In late summer 1942, the US government force-purchased more than 60,000 Tennessee acres in the Appalachian foothills. Many of those acres had been farms. Earth was leveled, streets were laid, foundations were poured, and buildings began to rise.
No one was told why.
The "whatever it is" needed people who could cook, run laundries, be janitors, collect trash, type, file, do carpentry, be lifeguards, teach school. They needed plumbers, nurses, doctors, librarians, pastors, musicians, coaches—the kinds of people needed to run and occupy a city.
No one was told why.
Many specialists were brought in. More than 75,000 people, though not told what they would be doing, or even where it was located, agreed to work in a place without a name. Everything was done in secret. Only after they were hired and on site were they told the details of their specific jobs. They were forbidden to discuss even that small part with anyone, even with each other.
No one was told why.
Over the next three years, the folks who worked and lived there began calling this nameless place “Oak Ridge.” In late summer 1945, everything changed. On August 6, the United States dropped an atomic bomb on Japan. The news was stunning to the people of Oak Ridge, and it spread like wildfire.
What they had been doing at Oak Ridge those three years was supporting the Manhattan Project. Oak Ridge was, in fact, the headquarters of the Manhattan Project. They were producing plutonium and enriching uranium—making "the blowing up parts" of the atomic bomb. Despite the fact they were not allowed to know, and even though they had no idea of the implications of their work, each came and did their part day after day.
The "big picture" was knowable only in retrospect. Now they knew their why.
The three years of Jesus' earthly ministry were somewhat like the Oak Ridge experience: men and women drawn into an enterprise that was not really understood. The reality—and its implications(!)—far too enormous for them to truly grasp.
It was only in the past tense that even the inner circle came to understand more fully what had come before. We read of it in this week's passage from Acts. Peter draws together the facts—known, but not previously understood—and lays out the full picture for everyone at Pentecost.
As prophesied, God came down, allowed himself to be crucified as a sacrifice, and did not stay dead. What sealed it was the witness of Peter and the other apostles. Everyone could now know how it all fit together to make the greatest spiritual explosion of all time.
It was good news, and it spread like wildfire.
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PHOTO:
https://tnmuseum.org/junior-curators/posts/the-secret-city?locale=en_us
For more on the Secret City, there is a little bit on Google, but I recommend these excellent reads:
The Last Reunion: The Class of 1952 Comes Home to the Secret City by Jay Searcy: https://www.amazon.com/Last-Reunion-Class-comes-Secret-ebook/dp/B007M4593U
The Girls of Atomic City: The Untold Story of the Women Who Helped Win World War II by Denise Kiernan: https://www.amazon.com/Girls-Atomic-City-Untold-Helped/dp/1451617534
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Hope to see you Friday morning as we gather for DaySpring’s Lectionary Breakfast at Our Breakfast Place and on Zoom.** Join us at 8:00 for some tasty treats, plus an excellent breakfast.
We have nothing to hide.
Blessings,
Steve
**Contact me for the Zoom link
NOTE: Zoom allows you to mute the camera and the microphone if you don’t wish to be seen or heard.
SCRIPTURES FOR SUNDAY AND THE COMING WEEK
Find them here:
https://lectionary.library.vanderbilt.edu/texts.php?id=40
Print them here:
https://lectionary.library.vanderbilt.edu/pdf//Ax_SecondSundayofEaster.pdf
Acts 2:14a, 22-32
Psalm 16
1 Peter 1:3-9
John 20:19-31
Second Sunday of Easter (April 16, 2023)
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