The
First Food and Liquid in the Moon A
TGIF Trivia Special Sent by Debbie of Moreno Valley, CA
What
was the first liquid and food consumed on the moon?
I'm
betting that most are unaware of this story.
Over
forty years ago two human beings changed history by walking on the
surface of the moon. But what happened before Buzz Aldrin and Neil
Armstrong exited the Lunar Module is perhaps even more amazing,
if only because so few people know about it. "I'm talking about
the fact that Buzz Aldrin took communion on the surface of the moon.
Some months after his return, he wrote about it in Guideposts magazine.
The
background to the story is that Aldrin was an elder at his Presbyterian
Church in Texas during this period in his life and knowing that
he would soon be doing something unprecedented in human history,
he felt he should mark the occasion somehow. He asked his minister
to help him. And so the minister consecrated a communion wafer and
a small vial of communion wine. Buzz Aldrin took them with him out
of the Earth's orbit and on to the surface of the moon. He and Armstrong
had only been on the lunar surface for a few minutes when Aldrin
made the following public statement:
"This
is the LM pilot. I'd like to take this opportunity to ask every
person listening in, whoever and wherever they may be, to pause
for a moment and contemplate the events of the past few hours and
to give thanks in his or her own way." He then ended radio
communication and there, on the silent surface of the moon, 250,000
miles from home, he read a verse from the Gospel of John and he
took communion.

Here
is his own account of what happened: "In the radio blackout,
I opened the little plastic packages which contained the bread and
the wine. I poured the wine into the chalice our church had given
me. In the one-sixth gravity of the moon, the wine slowly curled
and gracefully came up the side of the cup. Then I read the scripture
:
'I
am the vine, you are the branches. Whosoever abides in me will bring
forth much fruit ... Apart from me you can do nothing.'
"I
had intended to read my communion passage back to earth, but at
the last minute [they] had requested that I not do this. NASA was
already embroiled in a legal battle with Madelyn Murray O'Hare,
the celebrated opponent of religion, over the Apollo 8 crew reading
from Genesis while orbiting the moon at Christmas. I agreed reluctantly."
"I
ate the tiny Host and swallowed the wine. I gave thanks for the
intelligence and spirit that had brought two young pilots to the
Sea of Tranquility . It was interesting for me to think the very
first liquid ever poured on the moon and the very first food eaten
there, were the communion elements."

And
of course, it's interesting to think that some of the first words
spoken on the moon were the words of Jesus Christ, who made the
Earth and the moon --- and who, in the immortal words of Dante,
is Himself the "Love that moves the Sun and other stars."
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Comments
Anonymous
Thu, 04/24/2014 - 16:13
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God is in control
Nice job reminding everyone that God is in control all the time, Raoul!
-- Pia from La Crescenta, CA
Anonymous
Thu, 04/24/2014 - 16:19
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Liked Insights
These are good insights to reflect on...Palm Sunday, bitter sweet. I didn't realize the feelings found in Palm Sunday. Bless you! I also liked the Buzz Aldrin story on the moon by Debbie.
--- Dette of Mindanao, Philippines
Anonymous
Thu, 04/24/2014 - 16:19
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Right On
always LOVE your Christian thoughts and right on comments.
--- John of Rancho Palos Verdes, CA
Anonymous
Thu, 04/24/2014 - 16:20
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Thanks for sharing your
Thanks for sharing your testimony, Raoul! Praying that many souls will be awakened during these last days and be led to faith in Jesus...before it's too late!
--- Pia of La Crescenta, CA
RaoulTGIF
Fri, 04/25/2014 - 16:22
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Too Late
Hi Raul,
While you were writing about Palm Sunday I was preaching it. Had to come a couple of days early here in Dubai since Sundays are work days. If I had had your column yesterday, I would have used it as an illustration. Thanks anyway.
--- Doug in Dubai