Have you ever stepped out on a clear night and look up towards the sky and see the grandeur and wonder of the stars and constellations above? Added to their splendor is to realize the distance of the heavenly bodies from the earth. The nearest star, the Proxima Centauri, is 4.246 light years away from the earth. That is how far the light from the star is from the human eye! It is equivalent to 25 trillion miles. NASA estimates that the Discovery, launched in 2011, which travels 17,500 miles an hour would take 148,000 years to reach the nearest star. This is simply mind boggling!.
A story is told that the great German philosopher, Immanuel Kant, attended a lecture on humanity. The speaker concluded his lecture with the words: “So you see, astronomically speaking, man is utterly insignificant.” Kant poignantly replied, “professor you forgot the most important thing: astronomically speaking, man is the astronomer!”
The writer of the Psalms (Psa.8:1-9) places the human being to oversee the rest of creation. (S)he is endowed with the power and authority over creation. (S)he is distinguished from all creation in that (s)he can communicate with the Creator. The Creator has not only blessed the human being but spoke to him/her as well. Created in the Creator’s own image, (s)he is greatly privileged and has great responsibility in caring for the rest of creation.
The human being is steward of God’s gifts. God’s gifts are to be used for the well-being of humanity and the whole of creation. Instead, some of its power is used to manufacture weapons of mass destruction. Atomic energy is used to cure an individual’s disease, but the same energy is manufactured to kill a whole population.
The appointed stewards of creation, either because of pride or selfishness, has abused the Creator’s gifts, and have used them for death when they are meant for life. Humanity needs to be reconciled to the Creator, to each other and to the rest of creation. May humanity use its science, technology and arts for the well being and betterment of the life of the whole creation.
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