I Look to the Tides & Stars

...from whence comes my comfort?

There’s a place on the ocean near where I live that I’ve often visited. A four-lane road (two in each direction) rolls thousands of cars beside a beach all day long. At one point near the end of the beach, the ocean goes in and out under a bridge. The water fills and empties a very large salt pond and marshes almost twice a day.

I love to stand on that bridge and watch the water from the tide flow. Millions of gallons flow back and forth every day. I’ve found comfort in watching that water flow. No one can stop it. The tides simply exist. With all else humans can do and think they can do, they cannot stop the tide.

This is what I thought.

And then one day a few years ago, another thought hit me: humanity has the capacity to blow up the moon many times over. And I lost my comfort because with no moon there is no tide.

This was a depressing thought to me for quite a while until I began walking daily, most often at night. And I stare up at the stars. I’m now comforted by their existence. Humans could blow up the moon and the whole earth, but the universe would remain.

I don’t know why this comforts me. It’s actually quite morbid.

Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will certainly not pass away.

This passage begins with some very apocalyptic imagery from Jesus. The stars will fall and the heavenly bodies will be shaken. This, if taken literally, is scary stuff. Moving from the destruction of Jerusalem of yesterday’s passage to the crumbling of the whole sky in today’s can certainly be jarring.

But Jesus’ point is not to scare his disciples. Quite the contrary, this is a continued invitation - imperative, even - to hold fast no matter what happens. Holding fast means clinging to Jesus and his teaching, no matter the circumstances.

Matthew 24:29-35

“Now immediately after the suffering of that time the sun will become dark, and the moon won’t give its light. The stars will fall from the sky and the planets and other heavenly bodies will be shaken. Then the sign of the Human One will appear in the sky. At that time all the tribes of the earth will be full of sadness, and they will see the Human One coming in the heavenly clouds with power and great splendor. He will send his angels with the sound of a great trumpet, and they will gather his chosen ones from the four corners of the earth, from one end of the sky to the other.

“Learn this parable from the fig tree. After its branch becomes tender and it sprouts new leaves, you know that summer is near. In the same way, when you see all these things, you know that the Human One is near, at the door. I assure you that this generation won’t pass away until all these things happen. Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will certainly not pass away.

Psalm 119:89-90

Your word, Lord, stands firm in heaven forever!
Your faithfulness extends from one generation to the next!
You set the earth firmly in place, and it is still there.

Prayer

God,

Your word stands when all else falls. Heaven and earth may pass away, but your message does not. If not for faith, this is crazy talk. Actually…even with faith, it sounds crazy. But Lord, I choose it. I choose it because other options feel empty. Human options end selfishly. And for me, Jesus is simple and loving enough to follow.

So teach me to live in the tension between what has already been fulfilled and what is still to come. Keep me steady when the world shakes, and help me place my trust not in predictions or signs, but in the beautiful truth and loving justice of Jesus, your word.

By your Spirit & in Christ,
Amen.