The Overview Effect and One Beautiful World

 

Here's the reflection I shared at today's music event in Spring of Hope Church for the One Beautiful World Arts Festival:

The main publicity image for the One Beautiful World Arts Festival is a painting of the world as seen from space by Jackie Burns, whose inspirational exhibition of space art is currently at St Andrew’s Wickford.

The first time that astronauts were able to photograph the whole Earth from space came with the first manned mission to the moon on Apollo 8. On December 24, 1968, astronauts Commander Frank Borman, Command Module Pilot Jim Lovell, and Lunar Module Pilot William Anders entered lunar orbit. William Anders captured an iconic picture of the Earth that day which came to be known as Earthrise. Anders said, “We came all this way to explore the Moon, and the most important thing is that we discovered the Earth.”

What Anders experienced is called The Overview Effect; a shift in awareness by astronauts seeing Earth from outer space as a “tiny, fragile ball of life.” The term was coined by author Frank White in 1987 in his book, The Overview Effect — Space Exploration and Human Evolution.

Apollo 8 astronaut Jim Lovell said: “The vast loneliness up here of the Moon is awe inspiring, and it makes you realize just what you have back there on Earth. The Earth from here is a grand oasis to the big vastness of space.”

Apollo 11 astronaut Michael Collins said: “The thing that really surprised me was that it [Earth] projected an air of fragility. And why, I don’t know. I don’t know to this day. I had a feeling it’s tiny, it’s shiny, it’s beautiful, it’s home, and it’s fragile.”

Apollo 11 astronaut Neil Armstrong said: “It suddenly struck me that that tiny pea, pretty and blue, was the Earth. I put up my thumb and shut one eye, and my thumb blotted out the planet Earth. I didn’t feel like a giant. I felt very, very small.”

Apollo 11 astronaut Buzz Aldrin said: “From the distance of the moon, Earth was four times the size of a full moon seen from Earth. It was a brilliant jewel in the black velvet sky.”

Songwriter Julie Gold wrote a song called ‘From a distance’:

“From a distance, the world looks blue and green
And the snow-capped mountains white
From a distance, the ocean meets the stream
And the eagle takes to flight
From a distance, there is harmony
And it echoes through the land
It's the voice of hope
It's the voice of peace
It's the voice of every man”

The Overview Effect has inspired hope as it ‘has been turning astronauts into environmental advocates ever since the first person in space, Yuri Gagarin, marvelled at the planet from orbit in 1961. “People of the world, let us safeguard and enhance this beauty — not destroy it,” the Soviet cosmonaut said upon his return. A half-century later, ex-NASA astronaut José Hernández said that the view aboard the Space Shuttle Discovery in 2009 turned him into “an instant treehugger.” As a result, in recent years, astronauts, including the former NASA astronaut Mae Jemison and French astronaut Thomas Pesquet, have spoken at international climate negotiations, bringing their big-picture perspective with them.

Paintings like those of Jacqui Burns or photos like Earthrise can give us a sense of the Overview Effect and grow in us a greater concern for the one beautiful world we inhabit. For those of us who are religious, our concern for the planet should be heightened by our understanding that it was wonderfully created by God and that human beings have been given the task of caring for it by our Creator. As Julie Gold puts it in her song God is watching us from a distance and, therefore, watching how we care for the world he has made. 

But regardless of whether God’s creation of the world features on our radar or not, the Overview Effect – that sense of the beauty and fragility of our wonderful world – should compel us, as has been the case for so many astronauts, to want to address the climate emergency and save our one beautiful world from the jeopardy into which our human exploitation of resources has placed it.

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Ayo-Ayo: Kabiyesi.

Discover & explore - Treasure/Gold

Today the Choral Scholars of St Martin-in-the-Fields led our Discover & explore service at St Stephen Walbrook on the theme of Treasure/Gold using the following: O radiant dawn - MacMillan; All I once held dear - Kendrick/Larson; Beati quorum via - Stanford; and Ubi caritas - Durufle.

The next Discover & explore service in the series is on Monday 24 October at 1.10pm. The theme will be Guidance and the service will be led by Revd Sally Muggeridge.

Here is the reflection that I shared today:

The love of money is the root of all evil. We have probably all heard that biblical assertion, although many think the statement is actually that money is the root of all evil. That isn't what is asserted in scripture, however, as a very important distinction is being made when it is said that the love of money is the root of all evil.

Money itself is neutral. It is a means of exchange that can be used for good or evil but which is not inherently evil in and of itself. One key element in the positive use of money is its circulation. It is designed to be exchanged and therefore it moves from one person to another, one account to another. This is one reason why the Bank of England has introduced plastic bank notes, because significant levels of exchange cause significant wear and tear for the notes that are being exchanged.

There is a blockage to this healthy exchange process when greed comes into play and particular people begin accumulating great wealth which is not being exchanged as freely or with as many people. This is one of the reasons why the love of money is the root of all evil, as it interrupts and blocks the healthy free flowing exchange which shares money with the many. Lewis Hyde suggests in his book entitled ‘The Gift’ that "we think of the gift as a constantly flowing river" and allow ourselves "to become a channel for its current." When we try to "dam the river", "thinking what counts is ownership and size," "one of two things will happen: either it will stagnate or it will fill the person up until he bursts."

The antidote to such greed and accumulation is the generosity on which we have focused with our readings in this service. Generosity, the giving away of money, gives additional impetus to the free flow of money and is usually focused on those most deeply in poverty or in need.

