The Mystique of Concorde

Good morning! Fifty years ago today, Concorde flew its first flight with passengers. For children of the 1970s and 1980s, this aircraft had the aura of a mythical bird, a miracle of modern aviation, a speed-breaking, supersonic world-shrinking wonder that could span the Atlantic Ocean in just over three hours. That mystique has only increased with the passage of time – and since its lamented retirement from commercial aviation in 2003. Archive footage of the plane’s swan-like dignity on the runway shows just how aesthetic this vehicle was, as well as aerodynamic!

In our own century, we still dream of technologies that will reduce our journey time across the long alphabet of nations in the world. We are told that by the end of the present decade, the Delta Boom will fill the space once occupied by Concorde, opening up the opportunity of same-day travel from Europe to the United States once again.

In Psalm 139, the Psalmist reflects on the universality and inescapability of God’s presence in our world. In lines whose lyricism provides lift for the deep truth the song sings, we are reminded that ‘if I take the wings of the morning and settle at the farthest limits of the sea, even there your hand shall lead me, and your right hand shall hold me fast’. That inescapability can be convicting if our desire is to outrun God and to live independently of him, but it is consoling to those who trust him, knowing that we can’t go anywhere outside of his care and keeping.

Lord God, we thank you that you are not fettered by the bounds of space and time as we are. Thank you that wherever we are going today, you are present with us and your care is constant. Help us to embrace this truth by trusting in you, and to enjoy this truth by sensing you with us in every place we go. Amen.