Like many last spring, I decided to spend some time with my family attempting to observe the solar eclipse which, in God’s providence, passed in totality over a significant band of the continental United States, and partially over a much wider area, including East Grand Forks, Minnesota, where I live.

My wife, Sara, diligently sought out and purchased the necessary “eclipse glasses” bearing the all-important ISO 12312-2 certification so that we might have confidence our eyesight would not be damaged as we gazed upward. With about a week to go, we checked our local weather forecast and wondered if the skies would be clear. Alas, the day arrived, and our skies were completely overcast. The sun was only visible for less than five minutes near the conclusion of the eclipse, when you could catch the tiniest sliver of dark on the otherwise white-hot, retina-burning glare of our local star.

When we accepted that the clouds weren’t going to cooperate, we decided to experience the event vicariously via NASA’s video webcast of the event. NASA’s coverage was excellent. They had stations set up all along the path of totality. As the day progressed, NASA would switch to the next spot that would experience totality so that viewers were able to watch the same total eclipse event five or six times. They would do a split screen with the sun on one side and the hosts and crowd on the other. Everyone watched as the path of the moon slowly crept across the visible disk of the sun.

The Crowd’s Response

Watching the eclipse unfold in this way was interesting because viewers could easily compare the reactions of the hosts and assembled crowds at each location. Having watched many of them, I noticed a few similarities.

First, there was a massive expression of awe and wonder and excitement just as the moment of totality arrived. NASA hosts across the different locations all burst forth with rapid exhalations and expressions like, “This is amazing! I cannot believe I’m seeing this! How wonderful!” Crowds in the background could be heard cheering as if they were watching someone score a touchdown.

Second, there was an expression of awe and wonder as the darkness of totality set in and, paradoxically, planets could be seen during the day. “There’s Jupiter! There’s Saturn! Look! You can see the solar prominences!” the hosts would exclaim.

Third, a calm and stillness set over the crowds. The cheering gave way to a much quieter aural landscape. Why? So that people could concentrate during the remaining four minutes of totality, a time when the ISO-compliant eye protection could be removed. You could hear people murmur appreciative sighs at what they were seeing. Even the hosts adopted this same quietude of admiration and awe.

Fourth, the cheering began to pick up again as everyone begin to sense that totality would soon end. As the moon began to pass out of the sun’s circle, you could see something called the “diamond ring,” a piercing gleam of light that bursts forth from one side of the sun while the ring of the sun’s corona is still visible round the moon. The cheering began again and quickly settled into excited murmurs like, “Can you believe that just happened?”

After each totality ended, NASA would refer to the hosts to get their reactions. Many were visibly emotional. One woman had clearly been weeping. She remarked that she could not understand her emotional response to the eclipse.

Well, isn’t that interesting, I thought. My mind was suddenly filled with the words of Psalm 19:1:

The heavens declare the glory of God,
and the sky above proclaims his handiwork.

I wanted to shout to this woman, “You just got a mere glimpse, ma’am!”

Revelation of God

Paul wrote in Romans 1:20,

For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse.

The theological term for what Paul describes here is “general revelation.” The creation itself bears witness to its creator. The truth that there is a creator is known by all humans. In our fallen nature, we suppress the truth in unrighteousness and deny the evidence presented to us by our own eyes. That is why it takes the special revelation of God’s holy Word to pierce the darkness of our hearts so that we can see and hear and embrace in a saving way the God who spoke everything into existence by the word of his power in the space of six days and all very good, and whose Son upholds the universe by the word of his power (Heb. 1:3).

Eclipses are amazing, but they are actually common. The number of lunar and solar eclipses varies by year, but on average there are about four. Total eclipses are less common, however, and so they tend to unlock the door to a kind of childlike awe that should be apparent to us every day if we would simply spend a bit more time looking around and observing.

Christians take refuge under the wings of God through the means of grace in worship: Word, sacrament, and prayer. But for the Christian there is also value to “touching grass,” as the kids say these days. That means you take your Bible, head out into God’s general revelation in nature, and read and watch. It’s the Word of God that explains what the NASA host was unable to understand about her own emotional response to the Lord’s providential work with the stars and planets. Read. Watch. Relish the truth that the triune God, who alone is worthy of our worship, is so much more wonderful and awe-ful than what we can presently see. Remember also that Jesus is coming soon, and consider with joyful anticipation the coming glory that will permanently eclipse all of the remaining sin, evil, injustice, sorrow, and tears of this present evil age.

The author is church planter of Faith OPC in Grand Forks, North Dakota. New Horizons, November 2024.