Message from Pastor Philip
Dr. Carl Edward Sagan was an American astronomer, planetary scientist, and science communicator.
He spent most of his career as a pro-
fessor of astronomy at Cornell Uni-
versity, where he directed the Labor-
atory for Planetary Studies. In all of that - he was critical -
he was a leader - in bringing us the Pioneer and Voyager spacecraft missions
- where we as
humans got to see Mars, Venus, Jupiter, Saturn, and beyond.
And he was a master communicator - one of the very best. If you haven’t experienced anything from Dr. Sagan - I encourage you to go to YouTube and look up “The Pale Blue Dot” video.
When Carl Sagan was a child -- he looked up at the stars - - and questioned -- what are those pinpoints of lights? Why do some twinkle, some move, and move stay steady? Why does the sun rise and how far is it to the nearest planet?
Our world that we live in today -- in 2024 -- is a different world because Carl Sagan -- as a child -- asked questions. He wondered. He probed. He wanted to know why things were the way they were.
Because of his relentless pursuit of knowledge -- we, each of us, can google up close pictures of Jupiter, Saturn, Neptune - things that early astronomers like Galileo and
Huygens could ONLY DREAM OF several hundred years ago. Beyond our wildest imagination.
History shows us - proves to us - that when civilizations, cultures, and groups of people are encouraged to be curious -- to question the natural and human world around them - to wonder why things work the way they do -- that in fact, their world gets bigger. Immediately!
Think about for a moment - the minute you start asking why, your mind is open to new possibilities. Your world gets larger by just asking the question.
You may be thinking - no, we need the answers to the questions. I would argue that the very act of asking the question opens the door to a broader world - and yes, one with more questions. Perhaps the world is changed more by the question than the answer.
Curiosity leads us to question the status quo - to ask, how can we do things better? How do we have to adapt and change to live and succeed in the modern world? What things do we need to stop doing?
Oddly - Carl Sagan was an atheist, yet I find so many Spiritual inspirations in his writings and teachings. I wonder what he would have thought about that?
Our scriptures are meant to inspire us - to encourage us to ask more questions, and dig deeper for answers. Answers lead to more questions, more prayer, and more conversa- tions. Jesus frequently challenges his Disciples to think why and how.
In Matthew 7:7-8, “Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; the one who seeks finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened.”
I encourage all of you to question, to ask why, and to search for answers. Both in
your personal lives and the life of
Desert Chapel. Where should we go? Who should we reach? How do we do that? By asking, our world has already gotten a little bit larger.
Print 