Did you know that when ?the Eagle landed? on the moon?s surface 50 years ago, before he ventured to do anything else, Astronaut Buzz Aldrin first paused and celebrated the Christian Sacrament of Holy Communion?
There is no doubt that the moon landing in 1969 represented one of the greatest accomplishments of human history,in terms of both technology and courage. It is understandably upheld as a moment of great human pride. However, Buzz Aldrin saw something much bigger than that.
He saw that every atom of the universe was created by Christ, and is moment by moment held in existence by the power of His Word (Jn 1:3; Col 1:16,17; Heb 1:3). So Christ was there way before the Eagle ever landed! Celebrating Holy Communion there wasn?t human beings taking the presence of Christ to the moon, but acknowledging that He was already there as Lord.
He also saw that every human ability and accomplishment is dependent upon the grace of Christ. The text he read for this Communion service was Jn 15:5 ??I am the vine, you are the branches. Whoever remains in me, and I in him, will bear much fruit, for you can do nothing without me.?
If any human endeavour is going to amount to anything of value in the end, it must acknowledge and rely upon Christ.This is what true communion with Christ looks like.
This goes for whether we are landing on the moon, or loving our spouse, or raising a family, or doing our study or jobs. If what we do is going to be real, of value to others and God, and be meaningful, satisfying and enjoyable to us, we must seek and acknowledge Christ as our Lord and Redeemer, and rely utterly upon His grace in our day to day lives.
Grace – to the moon and back! ? Jonathan