Last night after dinner, I raced to my car, started it, pointed it toward the parish, and drove as fast as I dared. As usual on Wednesday evenings, I was running late for choir practice
As I rolled along through the darkness, I noticed that the sun visor was in the down position, so I flipped it up. And then my heart did a triple somersault. I happened to be driving due east, and as the visor went up, the rising moon suddenly appeared in my field of vision. It looked full. To say it was beautiful is not to do it justice. It knocked my socks off. All my preoccupation with being late for choir melted away - the little dysfunctional dialogue I was having with myself inside my brain went mute. And I just sort of soaked in the beauty as I drove along.
In that moment, I understood the effect the moon has had on human beings. I wanted to howl. I wanted to start a family. My hair curled, and my whiskers grew out a quarter inch. Well, I may be exaggerating. But it brought out something very human in me, from the animal side of the spectrum.
What's more, I felt momentarily as though I was a vessel, capturing the moonlight and then shooting it forth in all directions so that the inside of the car glowed.
There is a lot of imagery in the New Testament about Jesus being the light shining in the darkness. To get a vivid idea of that, check out the moon.
Well I have experienced full moons and they are impressive, but they have never called forth any pagan animal nature. They all seemed beautiful and peaceful. I could relate that beauty and peacefulness to Jesus as a light shining in the darkness.
ReplyDeleteI guess I haven't read much pagan literature so I don't have many models for howling, hair curling, or capturing the moonlight. While very few Catholics have born-again experiences, most Evangelicals have them because they were brought up in a culture of born again experiences where people are expected to have them.
What books have you read or movies have you viewed that primed you for this "pagan" experience? Maybe we need to bring back the Index of Forbidden Books and the Legion of Decency ratings to guard us from experiencing the moon as pagan.
Hi Jack - I don't know if there are any more sun and moon worshipers anymore. If there are, I sort of felt akin to them for a moment.
DeleteFor a film that dwells on the effects of moonlight on human behavior, I'd refer you (or anyone else) to "Moonstruck". Possibly "Werewolves of London", too, although I haven't actually seen more than 5-10 minutes of it. Great theme song, though.
Around 20 years ago, I visited this wolf preserve in Columbia, NJ, not far from the Delaware Water Gap. At that time, they had two wolf packs separated from each other and us by chain link. We were told we could howl, so I did and the beautiful wolves howled with me. Wow, it really, really felt good. I would call the feeling primal more than pagan, singing with that choir of lupi.
ReplyDeleteStanley, that sounds great - I would join you in a joyful howlfest anytime!
DeleteMay Katherine and I come too - to watch you and Stanley? I imagine it would be an unforgettable experience! ;)
DeleteI noticed the moon on my way to work yesterday morning, since it is dark now at that hour. I love to see the full moon, the crescent and half moon too. I like the names that we give the various moons, the harvest moon, the hunter moon, etc. The Christmas moon in December seems always to herald a cold spell. It is very faintly pink. The Native Americans have some interesting, poetic names too. For you wolf wannabees, the wolf moon is in January. Here are some of the names the Blackfoot tribe uses:http://www.native-americans-online.com/native-american-12moons.html
ReplyDeleteI notice on Facebook people share their moon photos a lot. I have never learned to take decent night photos. I think you need long exposure times.
Jim, I’m glad you had a “ moment “ with the moon. I have often noted that I feel closest to God in nature. I have had a number of literal breath-taking moments when the utter magnificence of a moonrise, or sunset, or other experiences of nature and the universe reassure me that there really must be a God who is good. When I am literally awe-struck.
ReplyDeleteTheology doesn’t do it for me. Scripture doesn’t do it for me. But a huge rising moon silhouetted against a blue black sky, even in an urban or suburban environment, convinces me that God exists, and that God must be good because God made such beauty. In the desert, or on a deserted beach, the beauty of the moonrise leaves me almost breathless.
However, I must admit, my reaction to a spectacular moonrise doesn’t make me want to howl like a wolf!
Anne, I am with you in nature being a window into God's goodness. FWIW, Avery Dulles had a life-changing spiritual experience as a young man at Harvard when he noticed a bud on a tree in the springtime along the Charles River. So simple, but it changed everything for him.
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