TWW-Marooned Astronaut

Marooned Astronaut is in Constant Contact with Church

In the News

NASA astronauts Barry Wilmore and Suni Williams expected to have an eight-day journey into space, on board the Boeing Starliner. But after experiencing helium leaks and thruster malfunctions, NASA decided to keep the astronauts safe on the International Space Station (ISS) and bring the Starliner home without astronauts in the capsule. The Starliner landed safely in the New Mexico desert earlier this month. (The Wired Word first told their story on July 7, 2024, in the lesson "Astronauts Waiting on Space Station for Spacecraft Repair.")

Wilmore and Williams have been told they will have to stay in space until February 2025, when they ride home on the SpaceX Crew-9 Dragon capsule. The capsule is scheduled to dock at the ISS with a two-person crew this week, on September 26.

Now, reports are emerging about the lives of these astronauts in orbit and how they are dealing with separation from their families on holidays, the lack of regular hot showers, and the mental and physical toll of an extended space mission. According to Baylor's Center for Space Medicine, long durations in space carry the risk of losses in bone density and muscle mass; changes to the brain, eyes and heart; and 100 times the amount of radiation exposure received on earth.

NASA tries to think of everything, but "delays can happen," said former NASA astronaut Mike Massimino on the "Today" show. He said that Williams and Wilmore were likely missing hot showers and facing stress from the extension. "Running water in space is a problem because it floats and also it's kind of a commodity, so you do the best you can with kind of a sponge bath," he said. "You do the best you can but you certainly miss it."

The astronauts told ABC News that they appreciate all the prayers and well wishes from strangers back home. They said that this support has helped them to cope with everything they are missing. For a while, Williams fretted over the loss of precious face-to-face time with her mother. Wilmore felt badly that he would not be on earth for his youngest daughter's final year of high school. But both have remained committed to carrying out their civic duties. Wilmore made a point of requesting an absentee ballot so that he could vote in the November election from orbit.

Fascinating details have emerged about the connection that Wilmore has maintained with his church while he has been in space. Back home in Texas, he is an active member and an elder at Providence Baptist Church in the Houston area. He has known the pastor, Tommy Dahn, for about 17 years.

They first met outside of a nursery when Wilmore's daughters -- now in college and high school -- were young. "I asked him what he did, and he said that he worked at NASA. That was it," Dahn told The Sun. "He doesn't use who he is as his identification. He didn't tell me 'well I'm an astronaut, and I've been a Navy pilot that flew off of aircraft carriers. ...' He is just an employee at NASA and his identity is who he is as a Christian. That's first and foremost for him."

From space, Wilmore has been in nearly "constant communication" with the church, Dahn said. The congregation often prays for him and Wilmore ministers to fellow members from space. He has used pictures and video footage from space to make a biblical presentation of the earth's creation. His trip "just confirmed what he believed before he went to space," Dahn said. Wilmore came to church "convinced of God as the Creator and all of this universe is God's handiwork."

Wilmore has also done personal outreach to church members. "He's called a couple of our older shut-ins from the space station, which is a thrill, of course, for anybody," Dahn said. One of his calls was to the pastor's mother-in-law, who is blind and 93 years old. Dahn said, "She still talks about it."

"As astronauts, they live with contingencies," said Dahn, "His only care ... is that his daughter is a senior in high school this year, and he's going to miss a big part of that senior year." Wilmore will also miss out on Christmas, Thanksgiving and his church's fall festival, but his family is used to being separated, since Wilmore had long deployments in the Navy and three previous trips to space. "So in one sense," added Dahn, "the family is independent because they've had to be with the lifestyle, and yet this was not expected."

Applying the News Story

Imagine yourself in outer space, challenged to maintain a connection with your church.

Discuss your Christian identity, how you would be challenged to remain faithful in an extreme situation, and what your relationship with the Christian community might look like.

Confronting the News With Scripture and Hope Here are some Bible verses to guide your discussion:

Psalm 19:1 (For context, read Psalm 19:1-6.)

Psalm 19:1–6 (NLT) The heavens proclaim the glory of God. The skies display his craftsmanship. 2 Day after day they continue to speak; night after night they make him known. 3 They speak without a sound or word; their voice is never heard. 4 Yet their message has gone throughout the earth, and their words to all the world. God has made a home in the heavens for the sun. 5 It bursts forth like a radiant bridegroom after his wedding. It rejoices like a great athlete eager to run the race. 6 The sun rises at one end of the heavens and follows its course to the other end. Nothing can hide from its heat.

