Fearless Faith

After only a few months of operation, the James Webb Space Telescope is arguable the most important research tool ever launched into space. Its primary mandate, to observe the early universe in the infrared spectrum, has been remarkably successful thus far. Webb followers diligently track each new released image with a sense of discovery, awe and what-if-ness. The world has grown a little smaller and the universe much larger since the telescope’s launch last Christmas.

Should that unsettle us or does the mystery that continues to unfold only confirm a divine hand at the helm? It has long been questioned how religions world-wide will respond to the discovery of life elsewhere in the universe. The famed Drake Equation, a formulaic estimate of whether humankind will ultimately detect life beyond our own planet, is filled with numerical uncertainty and interpretive latitude, the likes of which are the source of many philosophical and theological debates. Therein is the greatest value of the telescope thus far, to engage people together in search of a meaningful faith.

There is also a gradient exposed in the new images collected, even when they were targeted on the same celestial objects viewed several years ago. While the Hubble Telescope opened the door in looking to the heavens, the Webb instrument has kicked it wide open, reminding us that nothing is ever completely understood or resolved. The categorizing of similar images “before Webb” and “after Webb” has amazed even the most staid observers among us. Emerging detail in the latest images has only deepened the wonder of genesis.

Of note is also the degree of international cooperation this and similar ventures have produced. The images and data fall mostly in the public domain, particularly for interested individuals, teachers, and researchers. That level of transparency is welcome these days. Politics seem to be shrouded in fear and distrust. Each of us have the opportunity to decline positions of selfishness and hate, to see the images before us with more clarity than has ever previously been observed, and to respond in life giving ways.

Jesus valued the community around him wherever he taught. Lacking community, he simply could have requested a scribe or two to pull together a list of right behavior and wrong action. Parables would be unnecessary because we would not have to work through their many nuances. Just check the list and move on.

He was up to something with a little more depth and focus than that. Community implies interrelatedness that is unavoidable, even when we coerce ourselves into believing we could pull off living by ourselves. It might work for a time in the short run, but ultimately society would slowly cease to function at any level. We count on other people for nearly all our consumables. Who alone could make the range of goods we enjoy daily?

Boundaries defining community have always been there, but it is good to recognize them more distinctly in a different light or orientation. As we continue to look outward for inspiration, let us also peer inward to the wells of possibility springing from within. In the years to come as our vision strengthens, perhaps we will be remembered as a generation that helped others grow into spiritual community instead of simply talking about.