Morning Prayer Homily
Chapel of the Resurrection
Friday, Sept. 17, 2010
“For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to the Jew first, and also to
the Greek. For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith; as it is written, “But the
righteous man shall live by faith.” For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness
and unrighteousness of men who suppress the truth in unrighteousness, because that which is known
about God is evident within them; for God make it evident to them. For since the creation of the world
His invisible attributes, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen, being understood
through what has been made, so that they are without excuse. For even though they knew God, they
did not honor Him as God or give thanks, but they became futile in their speculations, and their foolish
heart was darkened. Professing to be wise, they became fools, and exchanged the glory of the
incorruptible God for an image in the form of corruptible man and of birds and four-footed animals and
crawling creatures.”
--Romans 1:16-23
Our theme in Morning Prayer this week is ”Living a whole life, attentive to the world, a divine curriculum
laid out for us.” I like this theme because it displays a confidence that God reveals Himself to us in part
through the world He has made—and that through this world He has something important to tell us—
something to which we MUST pay attention. From the passage in Romans it is clear that the Apostle
Paul had this same conviction, so much so that he tells us that all who suppress the truth about God are
“without excuse”. These are strong words—and hard for us to hear, because if we’re honest we have
to admit that we’ve had a great deal of practice finding excuses for our behavior when it is convenient
for us. While Calvin is reported to have said that “the human heart is a factory of idols”, I am just as
sure that the human heart is a factory of excuses! So when the Apostle tells us that we have no excuse
for not honoring God or giving thanks to Him, surely we should sit up and take notice!
Well, just what is it in God’s creation that reveals His eternal power and divine nature? First I’d like to
be clear that I do NOT think creation presents us with some kind of mathematical or philosophical proof
of God’s existence. If that were the case it would only be comprehensible to experts in mathematics or
cosmology or philosophy—and yet the text in Romans applies not just to scholars, but to anyone who
suppresses the truth—in other words, to me and to each of you as well. We are all without excuse. So
what exactly does God reveal about Himself through His creative activity?
It’s only an analogy, but I suspect that people who look attentively at the world are like visitors to an
exhibition or performance of the artistic works of a master painter or musician. Such visitors can—and
should—admire the skillful use of color, texture, light, and sound. They might also marvel at the scope
and breadth of the artistic vision on display. And they will no doubt be humbled by the thought that
anything they could hope to create would pale in comparison to the work of such a master. And if a
visitor took the time to learn a great deal more about these works and how they were executed—
perhaps by attending a personal tour with a skilled docent—then her appreciation for these
masterpieces wouldn’t be diminished but would rather be deepened.
It’s the same with the encounters a truly attentive person has with the created order! From the
biological diversity and complexity found in nearly every corner of the earth to the far-flung galaxies that
populate the vastness of the heavens, the richness of creation can inspire awe and humility in the hearts
of those who have eyes to see and ears to hear. And when we extend our built-in sensory perception by
using scanning electron microscopes and orbiting space telescopes, the additional details we gather do
not diminish our wonder and amazement, but rather extend them into new, previously unseen realms.
The exquisite details of the biochemical cascade of reactions that take place when one of us suffers a
cut—reactions that swiftly lead to blood clotting and formation of a scab that saves us from catastrophic
hemorrhaging—are amazing to behold. The internal dynamics of a star like our sun are equally aweinspiring. Inside such a star, the gravitational force squeezing its gases together is delicately balanced by
the outward force generated by the products of nuclear fusion escaping the star’s inner core, leading to
a stable physical system that produces energy for billions of years—enough time for biological life to
develop and thrive on at least one planet and perhaps many more! Surely we—and the cosmos in which
we find our home—are fearfully and wonderfully made!
Now I have to acknowledge that some very intelligent people, including the authors of a book that is
currently an Amazon.com top-ten best seller, have argued that the breathtaking march of scientific
progress and the promise of even more knowledge in the future have essentially made the idea of God
irrelevant. Some have gone so far as to say that “modern physics leaves no place for God in the creation
of the universe”. What should we make of this? Not to worry—these authors, though quite
accomplished and celebrated as physicists, have chosen to speak outside their fields of expertise and in
doing so have fallen prey to logical fallacies that would make a sophomore philosophy major cringe.
Though the discoveries of science do not provide proof of a Creator, in no way do they rule out His
existence.
Well then—what difference should the encounters we have with the creation make in our lives? The
prescription given by Paul, though it is presented in the negative sense, is really quite simple. We must
turn our knowledge of God’s creation into actions that honor Him and give Him thanks. So the next time
you see a beautiful sunset, or look up to take in a view of the night sky, or behold a flock of birds in
formation as they fly south for the winter, take a moment to reflect on these wonders and make sure
you feel small—and then give thanks and praise to the One who conceived such a “Grand Design” and
gave it to us—and to all his creatures—as a gift.