Christmas Eve From the Moon

Authors: John Stonestreet and Andrew Carico 

1968 was a difficult year. The Vietnam War dragged on. The nation reeled from the assassinations of Martin Luther King Jr. and Robert F. Kennedy. Riots had erupted in cities across the United States, including at the Democratic National Convention in Chicago. 

Yet, at the end of this year, something happened that—as one person later wrote—“saved 1968.” A dramatic scene unfolded on Christmas Eve, and involved NASA’s Apollo 8 mission, the first manned spaceflight to reach lunar orbit and a definitive moment in the space race between the Soviet Union and the U.S.  

The Soviets had plans to send their own manned spacecraft to the Moon, but the Americans were now outpacing their rivals. Enter Apollo 8, led by command Frank Borman and astronauts Jim Lovell and Bill Anders. They were to leave on December 21, 1968 and be the first human beings to orbit the moon.  

All space missions involved significant risk, but the maneuvering needed to enter the lunar orbit was incredibly precise, and the chances for success were slim. Yet, these men succeeded and, at nearly 240,000 miles from Earth just before 5 a.m. on Christmas Eve 1968, became the first humans to see the far side of the moon. 

The Apollo 8 crew completed ten orbits, took photos and scoped the terrain to identify spots for a future moon landing. During these orbits, Bill Anders captured one of the most iconic photos in human history and ever taken from space. His shot of the colorful earth rising from the other side of the moon was later titled, “Earthrise.”  

Back on Earth, the largest TV audience ever at the time tuned in to hear the astronauts broadcast from space. An estimated one billion people watched the Apollo 8 broadcast. The astronauts were told to share anything that was “appropriate.” After a series of recommendations, they landed on a very appropriate message:  

“For all the people back on Earth, the crew of Apollo 8 has a message that we would like to send to you: ‘In the beginning, God created the Heaven and the Earth…’” 

The crew went on to read the first ten verses of Genesis, sharing the Creation Story with the world. Frank Borman later recounted, “Can you imagine if that had been a Russian up there and we had heard about Lenin, and Stalin, and Communism?” After their successful return, Time Magazine celebrated these astronauts as their “Men of the Year.” 

That global reading of Genesis has become an iconic moment in both American and world history. Scripture tells us in various places that God’s Creation makes humans look outward and upward, outside of ourselves to the One who created us. As the Apostle Paul teaches in the very first chapter of Romans, God’s eternal power and divine nature have been perceptible since the very creation of the world. As John Piper once remarked, no one stands on the edge of the Grand Canyon and thinks “I am awesome.” 

Moreover, the Christmas story and the Creation Story are inseparable. As the lyrics to Joy to the World should remind us, “heaven and nature” rejoiced at the news of the Lord’s birth. Also, we know that creation groans, as Paul wrote in Romans 8, for the day that the salvation of Christ is complete, and the world fully restored.  

In 1969, the year following the Apollo 8 mission, Neil Armstrong became the first man to ever walk on the Moon. The first food eaten on the moon, by Armstrong’s fellow astronaut Buzz Aldrin, was the communion elements. The astronauts of Apollo 8, as the world celebrated Christ’s birth, reminded the world of God’s Creation. The astronaut of Apollo 11, as he touched a part of the creation for the first time in history, reminded the world of Christ’s death and Resurrection. The worldview implications of these world historic moments are inescapable.   

Ultimately, the success of the Apollo 8 mission did more than “save 1968.” By sharing the Creation story with the masses, these astronauts pointed to the One who can save the human heart and will restore the created world. As the Apostle John wrote famously long ago: “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish, but have eternal life.”  

The Apollo 8 crew ended their broadcast with the following words—appropriate words for that and every Christmas Eve: “And God saw that it was good... we close with good night, good luck, a Merry Christmas, and God bless all of you, all of you on the good Earth.”  

This Breakpoint was co-authored by Andrew Carico.