Radiance.

I am a nerd and this is confession time. When I was growing up I loved Star Trek. Today I watch the NASA channel. I read space.com all of the time along with the NASA website. I am a nerd. My wife has threatened to buy me a NASA t-shirt for Christmas, which she thinks will make me look like a bigger dork than I already am and maybe that is true, because I know I would proudly wear that shirt!

I am such a nerd-burglar that I know that light travels at 186,000 miles per second. The sun is about 93,000,000 miles away from us. (Yes 93 Million!) At the speed of light the light emitted from the sun takes roughly eight minutes and twenty seconds to reach the earth. It all really breaks down into a simple math problem right?

So here’s a question for you un-nerds: How long does it take for the light emitting from the moon to reach us?

I am sure your superior un-nerdy mind can do that math problem …..

Well it’s a trick question. There is no light emitting from the Moon, the only light we see from the moon originates at the sun. Our moon has no radiance only reflection.

I was listening to Peter’s sermon today and he was speaking on this very subject:

“The Son is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of his being”
Hebrews 1:3a

Think of it: Everyone ever born merely reflects the image of our creator (some more dimly than others=). No one possesses their own radiance, we only, at best, are a reflection of God’s glory. Everyone except Jesus that is! The Son is the radiance! Jesus is the radiance of God because he is God. That radiance came into our world and we didn’t have a clue. That real, present, radiance is what we celebrate at Christmas. God with us!

By the way, the nerd in me must finish:

(The light from the sun that is reflected off the surface of the moon and into our eyes only takes 1.3 seconds to get here.)

Need.

As I contemplate Christmas, or for a more precise thought, what Christmas has become in this part of the world, on one level it sickens me and makes me want to disassociate myself from it all. According to Adventconspiracy.com Americans will spend 467 Billion dollars this year on Christmas gifts. Almost a half a trillion dollars! I cannot even begin wrap my mind around it. What is it that we need while living in the richest nation the world has ever known? What is it that we are after? What are we worshipping? Christmas was meant to change the world, and I am certain that our mentality of consumption is not what Jesus had in mind when he came. The Son of God humbled himself, coming to this world with us in mind. Pouring our his love and mercy and grace into our lives. A blessing far beyond what we can imagine, a gift worth way more than 467 Billion!

Will that “much wanted gift” bring you peace this year? Or have we settled for the intoxicating feelings of worth when what we really need is a heart transplant? I live right next door to Canada and I believe that they have a good idea in “Boxing Day” the day when they box up stuff and give it away on the day after Christmas. Maybe we could adopt that idea the day before Christmas, spending some of (the average household in the U.S. spends $900.00 and goes into debt to do it) the money that we spend on Christmas to bring peace and hope in this world of ours. That is my rant for today.