INFRARED CHRISTMAS

James Webb Space Telescope

On Christmas Day, 2021, NASA launched a telescope into space. The James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) went into orbit around the sun almost one mullion miles from earth This tremendously complicated and powerful instrument is actually made up of several super-sensitive instruments. 

The unique thing about this space telescope is that it is designed to detect infrared light. The human eye can only detect light from what is called the visible spectrum. Infrared light lies in a part of the spectrum that lies below that of visible light.

Among its advantages, infrared light can pierce right through those clouds of cosmic dust that obscure so much about objects in outer space. Infrared light also lets us observe the so-called "red shift" in light. Because the universe is expanding rapidly, light rays too lengthen over time, shifting to the infrared part of the light spectrum. Thus we can calculate the distance from earth of objects by measuring their red shift, i.e. the age of the beam of light when it hits the telescope. The JWST has been able to detect light from stars and galaxies that date from close to the time olf the "big bang." 

So, seeing with infrared light lets us see things we cannot otherwise see. What does this have to do with Christmas?

When we look at the babe lying in the manger in Bethlehem, we see just that: a helpless infant wrapped in swaddling clothes. But with the eyes of faith we can see, so to speak, in infrared. We see far deeper than the surface reality into the dimension of the supernatural. We can look at the babe in the manger and see the divine presence in the there in our midst.

The launch of the JWST infrared telescope on Christmas Day in 2021 was a well-timed gift to us, reminding us of the gifts from God that lie beyond our normal sight.

May the gift of the eyes of faith be yours throughout the coming year of 2026 and for the rest of your life!