I saw scientist and futurist, Michio Kaku, this week explain the “cosmic coincidence” of the eclipse. Kaku said, “This should be on everyone’s bucket list…I am a physicist. This is about as close as a scientist can get to a spiritual experience. You feel like you are at one with the universe. Cosmic forces right there in your glasses. It’s incredible!” When asked, ”How do we wrap our brains around it?”, he said, “We are witnessing a cosmic coincidence. The sun is exactly 400 times farther away than the moon, but it is also 400 times bigger than the moon and the two numbers cancel exactly. That is why the moon is going to go right in front of the sun. This is a cosmic coincidence…Astronomers worked out the mechanics of an eclipse two thousand years ago which was the beginning of astronomy…when astronomy began to understand why we have eclipses, the moon being in front of the sun…for two minutes and 40 seconds you can commune with the universe!”
Is this a cosmic coincidence?
Kaku is an extremely brilliant man who has also closed his mind to reality of this “cosmic coincidence”. He, along with many scientists, fails to see this ”cosmic coincidence” in light of millions of other incredible “coincidences” So many coincidences, in fact, that they cannot be coincidental. Solar systems, ecosystems, circulatory system, digestive system, nervous system, water cycle, natural laws, natural order, et cetera. The idea that these things were all coincidental or evolved randomly in nature is so far-fetched that it is more incredible to believe than the truth! If these things were random, there would be no “why”!
A more plausible explanation
A more plausible explanation is that it is the work of the Creator of the Universe. A solar eclipse is made possible only because in His system, he put the moon, earth and sun in exact proportions of relative size and distance to enable the lining up of these three celestial bodies. An eclipse enables those made in His image, a brief moment in time where we can see the corona of the sun, experience darkness during the day, and be provided another opportunity to marvel at his awesome power. The science of Astronomy only explained the how of an eclipse not the why. Only the Maker knows “why.”
What does this have to do with a food pantry?
What does this have to do with a food pantry? Perhaps, solar eclipses were designed as a wakeup call for humans to start to pay attention to how he told us to live together. After all, he also created laws telling us how we should care for one another. Just as his laws keep all of creation in balance, His laws on caring for his creation, if followed, would result in a world much more civil and compassionate than we see today. Jesus gave us the Golden Rule, “Do unto others as you would want them to do unto you; for this is the Law”(Matthew 7:12). This same concept is reiterated in the both the Judeo and Christian command to “Love your neighbor as yourself”(Leviticus 19:18 and Matthew 22:39). Under God’s laws, there would be significantly fewer who are poor, and therefore, hungry. “There should be no poor among you” (Deuteronomy 15:4). Why? Because we would be coming beside each other, sharing what we have with them as we would want them to do if we were in their shoes. Those unable to work, would be taken care of by the community or their family. Those who could work would work. Businesses would provide a fair wage. There would be no exploitation or injustice. Can you imagine it?
Let the eclipse change your life by communing with the Maker of the Universe!
So, when we look at the eclipse on Monday, we can marvel at how the mortal minds of scientists figured out how it works, or we can marvel at the handiwork of the Creator of the Universe and contemplate why he is showing it to us; what he wants us to understand about him; and what he wants us to do to care for his creation including every person on earth, each one of whom was made in His image. On Monday, take some time to commune with the Creator of the Universe as found in the Book of Genesis, imagine your place in his world, and then act on it.