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Lent Devotion 39: Heart

In Samantha’ Harvey’s novel, Orbital, we are told about the heart of the Italian astronaut Pietro:  “There in his chest is a heart that tilts and pitches.  He can keep its beats slow and smooth, quell its habits of fear or panic or impulse, stop it yearning too much for home, curb its unhelpful states of abandon.  Calm and steady, calm and steady.  Metronome pacing out the breath.  Yet still at times it tilts and pitches.  It wants what it wants and hopes what it hopes and needs what it needs and loves what it loves.  So strenuously unrobotic is the astronaut’s heart that is leaves the earth’s atmosphere and it presses out — gravity stops pressing in and the counterweight of the heart starts pressing out, as if suddenly aware it is part of an animal, alive and feeling.  An animal that does not just bear witness, but loves what it witnesses.”  [pp. 50-51]

This is Good Friday.  The day we remember Jesus being killed on the cross, a painful, excruciating death.  A humiliating death.  What was the state of Jesus’ heart that day?  Was it tilting and pitching?  Or slow and smooth, with no sign of fear or panic?  Was Jesus calm and steady?  Can we imagine, even in the midst of humiliation and pain, the heart of Jesus expanding with love for the Earth, for life, for all the people here, for God?  

Forgive them, they don’t know what they are doing!

Prayer:  On this of all days, may our hearts swell with love for Jesus and the world for which he died.  Amen.

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Devotion prepared by Rev. Kim P. Wells, pastor of Lakewood United Church of Christ in St. Petersburg, FL.

The devotions this Lenten season will be based on the novel Orbital by Samantha Harvey.  Orbital won the Booker Prize in 2024.  It is a beautifully written story about the experience of a group of people orbiting the Earth in a spaceship.  They see 16 sunrises and sunsets in a 24 hour period.  The book is a reflection on the experience of living together and appreciating planet Earth in a new way.

Lent Devotion 38: Taking Lumps

In Samantha’ Harvey’s novel, Orbital, there is a protocol for those on a spaceship when an astronaut has a medical problem or emergency.  If the astronaut must be evacuated from space, taken home to be treated, the astronaut does not go alone.  Two other astronauts go to accompany the one needing medical attention.  The colleagues are needed to assist with the trip back to Earth and the landing.  The two compatriots are needed to potentially save the life of the astronaut who is physically compromised.

In the course of Harvey’s novel, Anton, a Russian cosmonaut, has discovered a lump on his neck.  He is keeping it hidden beneath the collar of his shirt.  He does not want anyone to know about it:  “Absently Anton runs his fingers over a lump that’s appeared on his neck the last fortnight and that he tries to obscure by raising the collar of his polo shirt.  The last thing you need is to get sick in space.  They’ll worry and send you home and, because you can’t fly back on your own, two others will have to go with you, and to cut short the missions of those two others would be unforgivable.  He’ll say nothing to the flight surgeon or to his fellow crew and he’ll hope nobody notices.  It’s the size of a cherry in the low hollow of his neck, and perfectly painless.” [pp. 139-140]

It seems noble of Anton to be concerned about others.  To not want to cut short the mission of any of the other astronauts who are on the spaceship.  The six astronauts seem so in love with space and have worked for their whole careers for this opportunity.  Of course Anton would not want to take that away from any of them.  He is thinking about others, not just himself.  Not just his health.  You get the feeling Anton would rather die than take away one minute in space for any of his colleagues.  He seems so other-centered.  

Much as Anton loves space and would not want to deprive any one of his comrades of a moment of their mission, I found my self wondering, What if one of the other astronauts on the spaceship was sick and needed to return to Earth to receive healthcare?  I think Anton would be the first to volunteer to help them get back to Earth.  I think he would immediately agree to fly back with the sick colleague.  

And then he would say, “Zabudem, ladno?”  Let’s forget it, shall we?   

Prayer: Jesus teaches us to find life in giving our lives away.  As this Lenten season is drawing to a close, we remember how Jesus gave his life away for others.  May we seek to do the same.  Amen.

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Devotion prepared by Rev. Kim P. Wells, pastor of Lakewood United Church of Christ in St. Petersburg, FL.

The devotions this Lenten season will be based on the novel Orbital by Samantha Harvey.  Orbital won the Booker Prize in 2024.  It is a beautifully written story about the experience of a group of people orbiting the Earth in a spaceship.  They see 16 sunrises and sunsets in a 24 hour period.  The book is a reflection on the experience of living together and appreciating planet Earth in a new way.

