When something important happens people reach for big language. When the Berlin wall was opened for people to travel between the two halves of the city some people described the event as ‘earth-shattering’. We know what they mean and are using a metaphor. Sometimes people get so excited that they might say that a tragedy was ‘literally heart breaking’. Yes it is a bit picky to say ‘no’. We know they are again reaching for big language but if it were literally heartbreaking the speaker would be literally dead.
There was a news event a few weeks ago that a spokesperson from the interested community reached for big language. They said ‘people will remember where they were when they heard this news’. This is going back to the way that many people spoke about hearing of the assassination of John F. Kennedy in 1963. Kennedy was young, charismatic, with progressive politics and at the height of the Cold War faced down Russia in the Cuban missile crisis. The death of such a figure was deeply shocking and remembering the event of being told, even to where you were when you were told, is very telling.
I was in my car going to a piano lesson when I heard that gravity waves had been discovered. To which I can imagine many people saying ‘gravity what?’ and ‘I know nothing of this!’. It is interesting that for one person in the community this is of immense importance such that they think everyone is spell bound. Another person might not even know it is anything at all. I know where I was when I heard about gravity waves because I have a keen interest in science. In our society people largely accept that science tells us the true account of the universe and how it works. I imagine the details of much of science is not widely known. But people do appreciate that many features of life from antibiotics to mobile phones are the fruit of applying a scientific method and having our lives transformed.
But we are people of big language. There are things that we want to express with huge metaphors, tell as many people as possible and mark with a public event. These might be personal with birthdays, changing our job or moving in to a new home. Sometimes they are communal such as supporting a sports team or a prize giving at a school. Obviously celebration is a big feature of church life. Not only do we have a wide variety of services of celebration but we want to express that we know God to be a God who rejoices in our lives.
So why have some people got excited about gravity waves? It is because it is another proof about the way Albert Einstein reimagined the universe with his theory of relativity. Science is a way to look at the world that continually has to change its mind and find better ways to understand the universe. Initially it seemed sensible that the earth was at the centre of the universe. Then it was better that the sun was at the centre. With Einstein nowhere is more special than anywhere else. But that does mean where we are is still special. The really novel thing about Einstein’s universe is that there are not two separate things, one being space and the other being the things in it. The things like stars and plants change space and the changed space alters how the stars and plants more. In short there are relationships that are more connected than we previously thought.
I still don’t think I will be having a party to celebrate gravity waves but how wonderful that they are part of understanding that the universe is about relationship. That is what our celebrations are always about. It is the people who are important and what they mean to us. When change comes along we express how the relationships changes to make the future. God is in all of this and calls us to celebrate, investigate, change and grow. God is the creator who continues to create and invites us to grow and thrive.
The title of this piece comes from the opening words of the TV show Star Trek ‘Space, the final frontier’. Science knows there is always more to discover. At least one of these is a huge problem because quantum physics and relativity are incompatible. Something is going to have to give sooner or later. Can you imagine the celebration when that is sorted out, well for some people at least!
Best wishes,
Alan