In the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Amen.

Last Tuesday evening there was a program on PBS entitled the Elegant Universe. It was hosted by the Columbia University physicist Brian Greene. And the television program explores the cutting edge of theoretical physics and in particular “string theory”.

According to string theory if we could examine the fundamental particles of the universe-electrons, neutrons, protons, quarks and so on- we would find that each one is not a particle at all. Instead we would find a vibrating strand of energy, like an infinitely thin rubber band, that physicists have named a string.

 It is these “strings” that serve as the basic building blocks for everything in the universe-from galaxies and stars, to you and me, down to a tiny grain of sand. For this reason string theory is sometimes described as possibly being the “theory of everything” (T.O.E) or the holy grail of physics.

Now most of us can hardly understand these scientific theories or the mathematics behind them but they do have an impact on how we view this world in which we inhabit. They have an impact on religion in general and on our own personal belief system in particular. In our day, science and religion are often seen as enemies locked in mortal combat but this has not always been the case.
When religion first met modern science in the seventeenth century the encounter was a friendly one. Christian scientists thought they were studying God’s works.

By the eighteenth century many scientists believed in a God who had designed the universe, but they no longer believed in a personal God. In the nineteenth century some scientists were hostile to religion though Charles Darwin maintained that the process of evolution was designed by God. The twentieth century was dominated by our coming to terms with science. And certainly since the publication of Darwin’s book the “Origin of Species” in 1859, it seems that in the popular realm at least religion is always getting the short end of the stick.

But if we look at science, it too has its “limit” questions. Science deals with “how” questions. How was the universe formed for example? And yet it has great difficulty answering the “big why”. Why is there something rather than nothing? Why is there a universe at all? These are philosophical/theological questions that speak of meaning and purpose.

The astrophysicist Robert Jastrow once wrote:

(The scientist) has scaled the mountains of ignorance, he is about to conquer the highest peak; as he pulls himself over the final rock, he is greeted by a band of theologians who have been sitting there for centuries.”

Why is there something rather than nothing? It is with this question that we go forth into our reading from Ephesians. Paul is writing to a group of gentile Christians who it was believed were beyond God’s grace. In the original Greek language, this passage is actually one long complicated sentence and even in the English translation it is pretty dense.
And yet the passage causes us to lift our eyes from what are often the rather parochial and mundane concerns of the church in order to see where the church is in the grand scheme of things. For Paul is not writing a scientific theory he is writing a vision of faith. He begins with God…”Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ” rather than starting with the world around him and arguing by design back to God.
 Paul then goes on to state that Christians are elected or chosen by God from before the “big bang”-the creation of the world.

Now this idea of election led in later centuries to Calvin’s doctrine of predestination but we should be careful not to impose Calvin’s interpretation on Paul’s letter. Paul is not talking about humans being marked out for heaven or hell nor is he talking about a deterministic deity that pulls the puppet strings. Paul is describing God who hopes, loves and chooses us through the power of grace.

God has chosen you! Stop and think about for a moment. God has chosen you from before the creation of the universe. Not because you are good looking, or upstanding pillars of the community and not because you are Presbyterians-the frozen chosen but because of God’s gracious will. And we are saved by grace through faith for a purpose, freed to live lives of service and praise, to be holy and blameless. To orient our lives to God’s purpose and to take responsibility for our part in breaking the barriers that divide us one from another.

Now if we were to criticize this passage, we could probably challenge Paul for developing a vision of the universe that is so radically focused on us humans and our salvation. Certainly over the centuries we humans have really embraced this one often to the detriment of everything else on earth-can anyone say global warming. So if humans are elected or chosen by God does this mean that everything else is not chosen?

If we venture further into the passage we see that Paul broadens his vision beyond us humans. In verse 9-10 Paul writes;
“And (God) made know to us the mystery of his will according to his good pleasure, which he purposed in Christ, to be put into effect when the times will have reached their fulfillment-to bring all things in heaven and on earth together under one head, even Christ.”

To bring all things together in Christ. We find ourselves living then in the midst of a grand process that includes all things in heaven and on earth. The universe is not static but rather a web of life that is moving forward toward the goal that is Christ. Christ is the unifying principle that brings together the largest galaxy and the vibrating strand of energy. Christ is the meaning, the purpose, the goal.
Why is there something rather than nothing? Christ!
 Now I realize that we are living in an age when many people see no purpose to the universe, that it is indifferent to our little human concerns and this partly the consequence of modern science. But it is our faith that leads us to conclude that in this universe God’s unifying purpose is being worked out.
It is this purpose that we share as the church in the world so that one day all things should be one family in Christ. THANKS BE TO GOD, AMEN