Moon Phases

Sunday 4/27/2014 6:52 AM

When I got up this morning a sliver of the waning crescent moon was hanging in the eastern sky.  I began thinking about the different phases of the moon and soon came to the conclusion that astronomers are one of the major contributors to the confusion regarding fractions that many of my students have.  I keep telling them that fractions come in families, like the fourths family.  Family members, from smallest to largest, are: zero-fourths, one-fourth, two-fourths, three-fourths and, finally four-fourths, which is one whole.  However, every month they hear that the moon goes from new moon to first quarter to full moon to third quarter and then back to new moon.  What kinds of fractions, other than halves, go from first to whole to third?  Further confusing things are the terms waxing, waning and gibbous.  The sun illuminates approximately one half of the moon at any given moment so, from the sun’s perspective, the part of the moon facing the sun is always completely illuminated.  From the point of view of earth, when only one half of the illuminated half of the moon is visible, we use the term first quarter.  That makes sense to me.  But then, logically, when the entire illuminated half of the moon is visible from the earth it should be half moon, not full moon.  If, on the other hand, one considers the whole moon to be only the half that is visible to someone on the earth then, at the first quarter, when half of the moon visible from earth is illuminated it should be half moon rather than first quarter.  It seems as if astronomers want it both ways.

As I ran I began to think about how I view myself, how I view others, and how they view me.  When I judge myself by using someone else as a standard it is usually easy to find someone who is better than me and someone who is worse than me.  If “good” is the equivalent to the illumination in the moon phases then sometimes the image I project to others is a crescent moon, sometimes the first quarter, sometimes waning gibbous, sometimes full, etc.  When my life is orbiting that of someone else or when their life is orbiting mine then the “goodness” I see in myself and that I see in the other person waxes and wanes like the ebbing and flowing of the tides.

2 Corinthians 5:21 says, “God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.”  Romans 3:21-22 reads, “But now apart from the law the righteousness of God has been made known, to which the Law and the Prophets testify.  This righteousness is given through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe.”  If I am a Christian, from God’s point of view, I have the righteousness of Christ; so he sees me as always being illuminated.  I judge things by comparing myself to others and by comparing others to me.  When I do so I vary from waxing to waning, from crescent to gibbous, and from new to full.  No wonder in 1 Corinthians 4:5 Paul encourages his readers with these words, “Therefore judge nothing before the appointed time; wait until the Lord comes.  He will bring to light what is hidden in darkness and will expose the motives of the heart.  At that time each will receive their praise from God.”  I need to focus on God and upon the redeeming work of Christ on my behalf and leave the judging of others and of me up to God.