The writer of Psalm 19 was a poet who looked up at the sky and saw the handiwork of God in the sun and moon, the stars and the planets. He did not understand outer space as we do today, but thought that the sky was a "firmament," a solid dome that held back the waters which fell as rain. This firmament was a structure that supported the sun, moon, stars and planets.

We may not talk about a firmament in science classes today, but we want our children to look at the planets and the stars and see the handiwork of their Creator, the result of billions of years of work. (Definitely NOT young earth creationists!)

If we believe the Bible in a literal sense, we believe this earth is only about 6,000 years old. (We are in the final days of year 5784.)

How can we account for the discrepancy between geological formations that take millions of years to occur and the Bible account that indicates less than 6000 years?

Just like God created Adam as a full-grown man, He created this earth, indeed the whole uinverse with age.

The psalm-writer says that creation speaks to us, but in a strange way -- it does not use words. "Day to day pours forth speech," says the psalm, "and night to night declares knowledge. There is no speech, nor are there words; their voice is not heard; yet their voice goes out through all the earth and their words to the end of the world" (vv. 2-4). So, how does creation speak to us, if it does not use words? Perhaps through physics and chemistry and the science of life itself. Creation is telling us that God is good, and that God wants to provide for us -- our earth is a lush, green island of life in the middle of the cold, lifeless expanse of space.

According to a story written by Harry Fletcher:

Seeing the Earth from outer space can have a huge psychological impact on people, and completely change the way they perceive the world when they touch back down on terra firma.

One person who has been open about their life-changing experiences is former astronaut Ronald Garan, who formerly spent 178 days outside the Earth’s atmosphere as a space cadet for NASA.

… Garan [speaks] about the overview effect, which led to him having a “sobering realisation”.

NASA themselves … [describe] the overview effect … [by saying] it’s the “impact of looking down at the Earth from above, and how it can create a shift in the way astronauts view and think about our planet and life itself”.

The Psalmist here in Psalm 19, King David, may not have been an astronaut, but he definitely had a different view of earth and life itself — a heavenly perspective.

He may not have articulated it, but the earth is perfectly placed for human life.

Any further away from the sun and it would be too cold to sustain life.

Any closer and it would be too hot.

An accident of “nature” or God’s plan?

What does creation tell us about God?

(Whiteboard)

Questions: Where do YOU see the glory of God in creation?

Everywhere. The micro to the macro. From the wonder of atoms to the wonder of the cosmos (Webb telescope).

What message would you want to send your congregation from the International Space Station?

There is absolute proof of God when you look at the cosmos.

John 15:16 (For context, read John 15:12-17.)

John 15:16 (LSB) “You did not choose Me but I chose you, and appointed you that you would go and bear fruit, and that your fruit would abide, so that whatever you ask of the Father in My name He may give to you.

On the night before his crucifixion, Jesus says that our identity as his followers comes from the fact that he has chosen us and appointed us to go and bear "fruit that will last." This verse comes soon after his command to his disciples to "love one another as I have loved you" (v. 12), an order that makes a connection between his love for us and our love for one another.

Apart from Jesus and his loving example, we can do very little good in this world. He then illustrates the distinctive kind of love that he is calling us to practice by saying, "No one has greater love than this, to lay down one's life for one's friends" (v. 13). He will go on to illustrate this sacrificial love with the gift of his own life on the cross.

The Greek word for love in this section is agapē, a love that always seeks the welfare of the other person.

A comparison between agapaō and phileō is inevitable.

Both are common to the New Testament, while neither eraō nor stergō can be found.

If any difference can be discerned, it seems to be that phileō represents a deep affection for a friend, an animal, or a family member, while agapaō expresses a love that does not require a comparable response.

As such, agapaō is a fitting description of the kind of love God has shown to man in sending His Son to save all who will believe (John 3:16).

It should be noted however that agapaō and phileō are often used interchangeably. When Matthew reported Jesus’ comment about how the scribes and the Pharisees loved the uppermost seats, phileō was used (Matthew 23:6). The Lucan version of the same incident uses agapaō (Luke 11:43). Again, when John (20:2) refered to the disciple whom Jesus loved, phileō was used; yet when John 19:26 speaks of John as the disciple Jesus loved, the word agapaō is used. Perhaps the distinctions should not be held too tightly.

Each of us has the ability to show this kind of love, following the commandment of Jesus to "love one another as I have loved you" (v. 12). The challenge of loving each other in this way might seem impossible to some. Too much of a challenge. But the truth is that we can succeed in loving because we have been chosen by Jesus to love one another and "go and bear fruit, fruit that will last." Jesus concludes the section by saying that he has given "these commands so that you may love one another" (v. 17).

Questions: How is your identity grounded in being chosen by Jesus, if at all?

It seems to me that Jesus is talking specifically to His disciples about being chosen to be disciples.

