What Does a Meteor Crash Have to Do with Christmas?
On the evening of the longest night of the longest year, people from around the world looked at the heavens in hopes of catching a glimpse of what is being called the Christmas Star, a conjunction of two planets, Saturn and Jupiter. Earlier this year, we witnessed the aftermath of another rare occurrence--a meteor crash--when we visited Meteor Crater in northern Arizona. What does this have to do with Christmas? Find out. It has a romantic footnote at the end. So keep reading!
“This is what happens when heaven impacts earth,” the narrator declared on a film that detailed the events that led to the formation of Meteor Crater in northern Arizona. As part of the audience, we watched a computer-generated iron-nickel fireball weighing several hundred thousand tons smash into Earth like a nuclear bomb with debris flying in all directions. Most of the meteorite vaporized or melted at impact, but a small percentage fragmented in the crater or was ejected and scattered in pieces throughout the surrounding region.
As we exited into the lobby, we rubbed our hands on one of those pieces, a three-foot long, 1406-pound massive chunk. Years of touching from thousands of tourists had rubbed off portions of the dusty outer layer, exposing the shiny metal beneath.
On the guided tour of the rim, we stared at the giant bowl-shaped cavity, 550 feet deep and 4000 feet across. Our guide pointed out large blocks of limestone, the size of small houses, that had been heaved onto the rim at impact. After explaining how astronauts trained at the crater, she ended with a short advertisement, “Don’t forget to purchase a falling star in the gift shop. We sell them by weight, currently two dollars a gram.”
Recognizing her spiel as an obvious marketing technique, I still found myself wanting to buy a bit of heaven to carry home in my pocket. As we entered the Meteor Crater gift shop, we ignored the t-shirts, souvenir shot glasses and stuffed spaceships, until we came to a round table holding packaged meteor fragments.
The small black stones were dirty, not smooth and shiny as I expected. The rocks looked nothing like something from heaven, but dusty. Ordinary. Disappointing.
We left without buying anything, but the line from the movie kept coming back to me. This is what happens when heaven impacts earth.
When Jesus arrived on this planet, He came not as a falling star, but as Emmanuel, God with us. Jesus came covered in human dust—not like anyone expected—but the impact of heaven touching earth was more powerful than any meteor crash.
On your journey of faith this Christmas, I pray you find Jesus in all the layers of dust. For some of you, it has been A LOT of dust. He is there. This, I believe.
I recently shared this message as part of a sermon with my husband at Trinity Christian Fellowship in Chandler. After I shared the story, Kevin said, "Wait a minute" and pulled this necklace from his pocket, my own reminder of what happens when heaven impacts earth. Merry Early Christmas to me. He totally surprised me!!! That is also on the video. Fast forward to 38:45 for the message. I share close to the beginning.
meteorite necklace
Early Christmas present!!! My own reminder of heaven impacting earth.
Thank you Betty Ramirez for sending us this picture collage and catching the surprise.