The Physics of Theology

Colossians 1:15-23

Physics was never my favorite subject. There were aspects of it that I really enjoyed, but for the most part I just wasn’t interested. So maybe I’m not the best person to make this statement, but it would appear that our reading from Colossians 1 today, while it may be great theology, is really lousy science. “[Jesus] himself is before all things, and in him all things hold together” (Colossians 1:17), we read. It is verses like this one that seem to divide the scientific community from the church and its doctrine.

First of all questions about creation are guaranteed to start an argument. Creationism, Intelligent Design, 300 million years, 7 days; you name it and we people of faith can have a pretty good squabble about it. But here the writer of Colossians claims that Jesus is before all things, not was before all things, is before all things. Then there is this odd assertion, that it is by Jesus that “all things hold together.” I thought that friction, or bonding, or some other concept did that. I thought gravity played a role in keeping stuff where it was supposed to be. I thought there were forces and their opposites that did the “holding together.” What has Jesus got to do with this?

But here’s the good news that we miss if we aren’t careful. What is it that allows science and faith to stand shoulder to shoulder, that gives all people – regardless of their particular perspective – reason to unite? And that is where we discover the miracle, for while there are a million ways to divide us up and to break us off, there is precious little that can put us back together again. But Jesus can, for in Jesus “all things hold together.” For those of us who are Christians what unity we experience comes when in unison we say, “Jesus Christ is Lord.” So maybe our faith is the physics of theology, the recognition that above it all and before it all there is something else, something that counters our tendency to turn against each other. The author of Colossians has given us reason to celebrate! In Jesus Christ we stand together for it is Jesus Christ “that all things hold together.”

Prayer: Lord, in so many ways we pull ourselves apart. By your grace put us back together again that we might serve you in a unity of purpose. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

Creation and Boldness Before God

Jim:

Proverbs 3:11-20
Verse 19 says, “The Lord by wisdom founded the earth; by understanding (God) established the heavens.” In the continuing debate between those who accept the theory of evolution as fact and those who reject evolution for creationism this verse seems uniquely qualified to support either argument. Which is why, more and more, I find myself saying, “Who cares?” Who cares how God created the universe, established the order of things, made human beings in God’s own image? For me it is far more important to acknowledge the superiority of God’s wisdom to my own, and to praise God for the magnificence of the created order. In Psalm 8 the psalmist expresses awe at all that God has done, and marvels that God would even be mindful of humanity. But God is mindful of us, and by the same wisdom with which God “founded the earth” we were created in God’s image to act as stewards of creation. There are some arguments that just aren’t worth having, and the one about how God brought the universe into being is one of them as far as I’m concerned. It’s enough just to marvel at the vastness, the wonder, the majesty, the power and to thank God for our own lives.

1 John 3:18-4:6
I was struck by 1 John 3:21 which says, “Beloved, if our hearts do not condemn us, we have boldness before God…” I’m not sure where to go with this verse, because it seems to me that my heart is constantly condemning me; for things I have failed to do, for things I should not have done, for words that have left my mouth. I regret many things from my life, and even wince at some of my memories. How can I ever show boldness before God? I don’t think I can, at least not alone. But because of the sacrifice of Jesus Christ on my behalf my sins are forgiven and I am able to go on living, even with my regrets and misgivings. I’ve got to think this is the only way I am emboldened before God, through the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.