Third Sunday in Advent - color pink   

Unbelief

Life must be lonely for those who don't know Jesus Christ. What makes this worse, is that the brightest and best among us find it easier to discount and discredit God altogether. That accounts for today's homily. I call it "Mascons."

Mascons. That’s what scientists call areas of higher-than-normal gravity on the moon. Mascons are formed, they say, when an asteroid or other object strikes the moon’s surface in an area where the crust is thin, allowing shock waves to radiate to the core. The molten core, they say, then sends material to the surface, material so hot that it takes millions of years to cool.

What’s wrong with this hypotheses? Well, these same scientists who use a molten core as their rationale for mascon formation, are the same people who tell us that the moon was formed by the accretion and eventual compacting of dust and debris spewed out into space after a large asteroid pummeled the earth.

So how does an aggregate of cold matter get a molten interior? Both of these theses can’t be right. One disallows the other. It is far easier to believe that God made the moon, along with everything else in heaven and earth. But in the mind of science, the idea of creation has no place.

Constantine’s Vision

Roman emperor Constantine was responsible for bringing the Roman world to Christianity. On the eve of a major battle, Constantine saw a flaming cross in the sky, along with the legend, in Latin, “In Hoc Signo Vinces,” which means, “In this sign, conquer.”

Constantine directed his troops to paint crosses on their shields. They won the battle, Rome became Christian and the cross and the legend, In Hoc Signo Vinces have become two lasting signs of the Christian faith.

Modern dreamers, scientists, now conclude that a comet hit the earth and that was what Constantine saw. Constantine then, they say, concluded that the comet was a divine messenger. Now consider this. How many comets come emblazoned with the words, “In Hoc Signo Vinces?”

Reconciling science with religion continues to be a difficult and often impossible task. But it needn't be so. True science requires verifiable and repeatable experiments, experiments that are carried out in the exact same way every time and yield the same results every time. But theories, such as those few I have offered here, are not science, they are only theories, ideas. 

As an amatuer astronomer, I love watching the heavens with my telescopes. I read scads of magazine articles on astronomy and also check out interesting data online. And yet I still have my faith. I read fantastic-sounding theories of physics and wonder how the human mind can even conceive of such things. Multi-dimensions, other universes and so on. 

But far-flung theories do not dominate science. True science is a God-given process and it has helped to elevate our standard of living and even our length of life, to previously-unheard of levels. 

So believe in God and in his son, Jesus Christ. And accept science for what it is, an ongoing process of searching. Some day, all will find the truth and that day will be when Christ returns to claim his kingdom on earth.