Thought For The Week 24 November 2024

Earlier this week I watched an interesting interview with a former astronaut. They were talking about how in our world, so many of our problems, relational, economic, geographic and political, are exacerbated by our tendency to focus only on ourselves, our community, our country or people group. They also described a change in thinking experienced by astronauts who have spent time looking at the Earth from space. As early as the 1980s they realised that seeing our home from ‘up there’ in the darkness of space transformed how the astronauts saw life on our planet. When they returned to Earth, they often lived differently and had changed priorities and perspectives. This was called “the overview effect”, acknowledging that taking a big step back, until we can see the whole picture, or in this case, the planet, allows people to see what really matters.

The astronaut in the interview intimated that while astronauts have come to this conclusion through space travel, the Christian faith already witnesses this reality. They pointed to a Christmas sermon given by Dr. Martin Luther King, in which Dr. King said, “We must develop a world perspective … As nations and individuals, we are interdependent.” By this, he didn’t mean that we are all the same, but that must pursue peace with each other. Something that thousands sought to bear witness to this truth, this week, with quite likely the largest hikoi and peaceful protest seen at Parliament, where thousands of voices urged our political leaders to honour the covenant of Te Tiriti, The Treaty of Waitangi, rather than undermine it.

Today, in celebrating Reign of Christ Sunday, we acknowledge humanity’s desperate need for a shift in our perspectives and priorities. Christ reigns as ruler of the Cosmos, God is in the control seat of history. The Spirit is nurturing, reforming and building God’s people also known as the Church. We have not been abandoned to the circumstances of chance. These truths should, can and do change the way we live and relate to each other and the planet. We don’t need to go into orbit to discover these things, we just need to turn to Christ, who sits on the throne of Glory and sees everything as it really is and what it will be.

Luke Blackbeard