In the Beginning Sermon by Rev Gretchen Wood September 21, 2008
Reading: “Out of the Stars” by Robert T. Weston
Out of the stars in their flight, out of the dust of eternity, here we have come,
Stardust and sunlight, mingling through time and through space.
Out of the stars have we come, up from time;
Out of the stars have we come.
Time out of time before time in the vastness of space, earth spun to orbit the sun,
Earth with thunder of mountains newborn, the boiling of seas.
Earth warmed by the sun, lit by sunlight:
This is our home;
Out of the stars have we come.
Mystery hidden in mystery, back through all time;
Mystery rising from rocks in the storm and the sea.
Out of the stars, rising from rocks and the sea,
kindled by sunlight on earth, arose life.
Ponder this thing in your heart;
ponder with awe:
Out of the sea to the land, up from darkness to light,
Rising to walk and to fly, out of the sea trembled life.
Ponder this thing in your heart, life up from the sea;
Eyes to behold, throats to sing, mates to love.
Life from the sea, warmed by sun, washed by rain,
life from within, giving birth, rose to love.
This is the wonder of time; this is the marvel of space;
Out of the stars swung the earth; life upon earth rose to love.
This is the marvel of life, rising to see and to know;
Out of your heart cry wonder: sing that we live.
Sermon: : “In the Beginning”
There are so many stories that tell of the beginnings of our world, of our beginnings. Some we know well:
In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. The earth was without form and void, and darkness was upon the face of the deep; and the Spirit of God was moving over the face of the waters. (Genesis I: 1-2)
Or
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God; and all things were made through him, and without him was not anything made that was made. In him was life, and the life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.
Factually, the Jewish creation story did not exist until after they had encountered the Babylonian creation story during their exile there, and the story from the Gospel of John was a much older Greek prayer/poem adopted by the committee that wrote the Gospel at least 70 years ACE.
Some of us may know the story of “Mud Mother” told by the Pueblo Indians of the southwest United States or the story of Anansi as spider-creator from Africa. For many Unitarian Universalists, the story that Robert T. Weston tells poetically echoes the story science tells us, the story of stars and evolution. It appears essential for human beings to make sense of our world by telling how it came to be. The battle between creationists who favor “intelligent design” and those who respond to the vision of an expanding universe and evolution fails to recognize that this is a growing understanding - in process, not a fixed truth for once and all. Revelation is not sealed! Both sides have their fundamentalists
The story of the beginning of our cosmos (the Greek word for “order,” as opposed to “chaos”) has been changing in the science of the western world for centuries. Though the Genesis story predominated for many for millennia, the Greeks early observed that the earth was not the center of the universe. Newton’s theory of universal gravitation was at the heart of scientific explanations until 1916, when Einstein came up with the general theory of relativity. A Dutch physicist, named Willem de Sitter, solved the equations of general relativity in a way that appeared to maintain the notion that our galaxy was “embedded in a largely, empty, static void.” (Lawrence M. Krauss and Robert J. Sherrer. Scientific American, March 2008. p. 49.)
But further examination showed that stasis was mis-interpretation. Belgian physicist Georges Lemaitre proved that “Einstein’s equations predict that an infinite, homogeneous, static universe is impossible. The universe has to expand or contract. From this realization, the big bang theory. . . was born” (Ibid.)
Physicist Chet Raymo points out that the term “Big Bang” was first used pejoratively in 1950 by Fred Hoyle, an astronomer partial to the notion of a steady state universe. Raymo suggests we might consider other names, like the Big Sneeze, the Big Ha (harkening to a Jewish story of God creating the world with seven laughs), or the Big Speak, relating to the many cultures that favor creation coming from vibration or sound. (Raymo, Natural Prayers, pp. 20-21.)
In the March 2008 issue of Scientific American, we find two physicists, Lawrence M. Krauss and Robert J. Sherrer, pointing out that we live in a unique time in the history of scientific study of cosmology (the study of our universe) because evidence of the accelerating universe, as seen through the Hubble telescope and subsequent instruments, is disappearing as the process of expansion speeds up.
