M is for MOON

I was really excited about the whole moon thing. Right from the first disastrous Apollo 1 mission, when three astronauts lost their lives in a fire in 1967 right through to the last Apollo 17 trip in 1972, I was glued to the grainy, black and white television pictures beamed not just from the other side of the world, but much further. I was still in short trousers by the time the first manned flight had circled the moon and this in itself seemed almost beyond my comprehension, to think that the yellow disc in the sky had been circled by human beings. I tried hard to see them up there but never did. The whole space programme was so well organised with just one step at a time seeming to be the objective.By the time the famous Apollo 11 would undertake its historic flight and subsequent landing on the lunar surface, the lunar module would have been tested in orbit around the earth, then in orbit around the moon, every attempt being made to ensure the safety of the men who would set foot on another world that most of us have only ever seen from earth.

On the historic day, July 20th, 1969, like most people who could get near a television, I was transfixed by the events as the lunar module separated from the main spacecraft and two human beings began their descent towards worldwide fame. Memories are vague but I think it was late afternoon when touchdown was confirmed and Neil Armstrong spoke those timeless words 'Houston, Tranquility Base here. The Eagle has landed.' I guess the Sea of Tranquility was much quieter than anywhere on this planet at that exact moment. We were living in an age when technology was still in its infancy, where whole nations were still recovering from two world wars and where the very idea of man landing on the moon still belonged in the pages of a science fiction adventure or a Hollywood movie. But we were actually seeing living history as it happened thousands of miles away. That first step on the surface, the flag planting, the phone conversation with the American president, the photographing, walkabouts and evident humour were all recorded in our memories by the magic of television. And we all waited nervously as the lunar module prepared for its take off, hoping that it would be successful and that Armstrong and Aldrin would be able to rejoin Collins in the command module. Why , we even washed the splashdown in the Pacific Ocean a couple of days later and remained focused on the screen as the astronauts emerged from their mission, unscathed and victorious.

I often tell the boys about the whole event and feel just a little bit proud that I lived through such an important part of history. When we went to Cape Kennedy a few years back, they were enthralled by what they saw but not nearly as excited as their dad. Just to see the command module and realise how small it was and how huge the Saturn rocket was that powered it to the moon. In recent years, despite having watched the whole events on television as they happened, I have been disturbed by various conspiracy theories that suggest the whole event never happened on the moon but was staged in an area on earth away from public view. Some of the evidence is compelling but I know what I saw and like millions of others, I have no reason to believe otherwise.

Those who lived with Jesus on earth had no reason to doubt either. They had witnessed the miracles, the sermons and the compassion. They had watched as he fulfilled Old Testament prophecies and they had seen Him after He rose from the dead. Only a few of them were gathered with Him as He left them to return to His Father but they were left in no doubt that He would return again in the way He had gone. What an impact that must have made on those disciples. For what other reason would they have been willing to die for what they had seen and knew to be true. In the intervening years, there have been many who have attempted to explain away the whole events as elaborate stories or myths or even to relegate Jesus to nothing more than a good human being. But the disciples knew what they saw and had no reason to believe otherwise. That's why they not only told others about Him but also wrote it down so that people like us might also know the truth and believe. Jesus told His disciples, 'Because you have seen me, you have believed; blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.' That includes me and hopefully you and when He returns, victorious, His mission will be complete. The countdown is underway!