And yet one DID reject that call. Judas

We are not all chosen to the work of apostles, but we ARE all called to abide in in Jesus and thus produce fruit.

I am wrestling with a man on Gloo.

He is determined that God chose him to make his life miserable — that everyone has this distinction..

He wants to die. Listen to his comments:

God has killed me, Or that's how it feels. He has convicted, sentenced and condemned the whole world and my spirit. I don't know why the fleshbag hasn't followed suit yet

Nothing lives in me except undying hatred for whatever or whomever ever allowed me to exist

My whole life is nothing but sin and ____ and misery and has never been anything but, no matter what the ____ kinda positive spin I've tried to put on HELL.

All [everyone else has but me] … [is] coping strategies to distract from the fact God CURSED us and left us to ROT

How does this differ from making a personal choice about your identity?

I’ve already had a conversation this week about Reformed (Calvinism) vs. Armenianism (us).

Calvinists believe no one has a choice about salvation. God chooses you for salvation or damnation and there is nothing you can do about it.

Armenians believe God gives everyone a choice to accept or reject salvation.

When and where do you feel an obligation, as a follower of Christ, to love your neighbor and bear "fruit that will last"?

In every situation and all times. Do I do it — sadly, No.

Romans 12:4-5 (For context, read Romans 12:3-8.)

Romans 12:4–8 (LSB) For just as we have many members in one body and all the members do not have the same function, 5 so we, who are many, are one body in Christ, and individually members one of another, 6 but having gifts that differ according to the grace given to us: whether prophecy, in agreement with the faith; 7 or service, in his serving; or he who teaches, in his teaching; 8 or he who exhorts, in his exhortation; he who gives, with generosity; he who leads, with diligence; he who shows mercy, with cheerfulness.

1 Corinthians 12:12–14 (LSB) For even as the body is one and yet has many members, and all the members of the body, though they are many, are one body, so also is Christ. 13 For also by one Spirit we were all baptized into one body, whether Jews or Greeks, whether slaves or free, and we were all made to drink of one Spirit. 14 For also the body is not one member, but many.

Paul's letter to the Romans was written to a community he had hopes of visiting. It is a very theological letter that begins with a compelling definition of the gospel: "it is God's saving power for everyone who believes, for the Jew first and also for the Greek. For in it the righteousness of God is revealed through faith for faith, as it is written, 'The one who is righteous will live by faith'" (1:16-17). He speaks of righteousness through faith, the example of Abraham, dying and rising with Christ, life in the Spirit, and finally God's election of Israel.

Beginning in the 12th chapter, Paul turns to the practical matters of what it means to live in a Chrisitian community. He tells them that the community is "one body" with "many members," and that "individually we are members of one another." He stresses the strong connections that bind us to one another, and speaks of how we have "gifts that differ according to the grace given to us" (v. 6). These gifts are all different, from the teachers of the first century to the astronauts of today, but they are equally valuable because they are all given by God.

Questions: When do you feel most connected to the Christian community?

When I am engaged in ministry or am receiving ministry.

When do you feel disconnected, and what helps you to restore the relationship?

When I’m just a spectator. Even when I go out-of-town to a church where I know no one.

What gifts do you have to offer, and how can they be offered in creative ways? Biblical presentations from outer space are not the only way to exercise God-given gifts.

Butch Wilmore is apparently using his gifts of teaching AS or BECAUSE he is marooned in space and encouraging others IN SPITE OF being marooned in space.

YOU name gifts God has given you to share for the sake of the Body of Christ.

2 Corinthians 4:8-10 (For context, read 2 Corinthians 4:7-15.)

2 Corinthians 4:8–10 (NLT) We are pressed on every side by troubles, but we are not crushed. We are perplexed, but not driven to despair. 9 We are hunted down, but never abandoned by God. We get knocked down, but we are not destroyed. 10 Through suffering, our bodies continue to share in the death of Jesus so that the life of Jesus may also be seen in our bodies.

Paul’s second letter to the Corinthians was written after he became estranged from this community and feared that another visit would be painful (2:1). Although he wanted to visit Corinth, he felt that his leadership there was being questioned, and his ministry was being disrupted by people who were false apostles (11:13). If he came to the city, he feared that there would be "quarreling, jealousy, anger, selfishness, slander, gossip, conceit, and disorder" (12:20).

Given this background, it is not surprising that Paul would spend much of the fourth chapter talking about the stress of ministry, and how God has sustained him in challenging situations. He describes himself and his colleague Timothy as being "afflicted in every way but not crushed, perplexed but not driven to despair, persecuted but not forsaken, struck down but not destroyed." What sustains him in his difficulties is his discovery that they are "always carrying around in the body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may [also] be made visible in our bodies." His identity as a follower of Christ is defined by dying and rising with Christ, and this identity enables him to face difficulty with grace.

