The Bigger Picture

I explained before that I love the movie Interstellar. I used in Confirmation classes when I was working in parishes. The reason is simple. The movie is a dramatization of Einstein's theory of relativity. It explains realities of the laws of physics, that one hundred years ago would be completely unknown, all in a story form.

The key factor in the movie is time. Earthly time moves at a different speed than those characters who are in various places in space. Why it is so important in religious education is that the movie is showing us that what we perceive around us is not fully correct. There are other forces at work through time and gravity that change what we felt was unchangeable and show us something that we thought was a constant to be variable.

If you are familiar with Einstein's theories, to sum them up in a sentence does not do them justice. Time varies depending on speed and other factors. Someone off the planet going one speed experiences time differently than someone on the planet. So, if people go to Mars, it will be interesting to understand how they are affected. Maybe they won't be, maybe they will. However, it is important to realize our universe is bigger than our ability to comprehend it.

Now, two thousand years ago, St. Paul gave us a similar understanding. Basically, what he is saying is that we are not created beings living in a created world, but we are being created and the world around us is being created as well.

Think of this, which was true. Many believed the Roman Empire was eternal but Peter and Paul when they were in prison Rome knew that Rome's existence was finite. There would come a time that the Roman Empire would cease to exist and all the glory of Rome would be gone. I do not know if the Romans understood this in the time of Peter and Paul but we understand it now. They too understood it.

We live in a universe that is in the midst of its process of creation and we too are part of that process. This is why we see good things around us but bad things as well. This is all part of the process of God's creation. This is why there is suffering and pain in the midst of joy and happiness. Paul is teaching us that this process is one of redemption. He calls us to choose to be part of that which is the fullness of creation in God. It is happening around us. Trust in the process but know that we are part of it and keep your eyes on Christ.

Once we understand this, then we see the world around us differently. We understand the universe is not redeemed, it is being redeemed. It is not complete, it is being completed and we are all in that process.

If you were to go to the Grand Canyon when the Colorado River started flowing, you would see nothing more than a river flowing on the Earth. Millenia later, we see that whole Grand Canyon formed slowly and the see the fruit of it today. It is still being created but it is a virtually invisible process. We can see the results but not the process.

Paul is remind us of the same in what is around us. We as a human race are witnessing the process of God's creation around us and the apostle is teaching us to believe in it and know that is happening and trust in it. He calls us to be a part of it but reminds us that we trust in it happening but we cannot see it.

We are in the midst of the 250th Anniversary of our country. The founding fathers had no idea what this country would look like at this time. They had no idea of what the world would look like or even the what society would look like. However, here it is. We are in the midst of a world they could not even imagine at their time. However, it is here now.

St. Paul knew that humanity is in the process of creation. He probably did not understand what it would look like but he told us to trust the process.

One of the most fascinating verses in the Bible is one where we learn that Jesus came at the fullness of time. This means he came, when humanity had developed to the point that he could come. If he came too early no one would understand. There was an evolutionary process that had to happen from creation to Moses, from Moses to Jesus before Jesus could come. The Bible teaches us that the evolutionary process continues and it will culminate in the return of Jesus at the next level of time. You are I are witnesses to that truth and that is our role. Which means we have a witness not to a moral code or to a religion but to a creative process that continues around us. This is why what we do is important and St. Paul explains that to us.

Sometimes, we can get disappointed, frustrated, doubtful and more. However, when we stop and realize God is creating our world still, we can understand that we just cannot see what is happening but it is happening and trust in God's work on it. This is why our daily prayer is essential because it helps us understand more than the eye can see. Testifying to that truth is the role we received at our Baptism.

Fr. Robert J Carr is chaplain for two hospitals in Brockton, Massachusetts

His Patreon Page is patreon.com/catholicaudiomedia

He podcasts at Catholic Audio Media Podcast |

He is the author of several books including: Christ in Your Humanity