From Quark to Quasar

     Considering the content of my sermon from last Sunday, I find it interesting that the lectionary’s daily reading for today, Psalm 33:1–12, sounds some of the same themes. On Sunday I talked about the creation of the world according to Genesis 1, and I discussed the meaning of the concept of dominion. Instead of interpreting dominion as self-serving rule over creation, I suggested that we take our cue from Jesus, who redefined dominion, declaring that the greatest is the one who serves, not the one who lords it over others.

     I also talked about the means by which God did the work of creating—namely, by the divine word. Psalm 33 picks up this theme: “By the word of the Lord the heavens were made and all their host by the breath of [God’s] mouth” (v. 6). A couple of verses later the psalmist writes, “Let all the earth fear the Lord; let all the inhabitants of the world stand in awe of [God], for [God] spoke, and it came to be; [God] commanded, and it stood firm” (vv. 8–9).

     The point is that God is powerful. God’s creative ability is far beyond anything we can imagine. God speaks worlds, stars, nebulae, galaxies into being, and yet God is also attentive to the tiniest quark in the trillions of atoms that make up our miraculous bodies. God cares. And God is trustworthy. We are not dealing with a divine tyrant; instead, the psalmist says, “The word of the Lord is upright, and all [God’s] work is done in faithfulness. [God] loves righteousness and justice; the earth is full of the steadfast love of the Lord” (vv. 4–5).

     That is a promise to cling to in a world where we cannot always trust those who govern us to do the right thing. Whether it is warmongering or deception, abuse of power or wholesale corruption and self-dealing, we have enough untrustworthy leaders in our country and world. It doesn’t seem to matter the party or ideology of the leader, either; Lord Acton’s dictum holds true: power corrupts, and absolute power corrupts absolutely.

     That’s why it’s so significant that God exercises power in a different way from the way Lord Acton or our political, religious, and corporate leaders understand it. God opts for power-with instead of power-over—a brand of power that uplifts and empowers the other rather than one that dominates. God is not in the dominating business.

     But God is in the judging business. God watches and takes note of what Ezekiel calls the unworthy shepherds—leaders who take advantage of their flocks for their own gain—and has a comeuppance in mind for them. The psalmist puts it this way: “The Lord brings the counsel of the nations to nothing; [God] frustrates the plans of the peoples. The counsel of the Lord stands forever, the thoughts of [God’s] heart to all generations” (vv. 10–11).

     That is something to hang our hats on. We may be at the mercy of wicked leaders for a time, but God’s counsel stands forever, and God loves righteousness and justice. Sometimes the way forward looks bleak, and the damage that our leaders cause seems irreparable, but as God’s people, as friends and disciples of Jesus, we have a hope that sees beyond the obscurity of the present into a future in which everyone acknowledges that the earth is full of the steadfast love of the Lord. A day is coming when all that is wrong will be made right, and God’s intentions will prevail from the quark to the quasar and all points between.

     God speed that day.