“The Impossible God”
December 24, 2023
Dear brothers and sisters, grace and peace be to you from God our Father, and from our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, Amen.
One of the many benefits from substitute teaching I’ve been able to reap is, even as I’ve been teaching, I’ve also been learning. And, one of the many things I’ve learned is how much I actually really enjoy Math and Science.
Let me explain: when I was younger, I didn’t think much of Math or Science, because I didn’t really understand the practical applications of either – especially Math. I’ve gotten older, however, and especially as I’ve gotten to be able to teach basic concepts of Math and Science to students, I’ve realized how much Math and Science are a part of our everyday lives. Music, for example, is based entirely on Math and Science, for measuring beats, tempo, intervals, tones, acoustics, and harmony. Ever constant new discoveries in Science have enabled us not only to live better and more convenient lives, but have also challenged us to think beyond what we know and experiment to see what else remains to be discovered. Sports are even based on Mathematics and Science – of course numbers are used to keep score, but also the standard measurements on the field, court, or rink, and shapes which are on them; and to the laws of Physics which govern how hard and how high to kick or hit a ball or other object.
All of this has also helped me discover another wonderful truth: I’ve come to realize, more and more, how much God has a hand in every subject we learn about. History shows us how, time and time again, God has intervened, and caused world events to be directed towards where He wants them to go. Social Studies also show us not only how God has intervened and set things in order throughout history, but how He desire to arrange society, so that we, and all people, can live together in peace, harmony, and understanding. Through Science, God shows us the miracle of His creation: no element, particle, atom, or chemical evolved purely by chance: it had to have an origin somewhere, as well as a plan for it to turn out the way it did, and that origin and plan came from the mind and hands of God. As Isaac Newton once said, “This most beautiful system of the sun, planets, and comets could only proceed from the counsel and dominion of an intelligent and powerful Being.” It is also because of Science that God has given us all the good gifts of His creation, and everything we need to live – food from the earth, livestock from the fields, safely-built houses in which to live, air conditioning and furnaces to keep those houses cool and warm, and modes of automated transportation to get us places. Mathematics demonstrates the fundamental order which God has set in place, since Math has a series of consistent and predictable laws and rules – which govern all other Sciences, and even the Arts and Humanities. Indeed, as Galileo said, “Mathematics is the alphabet with which God has written the universe.” All things, whatever they may be, are subject to God and His command, because He has set them in motion and ordered them a certain way.
Also, what studying History, the Humanities, the Arts, Social Studies, Economics, Political Science, Science, Math, and Sports show us is how interconnected all things are, and how inseparable one thing is from another, and especially shows how interconnected all people are to each other in many different ways. This, again, is all part of God’s plan: God has created us, and all things, to be in healthy relationship with each other, and depend on each other. We depend on our plants and trees to give us food, shade, and beauty; and they in turn depend on us for nourishment. We depend on animals to give us companionship and food, and they in turn also depend on us for proper care. What all this also shows is that Math and Science are far from being in conflict with God’s plan, or even with our Christian faith. Indeed, many of the greatest scientists and mathematicians were both devout Christians and people of faith in general, who gave God the credit for all the discoveries they were able to make. As Louis Pasteur said, “The more I study nature, the more I stand amazed at the work of the Creator. Science brings men nearer to God.”
All that being said, what we also learn in the Bible today is how God frequently operates outside of His own laws and rules to accomplish great and mighty wonders, especially to help and save us. Since He is the almighty the only-wise God, He cannot be bound, contained, or limited by any laws, or even by any logic. We especially see this in our Gospel Reading. One of the many non-negotiables of our Christian faith is that Jesus was born of a virgin. This itself, it could be said, violates the laws of Science, because how could it be possible for a child to be conceived outside of the normal biological process of conception? And yet, that is exactly what God does: by causing His Son to grow in the womb of Mary in a way where her virginity remains intact, He shows not only that His Son is God, but that He is able to accomplish the impossible, and overcome all odds, even violate all rules, to do what He wants for us. As Gabriel tells Mary in verse 37, “For nothing is impossible with God.” Furthermore, it also violates the laws of Science to say that someone could be both a human being and the almighty divine God at the same time. Yet, that is exactly who Jesus is, fully God and fully human. Just as God has created all of us in creation to be interconnected in unbroken relationship, He also is in interconnected relationship with us. When that relationship was unfortunately broken by sin, He sent Jesus to restore that connection: by becoming one of us, Jesus is God who is inseparably intertwined with us. Also, Jesus has come to restore broken relationships between people, and restore them, and us, to the harmony and peace for which God created us in the first place. He does this by trying to bring all people into a relationship with Him, where He alone is acknowledged and Lord, God, and King, and all other divisions, whether of denomination, race, politics, economics, background, or anything else, disappear because of putting allegiance to Him first. Which may seem completely impossible right now – but when Jesus comes again, He will make it all possible because He alone will reign over the nations of the earth; as Paul says in our Second Reading from Romans, all nations will believe and obey Him. And, just as He will be Lord and God among us in the future, He is still Lord God among us even now. He is truly “Emmanuel,” God with us – He shares our humanity, and even shared in our suffering and death, by living a perfect sinless life, dying on a cross as a sacrifice for our sins. Then, He showed His almighty divinity by rising again, defeating death, and winning eternal life for everyone who believes in Him. He reigns forever as King, of the House of David, as God promises to David in our First Reading from 2 Samuel. Also, in our First Reading, God, speaking through the Prophet Nathan, reminds David, and us, that God cannot be contained – whether by a building, or any other confinement, God cannot be limited, nor does He need anything to mark where He is. Even though we gather each week to worship Him here at this church, He is not only here – He is everywhere we are. The Holy Spirit continues to speak to us and gives us power through the Bible, and further gives us the power of God through Baptism and Holy Communion – using ordinary things of creation, which normally operate according to natural laws, to accomplish supernatural and extraordinary things. The Bible especially, because it is the Word of God, has the power to create, give life, sustain, restore, and revive – which is why we always ought to hear, read, and study it regularly, and engage it not merely as an ordinary book, but as the mechanism by which God works His power in us. The Bible ultimately, as Paul says, is the Gospel and proclamation of Jesus Christ, revealed through both the prophetic writings and the story of Jesus – which begins with His birth, and continues on, because He lives eternally, and especially lives forever in us.
Today, then, Jesus wants to come into your life again. He created all things, and set all things in order, and now He wants to reign supreme in your heart and life again. If you want to experience a real, living relationship with someone who loves and accepts you unconditionally, then you are invited to say, “Come, Lord Jesus. As you came into this world as a baby in Bethlehem, born from a virgin, come into my heart again. Come and bind yourself to me, and never let me be separated from you.” If you, right now, are experiencing any kind of conflict, whether in yourself, or with another person, then you are invited to say, “Come, Lord Jesus, and bring peace to my heart and mind. Come and resolve the conflict and tension I’m having to deal with, and help me to forgive – whether it’s myself or another person, help me to forgive and give all things to your power.” Even if there is something in your life you think is impossible, that you can’t handle or solve, Jesus is the God of the impossible – and will help overcome whatever you find impossible, if you give all control over to Him. And because He is God with us – and with you – Jesus will come to you, and be with you. Be ready for Jesus to do the impossible – because nothing is too impossible for Him.
Now may the peace of God, which passes all understanding, keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus our Lord, Amen.
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