Sun

Abstract

The March-sun is creeping northward and is warming our wintered faces. At least it was the other morning while I stood facing its rising light. Now actually of course it neither rises or sets nor creeps one way or the other. For billions of years it just has "sunned", just has done itself.|The earth turns toward and then away from its light and warmth in a regular pattern. Last week we observed the irregular, every-four year, geological hiccup just to give us an extra day of winter. I do wonder why this "Leap-day" isn't in June. Anyway, the sun's effects of warmth and light do not force their way into our lives and ways. We can stay inside, find shelter beneath umbrellas, apply lotions, or sit under trees. We can bathe in its warm-wash, be tanned by its rays, collect its energy and see by its light. We are not to look at it intensely, yet we do see other things because of its sharing its light.|For all of our investigations about its elements and composition, what we say of the sun basically, is that the sun just suns. It does what it is whether we hide from it or bask in it. We do not affect what it is nor what it does. We do effect what and how it affects us. We do not manipulate the sun, we modify our arrangements in its regard. So, it does what it is and we do what we are. It suns and we humanly be. So yesterday I just be'd in its slight warmth and its morning brightness.|We do not know very much about this star. It is one hundred and ten times larger than the earth and maybe that is why it doesn't move. There was a time, in our earth-ego mentality that we thought the sun rotated around us as the center of all creation. How utterly human that is. The sun is exactly the right distance from our earth give or take a few hundred-thousand miles. If it were closer or farther earth would be unavailable to its benefits. It just suns on us whether we enjoy it, see it, want more or less of it.|Many cultures have related to this star as a deity, a divine presence, a Sun God. There are many similarities. The being we name God does one thing and the same, God, 'Gods'. As with the sun, God is not manipulated by our changeableness. We can effect our availability to God's being God. We can hide, deny, turn the other way. And yet God continues 'Godding'. No one has seen God, but we see other things, because of this God's staying at just the right distance and just the right closeness.|Here is the main difference and it is a biggy. While the sun is sunning, it remains passive to its radiations having any impact on the moon or our earth. The rays do help things grow, thaw or wilt. The Rays of God, or Grace, are not passive, but active even when we put up our umbrellas. We can resist those Rays of love, but they do not resist their offerings.|The similarities are many and obvious if you come out into the sun a while. As with all metaphors there is always some slippage. They say the sun will go out of business someday, or night, but that will not be soon. The sun was created for God to be seen. There are a few more stars than the one we name as the sun. It is just a glimpse so you can God-bathe for a while.