Forty years ago. Apollo 8 was making the first manned spaceflight around the moon. Read the CNN report here.

Apollo 8 provided our first view of ourselves as one world from the perspective of another celestial body. “We were flying to the moon for the first time,” said Jim Lovell, one of the three astronauts aboard the historic flight. “Seeing the far side of the moon for the first time. Coming around and seeing the Earth as it really is — a small fragile planet with a rather normal star, our sun.”

And, at the end of the tumultuous year of 1968 – - The Tet offensive in Vietnam, the assassinations of Rev. Martin Luther King and Sen. Robert F. Kennedy, and the numerous riots and protests regarding the war and civil rights will seemed to culminate in the streets of Chicago during the Democratic National Convention – - the space mission also produced what to many was one of the most inspirational and soothing moments in history when Lovell and crewmates Frank Borman and William A.

Anders took turns reading from the Book of Genesis. It was Christmas Eve and the whole world was watching. NASA said at the time it was expected to be the largest TV audience to date.

The astronauts signed off with these words: “And from the crew of Apollo 8, we close with good night, good luck, a merry Christmas and God bless all of you, all of you on the good earth.”

Forty years later, we remain on this third rock from the sun, still traveling together. We may have lost the perspective of Lovell, Borman, and Anders.

Over two thousand years ago, we were reminded that not only are we in this together, but that God has some skin in the game as well. Yet, we may have lost that perspective as well .  Hmmmm, stuff to think over. . .

Nonetheless, we wish you “good night, good luck, a merry Christmas and God bless all of you, all of you on the good earth.”