As promised, here’s my reflection on supernovas, glowing up, and guiding stars.
Let’s begin with a very oversimplified definition. A supernova is a HUGE stellar explosion resulting from a massive star’s core suddenly collapsing in on itself or a white dwarf star’s temperature rising to a point that triggers runaway nuclear fusion. Either way, a supernova is basically a star going out with a bang. At its peak, the brightness of a supernova is comparable to the brightness of a whole galaxy. So a supernova is literally a star glowing up.
Playing on the idea of growing up, glowing up is a phrase used to describe the physical transformation of going from drab to fab over time. The ugly duckling glowed up into a beautiful swan. While it’s common to see pictures of how people have physically glowed up (think awkward middle school photo complete with braces, bad haircut, and odd fashion choice set next to a picture of the same person all grown up with a confident smile, nice haircut, and a decent outfit), glowing up is just as much about an internal transformation. It’s about gaining self-confidence, a sense of self and a sense of purpose. Glowing up is about radiating a certain kind of energy.
Similarly, when a star transitions into a supernova, a whole lot of energy is released. In addition to its brilliant light display, shock waves can trigger the formation of new stars, and the explosion itself expels the elemental building blocks of the universe. Since our bodies are made up of the same elements released by these interstellar explosions, it’s fair to say that we are made of stardust.
Our quiet meditation for Sunday came from Jocelyn Bell Burnell, an astrophysicist who co-discovered the first radio pulsars as a postgraduate student in 1967. (That discovery would go on to win the 1974 Nobel Prize in Physics, but not for Bell. Despite being the first to observe the pulsars, only her thesis supervisor was recognized. But that’s a story for another day.) Later Burnell observed that, “If it wasn’t for the stars we would not be here. There is stardust in your veins, we are literally, ultimately children of the stars.”
Part of what I love about Molly Costello’s series of illustrations that I’ve been featuring throughout this series (and also what made it difficult to select which one to feature this week) is that almost all of them contain some form of star imagery. There are people with constellations imposed on their bodies. There are people gazing at the stars, people planting stars instead of seeds, and people knitting stars together. It’s as though Costello’s trying to visually represent what’s true on both a cosmic and an atomic level—that we are made from the same elements as the stars; that we’re all connected; and that we all have the potential to glow.
Back in January, we celebrated how magi followed the star to find and worship the newborn king by receiving a beautiful star with a word printed on it. Remember? I said I would ask about them later. Now seems like as good of time as ever to take a moment and check in with that guiding star. Our ancestors used the stars to orient themselves and navigate uncharted territory. Have you used your star to orient yourself or journey to new lands? How is your guiding word helping you glow up? What new thing is it enabling you to bring to life? How has it not been helpful? If not this word, than what has been your guiding light? I would love to hear and possibly feature your reflections here if you’re willing to share.
I pray you feel the stardust flowing in your veins and keep shining like the stars you were created to be.
In Love,
Pastor Annette