The Rev. Canon Anne E. Kitch
March 5, 2006
Genesis 9:8-17; Mark 1:9-15
What is at the center of your universe?
What is at the center of your universe? In the beginning of the 16th century, a canon at the Cathedral in Frauenberg, Poland, one Nicholas Copernicus, postulated that the earth was not the center of the universe. This was a shocking theory. At that time, the universe was thought to be a closed sphere with the earth a fixed point at its center. All the other heavenly bodies were known to revolve around the earth. Beyond this sphere of heaven there was… nothing. This understanding of the universe fit the description scholars read in the bible about the creation of the heavens and the earth. But it was more than an earth-centered universe that the theory of Copernicus challenged. It was the place of humankind in creation. The prevailing teaching of the time not only postulated that the earth was the center of the universe, but also that humankind was the center of creation. To challenge an earth-centered view of the universe was a challenge to man’s ego. After all, weren’t humans created in God’s image and thus superior to all creation? Copernicus' theories might well lead some to conclude that human beings are simply part of nature and not superior to it. This ran counter to the medieval teachings of the church, which was the political and scientific power of the time.
Copernicus didn’t get in too much trouble himself over this. His work was not widely published until after his death. Even then it was not taken too seriously by most because it was published as a kind of fiction. Yet, a hundred years later, the Roman Church condemned the theory of Copernicus. It went against the Holy Scriptures and the teachings of the church. It was heresy. Who could seriously believe that anything but the earth was the center of all things, and humankind superior? So when Galileo, a scientist who had first wanted to be a monk, published his support of Copernicus’ theory that the sun, and not the earth, was the center of the universe, he was accused of heresy. He was brought before the inquisition in Rome and given a life sentence. He spent his last ten years in house arrest and died a heretic. It was not even permitted for him to be buried in the family tomb in the Basilica. Heretics are not easily forgiven. It would be 350 years later before Pope John Paul II admitted that the theologians who studied Galileo’s case had been misled. It is hard to reorient oneself when the center of the universe changes. What is at the center of your universe?
The Noah story is quite familiar to us and many think of it as a children’s story. After all a Noah’s Ark is popular toy and pictures of animals marching two by two populate many a nursery wall. Yet the best children’s stories are ones that point beyond themselves, speaking simply of complex truths. The Noah story encompasses life and death, sin, judgment, repentance and renewal. The Noahic Covenant, the sacred agreement God makes with Noah, is one of the foundational covenants of our faith. This story is a pillar of our sacred story, our history, our faith. And like the teachings of Copernicus and Galileo, it challenges the thought that humankind are superior within God’s creation.
Before God’s covenant with Moses about the promised land, before God’s covenant with Abraham about a chosen people, God made a covenant with Noah promising life. Never again, God promises, will a flood destroy the earth. God places the rainbow in the sky as a sign of that covenant. This is God’s sacred agreement with Noah. Yet a friend of mine who is writing a book about our animal companions points out that there is a bit more to this covenant. Actually, it’s the sacred agreement that God makes with Noah and his descendants…and every living creature…and birds...and domestic animals…and every animal of earth that came out of the ark. God covenants with every living creature; it’s stated four times in this one passage we heard read today. God covenants with Noah and parrots and cows and elephants and penguins and artic foxes. Guess what? Human beings are not the only recipients of God’s love and attention. We may like to think of ourselves as the pinnacle of creation, but think about it. How would creation fare if you took us out of it?..the ecosystems of the world would go on just fine. But if you removed crows or earthworms or the artic fox? We are beginning to understand just how interrelated these ecosystems are. Humans are not the center of creation, or the universe. It is hard to reorient oneself, when the center of the universe changes. What is at the center of your universe?
The Ark is a good image for Lent in many ways: it carried creation on a journey for 40 days, a journey through a desert of water, a journey through death to rebirth, a new creation and a new covenant. Perhaps also because of God’s extraordinary covenant with all living flesh, the Noah story reminds us that Lent can be a time for us to take stock. What do our lives revolve around? A dose of humility added to out human pride is hardly ever a bad thing. Lent is about trying to allow something other than ourselves to be at the center of our universe. It is hard to reorient oneself, when the center of the universe changes.
Jesus comes to John in the Jordan and is baptized. As he comes up from the water his place in God’s creation is made quite clear. The heavens are torn open, the Spirit descends on him like a dove, and if those are not enough signs, a voice from heaven cinches the deal, “You are my son, the beloved, with you I am well pleased.” Surely this is the center of the universe…how can you go wrong with putting the messiah, the Christ, at the center? Surely Jesus is the center of the universe for John. But what kind of Christ is this? Apparently not one who takes up the cloak of leadership, claims superiority over all creation and rules the heavens and the earth. Rather this messiah is immediately driven into the wilderness, is tempted by Satan, and lives with wild beasts. When he does return, after John is arrested, it is not as a triumphant warrior, but as one who serves. What kind of God is at the center of your universe? It is hard to reorient oneself, when the center of the universe changes.
Yet this is our dance, our dance with God. One in which we shift our understanding, our orientation again and again. It is a dance through time as we as a people, as a church, try to perceive and understand God, try to live into our covenant. This is the dance between us and our savior, the one who makes a new covenant with us. It is a dance between us and the one who serves, a dance of love, of forgiveness, of renewal.
George Herbert (1593-1633), an Anglican priest and poet, was a contemporary of Galileo’s. He wrote this:
Love bade me welcome, yet my soul drew back,
Guilty of dust and sin.
But quick-eyed Love, observing me grow slack
From my first entrance in,
Drew nearer to me, sweetly questioning
If I lacked any thing.
A guest, I answered, worthy to be here:
Love said, you shall be he.
I, the unkind, the ungrateful? Ah my dear,
I cannot look on thee.
Love took my hand, and smiling did reply,
Who made the eyes but I?
Truth, Lord, but I have marred them; let my shame
Go where it doth deserve.
And know you not, says Love, who bore the blame?
My dear, then I will serve.
You must sit down, says Love, and taste my meat:
So I did sit and eat.
It is so hard to reorient oneself, when the center of the universe changes.
What is at the center of your universe?
(note: for more thoughts about the Noah Covenant and the place of animals in creation see the forthcoming Ark & Covenant: The Blessing of Animal Companions, by Debra Farrington available from Paraclete Press in Sept. 2006.)
