St Luke's Church Eccleshill - Articles from "The Link"

Dark Moon

The ragged black horizon of the hills lie in contrast to the moonlit sky, a sky illuminated by the moon's orange ball, distorted in colour and size by the lowest stratas of the air it shines through, already changed from the blood red of it's slow emergence. Later, as the turning of the earth tosses it higher, it will assume the whitest of gold, a small luminous disc, no life of it's own, shining by reflected light of the hidden sun.

Beneath that moon, a steady breeze ruffles the autumn foliage of the trees. The distant roar of a goods train permeates the window and walls, telling of a wind coming in off the eastern ocean, bringing closer the chill of winter. Outside, cattle, sheep and deer browse the grasslands. Rabbits and other small creatures graze and hunt, many preparing for the sleep of cold winter days, not far off. All watch for the hunter, hovering in the skies, waiting for the unwary to expose themselves for that swift drop of outstretched talons, and the rending of flesh that means death for one and life for the other.

This is the cycle on earth: life, death, and new life, each feeding on the other. Thus it has been from the beginning, old life giving way to new, mutating and evolving into today's world, an endless, well designed pattern that, man permitting, will carry us into the unseen future. But will man permit such a future?

Or will he, in his arrogance of self interest, distort that cycle of development and evolution, even to the point of destroying all life?

The teaching of the Gospel is Love: Love for God, Love for our neighbours, Love for ourselves. In today's world few Christians pay more than lip service to the first two commands. We concentrate on our own comforts, and those of our immediate dependents. What little Love we give to others is seldom given freely, from the heart, but rather because it is seen as the right thing to do. Is this truly Loving God? Is this truly following the Gospel? I believe not.

I look through the glass at the moon, now a yellow gold as it sits higher over the hills, and I ask what more can I do? Unless I act, nothing will change. On my doorstep sit the problems of humanity, be they personal suffering or environmental rape. It is not what can we do that matters, but what will we do? What will we sacrifice to create a future that the hidden sun can rise on, blessing generations yet to come?

Will the moon one day shine on a dead planet, a planet destroyed: not by God, but by a race made in His image, an image distorted and debased by greed and self service? Will it be a dark moon, dark because there are no eyes to behold it's glory? The answer lies in my hands.

Jayne Tite

	*St Luke's Church, Eccleshill - The Link* magazine** The Link is published monthly at 40p (Senior Citizens 35p), and we deliver free within the parish and post copies (at the reader's expense) to those who request it. Please contact us if you would like a free copy for a trial period. May 2007, Page 2.
Home Page. Index of articles: by subject, by date. In this issue: (May 2007) Hope not hate, Dark Moon, From Egypt, Finances, Hymn, History.	Dark Moon The ragged black horizon of the hills lie in contrast to the moonlit sky, a sky illuminated by the moon's orange ball, distorted in colour and size by the lowest stratas of the air it shines through, already changed from the blood red of it's slow emergence. Later, as the turning of the earth tosses it higher, it will assume the whitest of gold, a small luminous disc, no life of it's own, shining by reflected light of the hidden sun. Beneath that moon, a steady breeze ruffles the autumn foliage of the trees. The distant roar of a goods train permeates the window and walls, telling of a wind coming in off the eastern ocean, bringing closer the chill of winter. Outside, cattle, sheep and deer browse the grasslands. Rabbits and other small creatures graze and hunt, many preparing for the sleep of cold winter days, not far off. All watch for the hunter, hovering in the skies, waiting for the unwary to expose themselves for that swift drop of outstretched talons, and the rending of flesh that means death for one and life for the other. This is the cycle on earth: life, death, and new life, each feeding on the other. Thus it has been from the beginning, old life giving way to new, mutating and evolving into today's world, an endless, well designed pattern that, man permitting, will carry us into the unseen future. But will man permit such a future? Or will he, in his arrogance of self interest, distort that cycle of development and evolution, even to the point of destroying all life? The teaching of the Gospel is Love: Love for God, Love for our neighbours, Love for ourselves. In today's world few Christians pay more than lip service to the first two commands. We concentrate on our own comforts, and those of our immediate dependents. What little Love we give to others is seldom given freely, from the heart, but rather because it is seen as the right thing to do. Is this truly Loving God? Is this truly following the Gospel? I believe not. I look through the glass at the moon, now a yellow gold as it sits higher over the hills, and I ask what more can I do? Unless I act, nothing will change. On my doorstep sit the problems of humanity, be they personal suffering or environmental rape. It is not what can we do that matters, but what will we do? What will we sacrifice to create a future that the hidden sun can rise on, blessing generations yet to come? Will the moon one day shine on a dead planet, a planet destroyed: not by God, but by a race made in His image, an image distorted and debased by greed and self service? Will it be a dark moon, dark because there are no eyes to behold it's glory? The answer lies in my hands. Jayne Tite Copyright © Jayne Tite, New Zealand 2007, on “Christians on the Internet” - used by permission.
Top of page.	This web page was last updated on 1st August 2007.