewing pleasure and thank Him for that. It will make you feel pretty small. And it will make you feel very special.