The City of London is a place where London’s spirit of enterprise is distilled to the maximum. It was in the City that many forms of charitable activity originated or evolved into business models for others to follow. Making money and giving money are both features of life in the City. What does the Bible say about the way we should use the money we make?

Instead of giving grudgingly, the Bible encourages generosity and cheerfulness in giving. In his second letter to the Corinthians Paul writes, ‘Each of you should give what you have decided in your heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.’ Gratitude is the first fruit of humility and is a response to the forgiveness, freedom, healing and restoration which we find in God. We are precious to him, honoured and loved by him, so give out of thankfulness for this acceptance and love.

That is the prayer for our Stewardship campaign this year; that God will give us a grateful heart. Giving to our church is a tangible, faithful, and accountable way in which we demonstrate our gratitude to God. Of course our lives haven’t in every way turned out how we wanted them to; but God has given us life. Of course the church isn’t perfect; but God has given us Jesus, and forgiveness, and the life everlasting. Of course there are lots of other good causes; but giving to the church is about investing in forever, in striving to live now the companionship God has promised us always.

As a result, this autumn we are encouraging all those who come to St Stephen Walbrook to reflect on the various ways in which we can use their time, talents and treasure in God’s service. Each of us can give from our treasure in ways that benefit others and our Stewardship leaflet explains how to give regularly and consistently to St Stephen Walbrook, so I encourage you to reflect on whether you could give regularly out of gratitude and to help this church.

The Elizabethan poet George Herbert was aware of our natural tendency to think what God has given to us as being ours and to retain as much of it for ourselves as possible. His prayer, therefore, was that he might be given a grateful heart. One that rejoices in all that God has given, recognising it all as a gift, rather than something earnt, and, therefore, generous in the way it is used and given back to God. May our prayer be that of George Herbert:

Thou that hast given so much to me,
Give one thing more, a grateful heart …
Not thankful, when it pleaseth me;
As if thy blessings had spare days:
But such a heart, whose pulse may be
Thy praise.

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George Herbert - Redemption.

Sermon: Light-bulb moments

Here is my sermon from today's Eucharist at St Stephen Walbrook:

Light-bulb moments are those occasions when the penny drops, everything clicks into place and understanding comes. It might be in relation to something which is puzzling us; a piece of work about which we were unsure, a puzzle or conundrum to be resolved. In relationships it could be when one person appreciates something about another for the first time or when a disagreement is resolved.

These light-bulb moments have a name. They are called epiphanies and they tend to creep up on us unexpectedly. We may have been puzzling over something for hours, then the answer hits us. We may wake up in the middle of the night because something in a dream has clicked or else something someone says triggers a chain of thoughts in our mind that results in a moment of revelation. It all makes sense. We can’t choose the moment this happens, but we can perhaps create the right environment to encourage it to happen.

Epiphanies are less likely to happen when we’re stressed, when we’re tormented by trying to find the answer to something, when we can’t focus on anything else. Sometimes that means we need to find peace and quiet, maybe by going for a walk or reading a book. Some people find there’s nothing better than having a shower or a relaxing bath. At other times it’s better to fill our minds with something totally different from the issue, maybe doing a Sudoku puzzle or watching a favourite TV programme. Then, out of nowhere, revelation comes.

One of those approaches I’ve described might work for you, too, but there may be others. It might simply be a case of going on to the next question in a test and going back later to what’s been puzzling you. It could be that music works its magic or merely closing your eyes and blanking your mind in meditation for a minute or two.

The 6 January is celebrated in the Christian church as the feast of Epiphany. The word ‘epiphany’ actually means a light-bulb moment and has a particular focus on revelation. The feast of the Epiphany is an opportunity for revelation about who Jesus was and is.

Having enjoyed the Christmas story of God sending Jesus to be born as a human being, a person like you and me, Epiphany is the day to be aware of all the implications of what God has done in that act. Using the story of the Magi – the wise men who came to see Jesus – we remind ourselves of the symbolism attached to the gifts the Magi brought: gold, frankincense and myrrh.

Gold, the most precious metal, was a present for an important person, so gold signifies that Jesus comes as a person of power, a king, a ruler. But we can also think that Jesus comes to give something precious to others – himself, his own life. So, gold was a gift that said: ‘Jesus is a King who will bring love!’

Frankincense and myrrh were both very expensive perfumes made from the resin of trees. People burned frankincense in religious ceremonies. They believed the fragrance carried their prayers to heaven. By its use in worship frankincense shows that Jesus comes as a holy man, someone who is totally pure, who has no wrong side to him. Frankincense was also a gift that said: ‘Jesus will draw us close to God and bring joy.’

Myrrh was used in ointments to heal sore skin and wounds. It was even used in this way to reduce wrinkles on dead bodies. So, myrrh indicates that Jesus will one day die a significant death and that he heals. Myrrh was a gift that said: ‘Jesus will heal divisions through his death and bring peace.’

In these ways, at Epiphany, we try to understand again all that Jesus is and all he does for us. We make sure the penny has dropped, that everything about our faith has clicked into place, that we understand personally Jesus’ relationship with us. Our faith may start out with beliefs and ideas, but the epiphany comes when we realize that Jesus has something to do with us personally. So Epiphany is a time to connect Jesus with ourselves, in the here and now.

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Brightest and best of the son's of the morning.