Communion on the moon

I read recently that when Buzz Aldrin and Neil Armstrong landed on the moon's surface and climbed down the ladder to place a human foot (or four) on the bleak surface, Buzz had secreted a tiny communion cup and loaf for serving a communion service on the surface of the moon. I don't think it was publicized and the elements were returned to the Presbyterian Church which had provided them, but I thought it was interesting that he, as a Presbyterian elder at the time, found it important to take this risk in order to celebrate his faith.

I also read that he is no longer a Presbyterian elder and does not attend church, which is somewhat sad. I don't ever find the loss of faith to be inspiring or proof of some counter-argument. Instead, I see it as a loss of something which was significant to the former believer. As difficult as it may be to hold on to a faith, such as Christianity, it does require a beautiful sort of courage to hold to a belief by faith alone, particularly when the experiences of life often countervail to our beliefs.

Faith which holds the Believer is strong and so is doubt, sometimes. The greater the doubt, the greater the faith which is required in order to stay faithful. When a faith which led someone to secrete contraband on a space mission in order to celebrate a personal belief and make contact, spiritually, is lost, then something precious and beautiful is lost as well.

In a world without faith, we are all losers, equally. I remember the picture of the earth rising over the surface of the moon which was taken by the two astronauts of Apollo 11. That sight was awesome to us, but particularly so for those two lonely men on the surface of the moon. I wonder how much of that awe was lost when the astronauts returned to that beatiful orb rising in the black nothingness of space and started dealing with the banal and the necessary.