The Divine Universe

Almost the earliest indicators of the presence of Homo sapiens are religious artefacts; cave paintings, clay or stone images, standing stones or burial sites. What makes us human, even more certainly than toolmaking, is a sense of the numinous, a sense that has impelled us to objectify and represent the invisible entities or energies that evoke it. We speak of supernatural powers, but I am suspicious of the word ‘supernatural’. I believe that all things, including the numinous, the invisible and objects of our imagination, are part of nature; but not all are accessible to the technologies of science.

Sources of numinous experience have been objectified down the ages through material objects, a tree, an animal, a mountain, a particular location, or a work of art. Heaven exists only in our imaginations but, though it is not materially realised here and now, we instinctively dream of a perfect state of being, and there are material signs that indicate its nature and its approach.

In both ancient and contemporary religion there are objects and rites that we believe invoke the power of God. Christians call them sacraments, and we call the power of God ‘grace’. Sacraments have a long history and admittedly include, especially in earlier times, a certain amount of superstition. We believe our modern world is free of superstition, and theologians have refined our ideas about the sacraments accordingly.

There are those who believe that the sacraments still pose a risk of superstition and idolatry. In the Protestant wing of Christendom the idea of any non-material or spiritual content in the sacraments is discounted. They are simply formalities by which we affirm our religious identity and commitment. This also suggests that heaven has to be conceived of as a material entity in outer space. Not everyone can appreciate the carefully refined definitions and subtle abstractions and debates of Catholic theology. The high status of the exact sciences in our culture has also brought a new scepticism. I do not think, however, that there is a conflict between science and religion in the matter of sacraments. In fact I believe contemporary science opens the door to an enhanced understanding of them.

First, we must understand that the Christian sacraments are events, not material objects. There are material objects involved in sacramental rites: water, bread, wine, oil, for example. There are also special buildings, furniture, vessels and garments. But the Eucharist is not material objects, bread and wine; it is a social event and, for many, an affirmation of the sacredness of all matter. Baptism is not about water; it is about focussing faith and sharing our optimistic belief in divine benevolence. We believe that grace, the power of God, is invoked, but the effect is too subtle and uncertain to detect in any outward way. We can only define it in metaphorical or abstract language – member of Christ’s body, child of God and heir of the kingdom of heaven.

The seven official sacraments are not the sum of what we mean by sacrament. We are taught that a sacrament is “an outward and visible sign of inward and spiritual grace”. There are many signs of grace in the world around us that are not religious rites – Medicine, Sans Frontier, the wisdom and courage of Nelson Mandela and Martin Luther King, the compassion and diligence of dedicated welfare workers, the fortitude and cheerfulness of those who suffer great pain or hardship, the laughter of children who are in daily danger of death. In the Scriptures we read of the supreme sacramental event of Jesus’ life, death and resurrection. In all this we can see the wisdom and love, the generosity, the steadfastness and the limitless patience of God.

But are we only to recognise the admirable and attractive things? There is conflict and violence at every level of nature, from galaxies colliding and stars exploding, to predatory violence between animals, including humans, and viruses struggling to prosper, causing disease and death. Are these signs of heaven or a benign God?

In the perfect or idealised sense of heaven and God, they are not direct signs. But how perfect is our understanding of perfection? Everywhere are signs of a process, a process from chaos to order in which death and rebirth are essential elements. They indicate change, evolution that points in the direction of perfect order and harmony, that we cannot even imagine. The ultimate sacrament is the universe. The universe is a miracle, a sign. The universe is not just a finite material object; it is an outward and visible sign of divine creativity, but also of a divine discontent, the divine will that nature should perfectly express God’s perfect being. It is an event, a process, a work in progress, like a growing child in tutelage.

More than any human parent, God lets the child learn by experience. At every stage the universe gains information and order from its past and becomes more mature and aware of itself. As Teilhard de Chardin put it, “God makes things make themselves”. Such wisdom, such generosity, such patience is greater than that of any human parents. Stress and anxiety compel us at times to intervene by force majeure.

Many people think that God does that, especially when something extraordinary happens. Although it is on the fringe of Christian orthodoxy, I personally think that is an illusion. It is quite reasonable to thank God when something good happens, and prayer certainly works, but it doesn’t work in a magical way. Jesus emphasised this many times: “Your faith has made you whole.” It is a case of things making themselves. Prayer is a focus of the will, a focus of desire and intention that is particularly powerful when it is shared by a group of people. It invokes an energy that has only recently been a subject of scientific inquiry. The data so far is interesting but inconclusive. But science is a work in progress and, anyway, we don’t need scientific approval for everything we believe!

Seen as a sacrament, the universe is rich in wisdom and beauty. If we are willing to see, it offers an amazingly deep and intimate glimpse of what God is and does. It evokes a sense of the numinous. It inspires worship. In toto it is the realm of heaven.

I am not suggesting that we abandon our homely sacraments. Each expresses and nurtures something precious in our lives and in our relationship with God. But I do suggest that we widen our notion of what we mean by sacrament.