Devotion Thirty-Seven, “Stories”

In the Christian tradition, this is the week for stories.  We revisit the stories around Palm Sunday, the last supper, the trial and betrayal and desertion of Jesus, and finally the crucifixion.  Each year there is a re-telling of these stories.  They shape our understanding of the Christian faith and the ministry of Jesus.  He will always put the well-being of others before his own well-being.  To show us how beloved we are.  And finally with the stories of Easter and the resurrection, we are shown that love is stronger than death.  So we need never be afraid.  Of anything.  Including death and whatever comes after.  

We don’t all get to see these events directly; live it ourselves.  But we have the stories of those close to Jesus about what happened.  And those stories have power.  

We are people who are shaped by stories.  The stories we hear about our faith tradition.  The stories we hear about our country and our people.  The stories we are told about ourselves.  “You’re poor and you’re not smart so you’ll never amount to much.”  “No one wants to hire someone as fat as you are.”  “You can be anything you want to be.”  “You’re a young black man.  We know where you’ll end up.”  These stories shape who we are and how we live and the nature of our reality.

In Orbital, the novel by Samantha Harvey, one of the Russian cosmonauts was raised being told stories about how the Russians landed on the moon.  This inspired him to want to go to the moon.  He gives his life to this dream despite learning that no Russian has ever set foot on the moon. Nor has he.  [pp. 64-65]

We can be deceived and betrayed by stories.  Manipulated and controlled. We can be shaped and formed by stories. They are very powerful. 

Prayer: May the stories of this Holy Week have an impact on us.  May they convince us that the power of love is invincible and that we are each and every one of us dearly beloved.  May our stories help us to bear witness to that love in our lives.  Amen.

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Devotion prepared by Rev. Kim P. Wells, pastor of Lakewood United Church of Christ in St. Petersburg, FL.

The devotions this Lenten season will be based on the novel Orbital by Samantha Harvey.  Orbital won the Booker Prize in 2024.  It is a beautifully written story about the experience of a group of people orbiting the Earth in a spaceship.  They see 16 sunrises and sunsets in a 24 hour period.  The book is a reflection on the experience of living together and appreciating planet Earth in a new way.

Devotion Thirty-Six, “Space”

Forever, humans have been captivated by space, by what is beyond the Earth.  Ancient civilizations were watching the stars and the planets and the sun.  Observing.  Noticing.  paying attention.  Trying to make sense of it all.  

There are ancient structures, buildings, pyramids, even the serpent mounds of Ohio, that are oriented so that the sun hits in a certain way at a certain time of year.  This activity of the sun had been observed and the construction capitalized on that.  It is so amazing how humanity is captivated by the sun and the skies.  

Now we have telescopes launched into space sending pictures and images back to Earth which enchant and astound us.  There is SO much going on out there!  And so much of it is beautiful!

Where does space fit into our world view?  And where do we fit into space?  The US now has a Space Force, the sixth branch of the military established in 2019.  What is the mission of that branch of government?

“The U.S. Space Force protects our country and the freedom to operate in space, keeping it secure, stable and accessible for military space power and new waves of innovation.. .  Space now defines our daily lives and the modern way of war.” [https://www.spaceforce.com/about]

Once space was about understanding time and the passing of the year and sacred devotion to the gods/God.  It was the subject of curiosity and  scientific exploration.  Now, it is a venue for war and for the extension of capitalism.  Apparently there are plans to put company logos in space so that they shine to earth.  

One of the astronauts in Samantha Harvey’s novel Orbital reflects:  “When he thinks of the six of them here, or the astronauts now going to the moon, he hears that haunting call – that’s what we’re doing when we come into space, asserting our species by extending its territory.  Space is the one remaining wilderness we have.  The solar system into which we venture is just the new frontier now our earthly frontiers have been discovered and plundered.” [p. 162] 

Sadly space has become a vista for colonization, for ownership and claim to access, power, and resources.  And of course, this all makes someone, someones, very rich!  

Prayer:  This Lenten season, may we see the folly of our ways.  May we reclaim our need for the transcendent, for the Beyond, for something greater than we are.  So that we may glory in the gift of this precious life on Earth.  Amen.

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Devotion prepared by Rev. Kim P. Wells, pastor of Lakewood United Church of Christ in St. Petersburg, FL.

The devotions this Lenten season will be based on the novel Orbital by Samantha Harvey.  Orbital won the Booker Prize in 2024.  It is a beautifully written story about the experience of a group of people orbiting the Earth in a spaceship.  They see 16 sunrises and sunsets in a 24 hour period.  The book is a reflection on the experience of living together and appreciating planet Earth in a new way.