With some concern they write:
We are led inexorably to a very strange conclusion. The window during which intelligent observers can deduce the true nature of our expanding universe might be very short indeed. Some civilizations might hold on to deep historical archives, and this very article might appear in one – if it can survive billions of years of wars, supernovae, black holes, and countless other perils. Whether they will believe it is another question. (Krauss & Sherrer, p. 53.)
Like religious truth, scientific truth is evolving as well – and could be lost to closed minds - and/or religious war (another reason to work for peace!).
From the origins of the universe, we turn to the origins of life as we know it: evolution, the source of human beginnings. Paul Gaugain asked a universal question, “Where do we come from?” So do we. Apart from jokes about Poughkeepsie and the difficulties of discussing sex with young children – and I highly recommend our UU curriculum, “Our Whole Lives,” for the latter purpose - as much as we may wish we are divinely created (and we may be, metaphorically speaking), our growing understanding of evolution seems the scientific “best bet” so far. It is important to know that Charles Darwin, a conflicted English Unitarian who was influenced by the thought of his grandfather, Erasmus Darwin, was fortunate to take that five year trip on the Beagle. Through that experience he was able to gather the evidence that would preliminarily confirm a theory of evolution.
Darwin was terrified of the impact this science would have on religion – rightly so, as we continue culture wars around this subject. Steven Jay Gould refined Darwin’s studies with his theory of punctuated evolution, asserting that evolution does not take place in a smooth upward arc, but rather moves forward in fits and starts. I suspect we will continue to hone in on the truth of our beginnings asymptotically, through small increments of understanding gathered through chance and opporutnity.
The genius of Unitarianism, Universalism, and Unitarian Universalism has been the willingness of many of our adherents to study and accept the truth of their own experience and to apply it to religion. Theodore Parker, a Unitarian minister and one of the great minds of the 19 th century, foreshadowed process theology and actively studied the science of his day, as did Ralph Waldo Emerson. Their enlightened mix of science and mysticism is resurfacing among contemporary UU theologians like Paul Rasor, Connie Barlow, Michael Dowd, and Thandeka.
We understand that our knowledge comes from our free and responsible search for truth and meaning. And we understand that our knowledge is of little good to any of us if it does not lead us to treasure this incredible world that we inhabit, to recognize that we must be responsible in our stewardship of the resources we are given and loving in our responsibility. Yes, we are struck with awe and wonder that leads to poetic metaphor, and knowledge does not serve us without an ethic of care of love. As much as we need to know fact, we also need the feeling of uplift of Weston’s words:
This is the wonder of time; this is the marvel of space;
Out of the stars swung the earth; life upon earth rose to love.
This is the marvel of life, rising to see and to know;
Out of your heart cry wonder: sing that we live.
Mystery abides in the ongoing search for truth and meaning. Thus we also respond as does Pat Mayne Ellis, to quotes found in a newspaper clipping:
“Scientists find universe awash in tiny diamonds”
But haven’t we always known?
The shimmer of trees, the shaking of flames
every cloud lined with something
clean water sings
right to the belly
scouring us with its purity
it too is awash with diamonds
“so small that trillions could rest
on the head of a pin”
It is not unwise then to say
that the air is close with diamonds
that we breathe diamonds
our lungs hoarding, exchanging
our blood sowing them rich and thick
along every course it takes
Does this explain
why some of us are so hard
why some of us shine
why we are all precious
that we are awash in creation
spumed with diamonds
shot through with beauty
that survived the deaths of stars
If our creation stories teach us facts, they must also teach us our own value and the preciousness of our world, whether through fact or metaphor or both. May we find and treasure the ever-evolving stories that bring us closer to truth and to honoring the whole of creation, with respect, responsibility, and relish for the process.
So be it! Blessed Be!