Photo by Jongsun Lee on Unsplash

This past April 7th, my sister and I drove from the Twin Cities to Decatur, Illinois, where we would spend the night before driving three hours south to our final destination: Carbondale! Under normal circumstances, Carbondale, Illinois, wouldn’t have been on either of our bucket lists. But something truly AMAZING was about to take place – a total solar eclipse – and Carbondale was in the path of totality! This astronomical event, which happens when the moon passes between the sun and the earth, completely blocking the face of the sun, is not going to take place again in the contiguous United States until 2044. So Liz and I decided this year was our time!

We had driven through rain and thunderstorms on Sunday, and more rain was in the forecast for Tuesday. But on Monday, we awoke to spectacular weather – beautiful blue skies with just a few white clouds strewn about. When we arrived in Carbondale, we found a little park and settled into our lawn chairs with our water, snacks, and protective eyewear close by.

After waiting eagerly (and with as much patience as we could muster), the eclipse finally began. Over the next 75 minutes, as the moon slowly made its way between the sun and the earth, the sky gradually grew darker, the temperature cooler, and our surroundings quieter. Then came the moment we had been waiting for: totality. Four minutes and eight seconds of totality, to be exact.

Those of you who have experienced a total eclipse will understand completely when I say that no photo, video, or description can do it justice. And there are certainly no words to adequately describe how I felt in the moment. What I will say, though, is that I didn’t have to think twice the first time I was asked, “What was the most memorable part of the eclipse?” For me, it was at the very end of totality, when a tiny slice of the sun became visible again. It was stunning – shocking really, to see how that sliver of sunshine lit up everything!

In yesterday’s reading from the 5th chapter of Matthew’s gospel, Jesus tells his disciples, “You are the light of the world….Therefore, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father in heaven.”

I’d love to know what the disciples were thinking when they heard these words from Jesus. It feels like a pretty tall order to me. There’s a lot of darkness in this world, after all, and sometimes I wonder how much of a difference my little light can actually make. But then I think about the solar eclipse and how that tiny sliver of light dispelled the darkness and illuminated everything around me. Our call is simply to let our light shine. God will take care of the rest.

-Debbie

Let us pray… Stir up your Spirit in us, O God, and help us, so that our lives will reflect your love and light. In Christ’s name, Amen.