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2003: Time Unto Eternity"He has made everything appropriate
in its time. He has also set eternity in their heart, yet so that
man will not find out the work which God has done from the beginning even
to the end."
It happened on a Tuesday... The first rays of the mid-winter sun broke over the horizon. The ground sparkled under a blanket of frost. A mist rose from the earth under the gentle caress of the brightening dawn. Slowly, the world shook off its slumber. Just another cold, clear, glorious morning... ...and it happened on a Tuesday. Families stirred and rose from their beds. Hot breakfasts helped to ward off the early-morning chill. Schedules were checked; cheeks were pecked. People drove off to work. Children rode off to school. Just another day in the life... ...and it happened on a Tuesday. The daily routine started. The dryer hummed. The vacuum roared. Dishes were washed; floors were mopped; beds were made; diapers were changed. Just another day of housework... ...and it happened on a Tuesday. The work day began. Clocks were punched. Numbers were crunched. Goods were produced. Services were rendered. Deals and decisions were made; profits were earned and lost. Just another day on the job... ...and it happened on a Tuesday. The class bell rang. Students took their seats. Teachers called the rolls. Pencils were sharpened; assignments were given. Tests were passed and failed. Just another day at school... ...and it happened on a Tuesday. Phone call. Roll call. Conference call. Coffee break. TV break. Snack break. Just another regularly-scheduled morning... ...and it happened on a Tuesday. It happened...
Strange to think that there was once
a time "before," a time when such a day was both unimagined and unimaginable.
Strange to think that the day had ever once dawned as "just another day."
Strange to think that there was once a time when its memory wasn't a part
of our shared consciousness. Stranger still to think how easily we
forget...
A television set, wheeled in on a rolling stand. A radio, perched precariously on the edge of a bookshelf. For a lucky few, front row seats at the main event. Newspaper and magazine articles, promotional publications and materials... in one way or another, we had all become a part of what was about to happen... ...what was supposed to happen... A bold, exciting new era. A childhood wish fulfilled for a battered generation weary of the ghosts of Vietnam and Watergate and of the specter of the Cold War. "Manifest Destiny," it seemed. A brave new world... for anyone... and everyone. A scene oft-repeated in the fondest dreams of youth played out before our eyes. It was a scene we had seen many times before, of course; only now there was something more... something special. This time we weren't just watching them; we were watching one of us. Our sense of participation, of not merely watching but indeed of joining, drew us together that day. In our communion we dared to dream of a future for humanity both on this world and beyond. Perhaps, we mused, we could learn to work together in spite of our differences. Perhaps we had more in common with one another than we had ever imagined. Perhaps worldwide nuclear annihilation wasn't inevitable after all. This is why we watched, why we smiled... why we cheered. The smoke of our hopeful offering ascended heavenward from its altar, bearing away our fears and uncertainties, our prejudices and hatreds, in its cleansing, purifying wake. The embodiment of our dreams and aspirations rose majestically before us... and we with it. We believed in ourselves... in our world... and in all our tomorrows. We were born again...
This is why we were unprepared, why
we didn't understand... why we couldn't understand. Our minds could
not translate what our eyes beheld. Perception and reality blurred
as order gave way to chaos, precision to disarray, joy to confusion, sense
to insanity... and life to death... as the very boundary of time unto eternity
collapsed upon itself, fell open for a moment... and then closed forever.
"...a moment..." Now and Then... "...the twinkling of an eye..." Here and Now... "...out of time..." Be Here Now... "...and into eternity..."
Now and Forever...
Time Unto Eternity... and it happened on a Tuesday. Time Unto Eternity's day...
The world stopped. The clock continued ticking. The sun continued shining. But the world simply stopped... ...and it happened on a Tuesday. The day the earth stood still.
On that day both innocents and innocence perished before our eyes. Dreams and illusions crumbled to dust. In one searing moment, an entire generation came of age... ...and it happened... on a Tuesday...
upon the mountains of the sky.
"...Engines throttling up; three engines now at a hundred-and-four percent." "Challenger, go at throttle up." "Roger; go at throttle up... uh-oh--" "One minute fifteen seconds. Velocity twenty-nine hundred feet per second. Altitude nine nautical miles. Downrange distance seven nautical miles... "...Flight controllers here are looking
very carefully at the situation; obviously a major malfunction...
We have no downlink..."
Floating on
a cloud of amber...
Francis R. Scobee, commander
It happened on a Tuesday. Borne on Wings of Steel, the last crew of the space shuttle Challenger found their freedom flying high... upon the mountains of the sky... and they won't come down no more. Sail on, Challenger... to meet
the dawn.
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