Homily Recap, 1.04.08

This Sunday we began a series of homilies that will roughly follow the theological themes presented in the Nicene Creed. We began by considering some of the implications that follow from our confession of God as the creator of all there is, including us.

Implication 1: We know who we are and what it means to be human because we know why we were created. God created us because of his love.

No one can speak for God and explain fully his reasons for creating. We do, however, get some hints when we consider creation in light of the gospel. It seems that when it comes to talking about God's motivation in creation, the most we can say and the most helpful thing we can say is that God created because he loves; and, because he desires to share his love with others and through others. That God creates because of his love, for the sake of his love, and in order to spread his love tells us something profound about our purpose as those created in his image. First, we are to understand that God loves us because he made us - this is the foundation of the gospel. I have a fountain pen that is probably worth over $100. It was a gift of a friend of mine. I dropped it and bent the nib over 7 years ago and I keep forgetting to replace the nib. However, I can tell you exactly where that pen is - not because it is expensive (sadly, I lose expensive stuff as easily as I do cheap stuff) - I can tell you where it is because I have affection for it because of the reason it was given. Similarly, God cherishes us and wishes not to lose us because of the value we have to him, simply because he made us for himself and his love. Let me expand a little bit on this. When I say that the foundation of the gospel is based on God's love of his creation I am asserting that the purpose of redemption is the fulfillment of God's love for what and who he has made. This is different from the way we sometimes think of redemption. For instance, we often think of redemption in such individualistic terms (e.g. I am a sinner; God please redeem me) that we imagine God's love for us to be contingent on a decision he made in response to our groveling. Nothing could be further than the truth. He initiates redemption with us from the same heart that created - a heart full of love for the other.

Implication 2: God's not finished with his work of creation - a reason to get up in the morning.

I am not a morning person and don't think I ever have been. Being a father has made me one though. I hear our little girl and I rarely want to sleep in, even when my wife offers to let me. When we understand God's relationship to his creation and our role in his ongoing care of the universe we can find even greater motivations to get up in the morning. Sir John Polkinghorne, British physicist turned Anglican Priest, points out that many Christians think of God's creation as a fixed score written by a master composer. He suggests for theological reasons (and because of hints he sees about the nature of reality through his study of quantum physics) that we see God's relationship with his creation as more dynamic than that. He suggests that a more helpful metaphor for God's relationship to his creation is that of a masterful composer who, to be sure, has a score, but is improvising throughout its performance. At the heart of Polkinhorne's suggestion is that God has included his creatures in his governance of the universe. Our prayers matter to God and he takes them into account. Our repentance matters to God and he responds to us when we repent. Our invoking of Jesus' presence in a poor neighborhood through the deeds of the gospel matters to God and he works through us to bring his love to others. Our work matters to God because God will bless others through our work. All of these collaborations with God are real and genuine because he is moving creation along to the goal of new creation, including us in a call and response rhythm which grounds our faithful actions in God's ongoing care of his creation (Colossians 1:15-20)

The resurrection is the greatest example of God's benevolent improvisation because the resurrection joins creation and new-creation together (2 Cor. 5:17 NRSV). As Polkinghorne puts it, there is every reason to believe, according to what is known through the physical and biological sciences, that carbon life and the universe that is its home will come to an end. If the universe is to find new life, if people are to find new life, there must be a resurrection of that which will die. The resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead grounds this world in the world to come and gives a delightful example of God's dynamic and renewing relationship with his creation.

Questions for discussion:

1. We said during the homily on Sunday that God loves us because he made us. Why is this foundational to our understanding of the rest of the gospel? What sorts of misunderstandings of the gospel occur when we don't recognize that new creation is grounded in the first creation?

2. Do you believe that what you do and what you believe play a partnership role in God's works of creation and new creation? Is this thought an encouragement to you? If so, why? If not, why not?

This is the poem from which I read this Sunday:

A HYMN TO THE CREATOR

by William H. Vanstone

Morning glory, starlit sky,
Leaves in springtime, swallows' flight,
Autumn gales, tremendous seas,
Sounds and scents of summer night;

Soaring music, tow'ring words,
Art's perfection, scholar's truth,
Joy supreme of human love,
Memory's treasure, grace of youth;

Open, Lord, are these, Thy gifts,
Gifts of love to mind and sense;
Hidden is love's agony,
Love's endeavour, love's expense.

Love that gives gives ever more,
Gives with zeal, with eager hands,
Spares not, keeps not, all outpours,
Ventures all, its all expends.

Drained is love in making full;
Bound in setting others free;
Poor in making many rich;
Weak in giving power to be.

Therefore He Who Thee reveals
Hangs, O Father, on that Tree
Helpless; and the nails and thorns
Tell of what Thy love must be.

Thou are God; no monarch Thou
Thron'd in easy state to reign;
Thou art God, Whose arms of love
Aching, spent, the world sustain.