Galileo, Galileo

Luke 6:17-26

He came down with them and stood on a level place, with a great crowd of his disciples and a great multitude of people from all Judea, Jerusalem, and the coast of Tyre and Sidon. They had come to hear him and to be healed of their diseases; and those who were troubled with unclean spirits were cured. And all in the crowd were trying to touch him, for power came out from him and healed all of them.

Then he looked up at his disciples and said: “Blessed are you who are poor, for yours is the kingdom of God. “Blessed are you who are hungry now, for you will be filled. “Blessed are you who weep now, for you will laugh. “Blessed are you when people hate you, and when they exclude you, revile you, and defame you on account of the Son of Man. Rejoice in that day and leap for joy, for surely your reward is great in heaven; for that is what their ancestors did to the prophets. “But woe to you who are rich, for you have received your consolation. “Woe to you who are full now, for you will be hungry. “Woe to you who are laughing now, for you will mourn and weep. “Woe to you when all speak well of you, for that is what their ancestors did to the false prophets.

On this date in 1633, Galileo arrived in Rome to face charges of heresy.  The Church insisted that the Earth was the center of the universe, while Galileo had made the observations, done the math, and had correctly concluded that the Earth was not the center, but instead was a body in motion around the Sun.  The Church was wrong.  Wrong about the math, wrong about the science, and wrong about the whole, “we’re the center of the universe” theology.  The Church had placed the Earth, humanity, and itself at the center of the universe... and folks... we ain’t!  

In today’s Gospel lesson there was a great crowd of disciples and a great multitude of people from both far and wide following Jesus.  They followed because their disease had become all consuming.  They followed to to get rid of the demons that were so loud, they couldn't hear anything else.  They were following so that they might hear a word of hope.  When we’re in pain, hungry, feeling beaten down, or feel powerless, it’s easy to have those things become the seemingly unmoving center and total focus of our lives. 

So Jesus said to them:  “I know some of you are hungry now.  I know some of you are in horrible pain now… physical pain, emotional pain, spiritual pain.  I know some of you are being bullied now, chased down, persecuted, and cast out of your communities.  I know ALL of that piled on top of you feels all-consuming and overwhelming to the point of tears!  I know it feels like it will never end.  But it will end.  It will.  You are not your pain.  You are not your hunger.  You are not your persecution.  None of that is who you are.  It’s absolutely terrible for now, I know.  It feels like that’s all there is, I know.  But none of that is the unmovable center of the universe.”  

Jesus continued: “I also know that others of you are in a pretty good place today.  Money's not a worry.  You have what you need.  Maybe even more than you need.  Your bellies are full, your health is good, your families are doing alright, and no one (that you know of anyway) is out to get you.  You’re in a place in life where it’s easy to laugh.  That’s wonderful!  But remember, that too won’t last.  Because you are also not your success.  Nor your possessions.  Nor your comforts or popularity.  It’s just as easy to fall into the trap of thinking THAT is how it will always be.  But that's not a forever thing either.  Try not to mistake either the empty or the full for the unmoving center of your universe.  The good and the bad, the full and the empty, the good times and the hard times, the laughter and the tears… ALL of those things in our lives are always in constant motion.”

And that’s where Jesus left it… reminding us that neither being on top of the world nor buried under the whole world's weight is the unmoving center of our universe.  Neither being full nor being empty is who we are at our core.  To see the REAL unmoving center of the universe, the people gathered on that plain just had to look up and see the Son.  Just as Galileo found that the S-U-N is the center of our solar system, we all need to remember that in both our full times and our empty times, it is the S-O-N that is our unmoving center.  It’s the Son… not me, myself or I!  It's the Son, the incarnation of self-giving LOVE.  THAT is what the universe was created to revolve around!  LOVE.  It is there at the unmoving center when we are hungry, hurting and harassed giving us hope, even when hope seems to be a foolish and impossible fantasy.  It’s there at the center when we are full, successful, and joyful to the point of laughter, reminding us to live in those times with thankfulness and to care for others in those times with radical generosity.  

Our pain, despair, and grief, no matter how close they come, no matter how much of our vision they obscure, no matter how loudly they scream, they are not the unmoving centers of our lives.  Our success, possessions and popularity, no matter how much they rise, no matter how bright the lights shine, no matter how loudly the fans cheer, they too are not the unchanging centers of our lives. 

What is the unmoving center of our universe is the Son.  What is the unmoving center of our universe… what does last forever… what is absolutely unchanging… is LOVE.  So in every moment in life, take care to first listen deeply to one another’s triumphant successes as well as each others crushing sorrows and then help one another remember that in every time we face in this life, the genuinely unmoving center of the universe is love.  Amen.