All I saw was a blank sky, the information I had was wrong and I saw nothing.
On Monday there were multiple reports on TV and the internet that the Perseid meteor shower that night would not only be visible but spectacular. This meteor shower passes the earth every year and despite several attempts to see it, none have been very successful. This year is going to be different I told myself.
While information that the meteor shower was happening was aplenty, it was a bit harder to find out where to look. Nevertheless, as a family, we headed to our local park at about 11pm to stare at the night sky.
I’d read that you needed to look northwest, so that was what we did. We saw the lights of various planes and some stars, I think we could see Venus in the West…but alas no Perseid meteors.
We were looking in the wrong direction.
The big W
Helpfully, but equally unhelpful, a TV weather presenter said to look for the stars in the sky which form a big ‘W’, the meteor shower should pass through or near this constellation.
I looked for a big W.
My problem was that knowing I was looking for a W my eyes and mind conspired against me to turn every random collection of stars into a possible W.
Disappointed but not Defeated
I returned home disappointed but not defeated.
I quickly downloaded an App so when I held my phone to the night sky it showed the names of the constellations of the stars. A quick search on the internet armed me with the knowledge that the big W in the sky is called the Cassiopeia constellation.
Back to the park, I went, this time with an App to help and a camping mat so I could lie on the wet grass and look up at the sky.
A glimpse of something more.
Once back in the park I wandered to the middle of a field, unrolled the camping mat and lay down looking up at the sky.
Silently I prayed that no late-night dog walkers or their dogs would stumble upon me nor that the multiple foxes in the area would think I was a midnight snack!
Using the App I located Cassiopeia and stared at the sky.
I did not see an amazing shower of hundreds of meteors, but I did see two, and I’m happy with that.
What’s your point caller?
Central to my initial failed attempt to see the meteors were my eyes and mind conspiring to turn every random collection of stars into the shape I was looking for. The vague description of a big W lacked enough detail to allow me to identify the right W. I needed an authoritative guide so I could correctly identify the group of stars I needed.
2,000 years ago, the people of Judea and Palestine were looking not for meteors (as far as I know), but for a saviour. In many ways, this search for a saviour came to a climax after Jesus’ arrest, when Pilate presented them with the choice of two people, Jesus of Nazareth or Jesus Barabbas.
Yes, Barabbas was also called Jesus …Matthew tells us this in Matthew 27:16.
But what informed the “shape” of a saviour they were looking for? Were they looking in the wrong direction?
What about now?
What about now? If we were to be presented with the choice the people were 2,000 years ago, would we be able to identify and choose the right saviour, the right Jesus?
The choice of a right saviour, the right Jesus, has very day-to-day implications. We are called to be disciples of Jesus, which means we are to be like him and participate in his mission. This begs the question, “What kind of Jesus am I trying to be like, which Jesus’s mission am I participating in?”
I could not identify the right W in the sky to see the meteors because the description of what I was to look for was too vague. I needed an authoritative guide that pointed me in the right direction.
Our authoritative guide is, of course, the Bible.
On Sunday we’ll look at the choice presented to the crowds in Matthew 27: 15 – 23 and think about how scripture helps correct the faulty images of what a saviour should be like and how in our day this helps us follow the right Jesus and not a Jesus Barabbas.
See you Sunday.
Brodie