Beyond the Moon, Toward God

Watching a rocket launch from across Kennedy Space Center in Florida

These days, many eyes are turned toward Artemis II, which launched on April 1, 2026, sending astronauts on a ten-day journey around the moon. Just three weeks ago, during our diocesan clergy retreat in Orlando, we were staying near that same Kennedy Space Center and had the joy of watching another rocket launch.

Back in 1961, when Yuri Gagarin became the first human in space, Soviet propaganda claimed that he went into space and did not see God there. C. S. Lewis gave a beautiful answer. The created world cannot discover its Creator unless the Creator chooses to make Himself known. Hamlet cannot go looking for Shakespeare. If they are ever to meet, Shakespeare must write himself into the story.

We can build rockets, cross the skies, circle the moon, and study the stars with astonishing precision, and all of this reflects the creativity God placed within the human mind. Yet God is not another object in the universe to be found by going higher or seeing farther. He is the Creator of all that is.

The heavens proclaim His glory and awaken our wonder, but we know the living God because He chooses to reveal Himself, “The Word became flesh and dwelt among us” (John 1:14). This is the heart of the Incarnation. God did not remain distant. He entered the story. The Author wrote Himself into the drama of human history. The Creator stepped into creation.

God did not enter our world only to visit it. He entered it to save it. He entered our pain, our sin, our loneliness, our mortality. On the cross, the Author stepped into the darkest chapter of the human story so that no darkness would ever be without His presence again.

So yes, when we look at the heavens, we should marvel. The moon, the stars, and the vastness of space all speak of the glory of God. But the clearest picture of God is not found by looking farther away. It is found by looking at Jesus Christ.

If you want to know what God is like, look at Jesus. In Him, the invisible God becomes visible, mercy takes flesh, and divine love walks among us. The God whom we could never reach has lovingly reached us.