March 15, 2009 Psalm 19:1-0
I Cor. 1:18-25
The Enduring Riches of Creation
“The heavens are telling the glory of God; And the firmament is declaring the work of His hands.” (Ps. 19:1)
A week ago last night, there was a dramatic launch of a telescope named after the famous 16th century German mathematician, Johannes Kepler. The telescope is now heading for a long journey through the Milky Way galaxy to look for other planets like ours. I have no idea how long anyone expects this scientific exploration to last-it could be many years-who knows?
When you stop to think about it, this is really an extraordinary moment. We now have the means to search into deep space to look for other planets similar to ours, planets that could sustain life as we know it. This is amazing!
Also amazing is that nobody I know seems to be all that excited about this project. We have launched so many satellites, and had so many humans in space that nobody really seems to care anymore. Can you tell me how many people are in the space station right now? Can you tell me how much more work needs to be done to complete the initial construction of the space station? Is there anyone here who is even impressed that there is a space station?
We are in the space age. We get new and remarkable images from the Hubble telescope daily. Unlike the Psalmist, this morning’s Psalm of David which proclaims, “The heavens are telling the glory of God” we know that the earth is not flat. We also know better than Mr. Kepler who couldn’t keep astrology out of astronomy and astronomy out of theology, that the Sun is the not the Father, the earth is not the son, and the space in-between is not the Holy Spirit. It was a great idea then, but today we know better.
It’s interesting. Kepler claimed was that the universe was part of God’s intelligent plan. Sound familiar? He had already found a way to commingle the creation story with the notion intelligent design.
Three thousand years ago, young David observed the stars at night and like all of us have done, was struck by their numbers and their brilliance: “The heavens are telling the glory of God; And the firmament is declaring the work of His hands.” (Ps. 19:1) David likely thought the world, a region we now as the Middle East, was flat. He had no concept of planet earth rotating around the sun.
Without a doubt, Johannes Kepler did the same thing, but with a much different eye and the intelligence to track the orbits of planets and to create three laws that would explain just how big these orbits worked and even their peculiar shape. Kepler designed telescopes and created theories all in the context of theology and philosophy. He was a brilliant man and a major player in the world of science.
However, he lived in times that we would now say were unenlightened. His mother was put on trial for witchcraft. Because of her son’s skillful defense she was found innocent after spending 14 months in jail. So, as bright as this man was, he did not live in bright times. In his day, his theories of the universe were cutting edge. Today we see them as helpful starting points in an introductory astronomy course.
Kepler died in 1630, so we are fast approaching the 400th anniversary of his death. Since then, we have made remarkable discoveries, most of which have come in the last 100 years, beginning with the brilliant mind of Albert Einstein.
Then with the space program of the last fifty years, our knowledge has grown exponentially. Here’s a case of where the pyramid is a legitimate metaphor. Data is pouring into computers world-wide as satellites, space station experiments, Hubble telescope pictures; deep space explorations all work to enlighten the human race. We are learning a lot, and very quickly.
And yet, the words of the Psalmist still make sense: “The heavens are telling the glory of God; And the firmament is declaring the work of His hands.” (Ps. 19:1) It doesn’t seem to make any difference how much we know, pondering the heavens still is a spiritual event. Even though we now have names or numbers for the stars and planets we see in the night skies, and we know so much about them, we are still in awe.
More significantly is that the more we learn, the more we realize we don’t know very much. The more questions that get answered, the more questions we have. The closer we get to reenacting the moment of creation, the “Big Bang,” the more we have to learn.
Have you read about the world’s largest particle physics laboratory in Geneva? Much larger than Fermi lab in Illinois, this lab dealing with subatomic particle is looking for the “God particle.” Imagine us being that close to discovering the very particle that triggered the big bang-that’s both scary and mindboggling!
We can go online now and find extraordinary information, including much of the latest scientific discoveries. We have come incredibly far since the industrial age.
Here’s something to ponder: can you imagine what discoveries will be made in the next 400 years, the same amount of time that separates us from Kepler? More dramatically, can you imagine what science will learn about the universe in the next 3,000 years, the same amount of time that separates us from David? It is simply impossible, is not?
In the meanwhile, what we can foresee is the continued amazement over and the respect for creation. No matter how much we learn, the words of the Psalmist will continue to inform a basic tenet of our faith, that God created and creates all:
The heavens are telling the glory of God; And the firmament is declaring the work of His hands.” (Ps. 19:1)
I was raised in suburban New Jersey and had very little opportunity to see a night sky without lights washing out most of the view. Even when we went to the Jersey shore, the lights prevented really clear views. Then, I took my first trip to western Maine on a fishing and camping trip with my buddy, Bob, and his parents. Away from city lights, I was nearly overwhelmed the first night we went out fishing. There were few clouds, the moon had yet to rise and the celestial display was stunning. I was in total awe and rightly so.
We have all had those moments, whether star gazing, walking the beach, hiking up mountains, gazing out over the Grand Canyon, watching a sunset in the desert southwest, seeing the Swiss Alps on a clear day. God’s handiwork is beyond description. We stand before it and in it humbled. Our God is the Creator and sustainer of all life and no matter how much we learn about it through the journeys of spacecraft Kepler or the experiments in physics labs, we will never be disappointed. The more we learn, the more impressed we become with God’s great design. This was true for David as he rested after an active day of shepherding; this was true for Kepler after he figured out the orbits of our planets; it is true today as we remember the three astronauts currently in the Space Station;
It will be true 400 years from now when we celebrate the launch of the Kepler space probe; and it will be true 3,000 years from now when high rises on the Moon will be as attractive as those in Manhattan.
“The heavens are telling the glory of God; And the firmament is declaring the work of His hands.” (Ps. 19:1)
