Immutable, unchanging, incapable of being changed. It is what we were taught when asked to describe characteristics of God. Other attributes in some way flowed easier — omniscient, invisible, immortal, ever-lasting. The labels sounded important and deified. As a child, I understood God to be active in our every day lives, never shirking opportunities to love us. Why, then, did God often seem far away?

I theorized that the distance grew whenever we used clumsy sounding language, like “immutable,” without fully understanding its import. A god that never changes is problematic when it comes to forgiveness, a change of heart, so to speak. The most animated discussion I ever took part in was when one unfortunate seminary student challenged the status quo by noting that if creation continues to evolve, and if God is part of creation (even as Creator), then would God also evolve as a part of the evolutionary process?

When asked what represents immutability in our lives, the answers are fairly predictable; those things in which we cannot perceive change in our lifetimes. Most fall in the category of nature and the physical world, including the changing of the seasons, summer and winter migrations, the wonder of birth and the inevitability of death. We look to the seemingly unchanging heavens as continuation of our proof, only to be reminded that all cannot be perceived.

The annular eclipse this week was unnoticeable without a way to view it and to confirm its manifestation in the sky at a particular time and place. A simple solar telescope was used, based on an innovative design called a folded-path Keplerian telescope in which light is “folded” several times to finally cast a 3-inch image onto a small clipboard to which paper can be attached. It was able to gather in between 60 and 70 percent of the predicted totality. As a bonus, two sun spots were easily visible throughout most of the eclipse.

On a larger scale, science has revealed that our stars and celestial heavens are in constant motion, though it often eludes us. Our moon revolves around the earth which revolves around our sun which moves in concert with our galaxy exerting its will on neighbor galaxies at distances too great to comprehend. Immutable? Hardly. The Webb telescope continues to confirm how little we know and how much there is yet to learn. This should come as no surprise to us. Habitable zone planets have already been noted. Are we ready for the next step in that inevitable progression?

If immutability is a suspect class regarding God and God’s creation, then it should at least be disclaimed for faith itself. Without movement there is no life, no growth, no opportunity for second chances, something we all could use a bit of. Without change, there is scant hope for redemption, even if it takes a little while to catch on. And finally, without grace we are dead in the water. Grace does not happen in a vacuum, somewhere in the deep recesses of space. Rather, it is activated by the vibrancy of the human condition and punctuated by love for one another.

If you need a reminder of that, the next total solar eclipse in the U.S. is April of 2024. Have telescope, will travel.