Questions: How do you feel Jesus to be present with you in challenging situations?

When, if ever, have you been able to show grace to others in a time of stress?

I can really bungle this because I get grumpy and negative when under stress.

What is the value of ministry in times of pressure, as opposed to times of ease?

If I can get through this, while showing grace, so can you. Because…

God is impartial.

What He does for one He will do for another.

Acts 10:34–35 (LSB) And opening his mouth, Peter said: “I most truly comprehend now that God is not one to show partiality, 35 but in every nation the one who fears Him and does righteousness is welcome to Him.

Ephesians 6:9 (LSB)And masters, do the same things to them, giving up threatening, knowing that both their Master and yours is in heaven, and there is no partiality with Him.

The Big Questions

1. Astronaut Barry Wilmore's "identity is who he is as a Christian," according to his pastor. How do you identify yourself? Although you may also be a child, a parent, a spouse, a volunteer, an employer or an employee, where could you find value in putting Christian identity first?

We’ve been talking about identity for a couple of months now…

Is Butch Wilmore an astronaut, a Christian or a Christian astronaut? What difference does it make? (I started this 2 weeks ago when I talked about teachers.)

2. While being marooned in space is an enormous challenge, there are other stressful situations in life. When and where have you been tested in your faith? What spiritual resources helped you? What else would have nourished your faith [of which you did not avail yourself]? Why?

The Bible

Prayer

Worship (private and corporate)

A prayer partner

3. Wilmore has remained in "constant communication" with his church. Where do you see value in this? How is it helpful to him and his congregation? What could you do to improve your communication with your Christian community?

4. Both marooned astronauts are missing important holidays and special times with family and friends. When have you faced such separations? What helped you? How could you reach out to others experiencing such situations?

Not just how, WHY would you reach out to others facing this?

5. Pastor Tommy Dahn said, "As astronauts, they live with contingencies" -- with uncertainties and unexpected possibilities. How does your Christian faith help you to face the uncertainties of life and "live with contingencies"?

For Further Discussion

1. One of the James Webb Space Telescope's most intriguing discoveries is "Little Red Dots": hundreds of galaxies lying in one of the most ancient regions of the universe. According to The Byte, "the Little Red Dots were only visible for a period of around one billion years, about 600 to 800 million years after the Big Bang. Now, they're nowhere to be found, and determining exactly what they are will be crucial to figuring out where they fit into the evolution of our universe." How and why do such discoveries strengthen (or weaken) your faith in God as Creator?

I don’t understand how they believe they dissappear.

The Webb IS looking back in time. It is seeing these Little Red Dots as they were not as they are at this moment.

If creation is only 6,000 years old, that would mean (if the scientists are correct that they have dissappeared) that God created them so their light would travel out for what appears billions of years and then removed them.

(I personally believe God loves to confound the human intellect. Asking questions like He did Job in:

Job 38:1–7 (NLT) Then the LORD answered Job from the whirlwind: 2 “Who is this that questions my wisdom with such ignorant words? 3 Brace yourself like a man, because I have some questions for you, and you must answer them. 4 “Where were you when I laid the foundations of the earth? Tell me, if you know so much. 5 Who determined its dimensions and stretched out the surveying line? 6 What supports its foundations, and who laid its cornerstone 7 as the morning stars sang together and all the angels shouted for joy?

2. The phrase "There's always a rainbow after the storm" is designed to inspire hope and resilience. It suggests that after difficult times (the storm), there can be moments of beauty and positivity (the rainbow). In fact, from a scientific standpoint, rainbows require a storm (or, at the very least, water droplets floating in the air). When, in your life of faith, have you experienced a rainbow after a storm? What did you learn from the experience?

3. The pandemic caused many Christians to disengage from church. What is your congregation doing to reconnect members to the body of Christ? What more could be done?

4. The book of Acts tells us that the first followers of Jesus were scattered through persecutions, and then some of them gathered in Antioch and were taught by Barnabas and Saul. Acts 11:26 reports that "it was in Antioch that the disciples were first called 'Christians.'" What connection, if any, do you make between persecution and Christian identity? When have you grown stronger in your faith as a result of a struggle?

Responding to the News

Reflect on your Christian identity, and make a commitment to take action this week to connect with fellow followers of Jesus in a new way.

Prayer

Lord God, we thank you for all who find their identity in your Son Jesus, and who practice their faith in challenging circumstances. Help us to do the same, as members of the worldwide body of Christ. In Jesus' name. Amen.