Hymn of the Universe

A Sermon Preached At Ely Cathedral on the Feast of Christ the King, 25^th November, 2018 

Readings: Daniel 7:9-10, 13-14, Revelation 1.4b-8, John 18:33-37

Title: The Hymn of the Universe

There was once a sound of the most unimaginable purity, a sound of the most staggering clarity and beauty- a sound of the most perfect truth. 

(A single note sounds from the organ)

The sound was there before anything else, the first of all things, a perfect singularity. 

From the resonance of the sound all manner of things came into being-  dust and matter emanated from its core, stars were flung into space, galaxies spun into position, supernova were thrown into existence and the embryos of billions of planets were set on their course.  

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            (There are sparkles of notes glimmering from the organ)

The sound expanded. The sound was persistent, it did not flicker, or waver, it never stopped even for a nano-second, whatever that might mean in a universe without measure. As time came into existence the sound evolved, it wasn’t just a sound anymore it was a note- as clear as the day. 

            (The sound gets louder, other notes join in)

Cosmologists, and those who study these things say the note is in fact a B flat- 57 octaves below middle C. 

            (The lowest note on the organ is played, it rumbles around the cathedral)

The universe was humming from the very beginning and began to gather other notes until the notes became music. 

            (The organist improvises, but beneath everything is the one note)

In a corner of this universe, a rocky globe was growing into its vocation. It was gathering speed and spinning through space- it was battered and bruised by colliding comets and asteroids. It was stretched and shaped, and cracked, and moulded. It was waking from its slumber as it circled the brightest of lights, its cold and icy centre was melting. 

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On its surface there was a stream of fire, molten lava and explosions, vast plates were being formed and from these growing pains there came something of the likeness of land and sea, a crystal river, the water of life from which life emerged. 

            (The Organ gets a little louder and louder)

With all the noise it was difficult to hear anything, but if you listened carefully there was that note, clear and bright and true at the foundation of all things.   

The symphony of creation itself was taking shape and everything that was created had the capacity to echo the sound of the most perfect truth, the song of the universe, which was from the beginning.

But the sound needed a voice- the music was yearning to be embodied in flesh and blood and at last- into this bundle of life came song, in something like the sound of a crying baby. It was a song of the most imaginable purity, the most staggering clarity- the sound of the most perfect truth. 

            (The Music stops)

Over two thousand years ago there was a conversation- a conversation after a betrayal, which would turn the world on its axis.  A conversation to reveal the truth which had been humming in the universe from its inception.  

The proud and powerful of this earth had come to think that they had the first and the last word in everything, they lauded themselves and sat on their thrones, they pronounced judgement without wisdom and without mercy and they thought they were gods. They couldn’t hear the sound of the universe, they couldn’t hear its truth- because their ears were full of their own importance.  But remember, the sound had become a voice and the voice now spoke from human lips. 

The voice said ‘My Kingdom is not from this world’. 

‘So you are a king?’ Pilate asked him. 

Jesus answered ‘You say that I am a king. For this I was born, and for this I came into the world, to testify to the truth. Everyone who belongs to the truth, listens to my voice’. 

What kind of king was this? 

Rulers, and principalities and powers would be flawed by him. He would burst the bubble of all small minded pomp. With clarity he would interrogate those who put their faith in riches and those who trampled on the innocent. 

But those with ears to hear would be exalted; the humble, the weak, the poor, the downcast, the small, they could hear his voice and they began to sing. Even those who were thought to be dead would hear him calling and walk out of their tombs. His kingdom, was not of this world; his kingdom was changing the world and its assumptions forever. The pure sound of his voice was able to crack the glass hearts of those whose universe had shrunk to the size of their own self.

But the conversation had consequences, and this strange king was nailed to a cross and wore a crown of thorns. 

What kind of king was this? 

He was more like lamb led to the slaughter. With the sound of each nail being hammered through his flesh into wood, the universe trembled, the earth began to shake and the sky turned black.  

(A single note sounds from the organ)

Early in the morning, just before dawn as the birds sang innocently in the garden, a sound could be heard. 

A sound so pure, and clear and true it was unmistakable. The sound had never stopped. It wasn’t just a sound, it was a note as clear as the day, something of the likeness of a B flat but we can’t be sure, and then it was a voice, and then it was a song and then the whole universe joined in this hymn of praise.

The song continued. It continues still. Can you hear it? 

            (The organist improvises)

One day, the day we are all waiting for, this king, not of this world, will come again with the clouds of heaven and all peoples and languages and nations will behold, every eye shall see him and they will hear his voice, they will join in with his song, they will be swept up by his music. With majesty like no other he is the one who was, and who is, and who is to come. 

The ancient one, forever made new, will take to his throne and a stream of fire will flow from his presence, burning up injustice, and hatred and sin and his kingship shall never be destroyed. ‘So it is to be’, creation sings. Amen and Amen. 

Christ is King, not only of our hearts, not only in our worship, not only in the church, not only of this world. Christ is King of the Universe, over all things, in all things, above all things. The ground of our being. The song that never stops. The truth above all truths who comes to dwell with us, so in this feast, we can hold the universe in our hands, and taste and see. 

Suffer us not to make our vision of his power and glory too small. 

Christ is the power beyond all power, the glory of all glories, the love of all loves, the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end- and we and the whole created order are called to worship at his feet. 

So it is to be. Amen and Amen. 

            (The improvisation draws to a close into a single note- a sound which was from the beginning)

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