Starlight, Starbright

When I consider Your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars, which you have ordained,

what is man that you are mindful of him? Psalm 8:3

It's easy to feel unimportant. Perhaps insignificant. Non-essential, for sure.

Maybe our notion of being inconsequential is confirmed when we gaze into the sky of our Milky Way Galaxy and recall that our galaxy is just one of hundreds of billions of galaxies in the observable universe.

"What's the point, anyway?" a daughter once asked. "What's the point in life? Of life?"

Who are we that we might have something to offer?

Who are we that we might be seen or noticed as important by anyone, let alone God?

And if the God of the universe sees us, does God care about us - our feelings, our needs?

In the grand scope of things, does our life and breath matter?

After all, it's spoken each Ash Wednesday: "Man you are dust, and to dust you will return."

These solemn words, the ashen criss-cross made on the forehead, the cross of ash to wear for the day...

I was an embarrased school girl trying to quickly wipe off the dark flakes spilling down my nose.

I was blind to the appreciation of these holy ashes as the remnants of Palm Sunday palms,

blind to the significance of death made cruciform right between my eyes.

But I heard it. "Man, you are dust."

I am dust? We are dust? What is the point?

And the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the Breath of Life,

and man became a living being. Gen. 2:7 Surely we are dust come to life!

Do you not know that you are a temple of God and that the Spirit of God dwells in you? 1 Cor 3:16

And surely we are carriers of great treasure!

For You light my lamp! The Lord my God illuminates my darkness. Psalm 18:28

And surely we are lit by the Light of the world!

Dust and Breath.

Dust and Breath and Spirit.

Illuminated, but still needing enlightenment...

Because sometimes this dust of ours may feel more dead than alive,

or our spirits may seem more suffocated than filled with Spirit-Breath,

or our eyes may be so adjusted to the dark that any light feels potentially blinding.

We know about dust. Or so we think we do.

Those twinkling celestial bodies in the sky? Those radiant, unceasing sparkles making us take notice?

Stars are made of dust.

Stars are formed from an accumulation of dust. And gas.

Dust and gas.

It turns out that every atom of oxygen in our lungs, of carbon in our muscles, of calcium in our bones, of iron in our blood - was created inside a star before Earth was born.

Dust and gas.

Dust and Breath.

Perhaps instead of "Man you are dust," this:

"Child, you are stardust." You. Are. Stardust. Man, Woman, Child...You are Stardust.

We are made of star stuff." -Carl Sagan.

Stars produce light by nature of their composition. It's what they are born to do.

And light recognizes light: the sun is also a star.

“I, Jesus...am the bright morning star." Rev. 22:16

If the sun is a star and we're star-stuff, we are also sun-stuff. Son-stuff.

Stars shine, gleam, glimmer and beam with all they have within them.

Whether their names are known by us? It's unimportant, insignificant, non-essential and inconsequential.

The Creator knows their names.

And they know their purpose: to shine for the duration of their star-lives.

But we are asked to know the name of the Son.

And when we do?

“You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden.

Nor do people light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a stand,

and it gives light to all in the house.

In the same way, let your light shine before others,

so that they may see your good works

and give glory to your Father who is in heaven. Matt. 5:14,15

We are tasked to shine, unapologetically and with specific purpose.

The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands.

Day after day they pour forth speech; night after night they display knowledge.

There is no speech or language where their voice is not heard. Psalm 19:1

Is the point to keep pointing up to the skies which proclaim the work of His hands?

Is the the point to point back at ourselves, the earth-dwellers, the stardust on earth,

tasking ourselves - and each other - with shining with the light we've been given?

Is the point to keep carrying on day after day, night after night?

One song reminds us that the point is to follow creation's example of pointing to the Creator:

And as You speak A hundred billion galaxies are born In the vapor of Your breath the planets form If the stars were made to worship so will I I can see Your heart in everything You've made Every burning star A signal fire of grace If creation sings Your praises so will I...

As part of creation,

whether a Shortleaf pine tree creating an evergreen arrow toward the sky,

or a ruby red Cardinal tweeting, "worrrrrrship, worship, worship, worship" in the morning,

or the Big Dipper and the Little Dipper creating star-to-star outlines in the heavens,

we are uniquely created.

Ultimately, our form, our song and our light are gifts from Him which shall return to Him.

For it is the God Who commanded light to shine out of darkness

Who has shone in our hearts

to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God

in the face of Jesus Christ. 2 Cor 4:6

Pointing up to the heavens, we join with all creation in praise.

Pointing back to ourselves and out to the world, we commit to shine.

Pointing up to our Morning Star, we give Him all the glory.

Shine like stars in the universe!