"And lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them and they were sure afraid. And the angel said unto them: fear not, for behold, I bring you tidings of great joy which shall be to all people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, which is Christ the Lord. And this shall be a sign unto you; Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger. And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host, praising God and saying, Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward all people."
The Gospel according to St.Luke
Chapter 2, verses 9:14
from the King James Bible
****************
On August 1, I published a piece on this site called, "Coming of Age in the Sixties". It was a reminiscence of Christmas Eve 1968, forty years ago tonight, when three men orbited the moon for the very first time. It was a gentle, hopeful end to what had been a tumultuous year....
*****************
With the assassinations of Martin Luther King and Bobby Kennedy in the spring, the mindless violence inflicted by the Chicago Police upon hapless demonstrators at the Democratic National Convention in August, and the endless and graphic carnage from South East Asia that was being televised into living rooms throughout the country - night after depressing night - a sensitive and impressionable ten-year-old could very easily have been overwhelmed by the thought that the world was coming to an end. So it was with me.
But then, on Christmas Eve, an epiphany....
`
That was the night that the crew of Apollo 8 became the first human beings to orbit the moon. Upon emerging from that asteroid's dark side, eternally invisible to the inhabitants of this small and fragile planet, the crew of Frank Borman, Bill Anders and James Lovell broadcast a message to the world. Turning to scripture, they quoted from the Book of Genesis:
"In the beginning, God created the heaven and the earth. And the earth was without form and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters. And God said, "Let there be light": and there was light. And God saw the light, that it was good: and God divided the light from the darkness...."
At the conclusion of that transmission, Commander Borman, no doubt reflecting on the turmoil of the year which was about to mercifully end, said these words:
"And so from the crew of Apollo Eight, we close with good night, good luck, a merry Christmas, and God bless all of you - all of you - on the good earth."
Hearing those words broadcast on the radio, my ear almost pressed against one of the two massive KHL speakers that dominated my father's stereo system, I felt the weight of the world being lifted from my shoulders. Somehow, I thought, everything was going to be alright. For decades afterwards, whenever America was confronted with some indescribable national trauma, Frank Borman's gentle words - transmitted from the heavens on that long ago Christmas Eve - would come back to calm me and I would feel better about my country.
Everything is going to be alright, I would tell myself.
***************
Happy Christmas, everyone.
Tom Degan
Goshen, NY
`
tomdegan@frontiernet.net
"Blessed are the peacemakers
For they shall be called children of God"
For more recent postings on this site, please go to the link below:
http://www.tomdegan.blogspot.com
And so, happy Christmas
We hope you have fun
The near and the dear one
The old and the young!
-John Lennon
The Gospel according to St.Luke
Chapter 2, verses 9:14
from the King James Bible
****************
On August 1, I published a piece on this site called, "Coming of Age in the Sixties". It was a reminiscence of Christmas Eve 1968, forty years ago tonight, when three men orbited the moon for the very first time. It was a gentle, hopeful end to what had been a tumultuous year....
*****************
With the assassinations of Martin Luther King and Bobby Kennedy in the spring, the mindless violence inflicted by the Chicago Police upon hapless demonstrators at the Democratic National Convention in August, and the endless and graphic carnage from South East Asia that was being televised into living rooms throughout the country - night after depressing night - a sensitive and impressionable ten-year-old could very easily have been overwhelmed by the thought that the world was coming to an end. So it was with me.
But then, on Christmas Eve, an epiphany....
`
That was the night that the crew of Apollo 8 became the first human beings to orbit the moon. Upon emerging from that asteroid's dark side, eternally invisible to the inhabitants of this small and fragile planet, the crew of Frank Borman, Bill Anders and James Lovell broadcast a message to the world. Turning to scripture, they quoted from the Book of Genesis:
"In the beginning, God created the heaven and the earth. And the earth was without form and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters. And God said, "Let there be light": and there was light. And God saw the light, that it was good: and God divided the light from the darkness...."
At the conclusion of that transmission, Commander Borman, no doubt reflecting on the turmoil of the year which was about to mercifully end, said these words:
"And so from the crew of Apollo Eight, we close with good night, good luck, a merry Christmas, and God bless all of you - all of you - on the good earth."
Hearing those words broadcast on the radio, my ear almost pressed against one of the two massive KHL speakers that dominated my father's stereo system, I felt the weight of the world being lifted from my shoulders. Somehow, I thought, everything was going to be alright. For decades afterwards, whenever America was confronted with some indescribable national trauma, Frank Borman's gentle words - transmitted from the heavens on that long ago Christmas Eve - would come back to calm me and I would feel better about my country.
Everything is going to be alright, I would tell myself.
***************
Happy Christmas, everyone.
Tom Degan
Goshen, NY
`
tomdegan@frontiernet.net
"Blessed are the peacemakers
For they shall be called children of God"
For more recent postings on this site, please go to the link below:
http://www.tomdegan.blogspot.com
And so, happy Christmas
We hope you have fun
The near and the dear one
The old and the young!
-John Lennon
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