Hidden

[Jesus said,] “Nothing is covered up that will not be uncovered, and nothing secret that will not become known.” – Luke 12:2 (NRSV) 

You can walk all over and not even know it’s there, trek through jungle and down beaches and never know you’re stepping on a brokenness that changed everything. 

Scientists had long suspected that what killed off the non-avian dinosaurs was a giant asteroid. They just didn’t know where it hit. In 1990, they learned that engineers looking for petroleum had detected gravitational and magnetic anomalies on the northern edge of the Yucatan Peninsula in Mexico, which they suspected indicated an ancient impact crater. Various geniuses compared notes, and these days just about everyone agrees that the dust the dinos bit was thrown up when an asteroid 6.2 miles across struck just offshore of the Yucatan at 43,000 mph. The Chicxulub Crater is 120 miles in diameter and 19 miles deep, and imperceptible without specialized instruments and knowledge—unless, of course, you happen to fall into one of the many sinkholes the impact eventually created. 

You can talk to some people all day and not even know it’s there, work with them for a decade and not know about the scar, or the wound, just below the surface. You might never know, unless you step in just the right (wrong?) place and get the sort of confusing reaction that makes you feel like you’ve fallen down a hole. 

The hidden record of the earth-shattering event that killed hope and sent life off on a whole new path may not be perceptible to most—sometimes it’s not even known by the person carrying it—but that doesn’t mean it’s not shaping the present. And the more you discover about it, the more you’ll know about yourself. 

Prayer
For scientists with the right instruments and trauma-informed practitioners, thank you. Amen.

About the Author
Quinn G. Caldwell is Chaplain of the Protestant Cooperative Ministry at Cornell University. His most recent book is a series of daily reflections for Advent and Christmas called All I Really Want: Readings for a Modern Christmas. Learn more about it and find him on Facebook at Quinn G. Caldwell.