Daily Reading for August 22
In the early years of the twentieth century it was widely assumed that eventually we would discover the explanation for the workings of the universe and its origins. Now, in the early years of the twenty-first, we have rediscovered the humbling, ancient truth—that we live in a fathomless and transcendent mystery.
By an inexplicable process, we were brought into life from stardust. Daily it provides us with all the wonders and challenges of existence: spring breezes, loyalty, wildflowers, curiosity, mountains, consciousness, poems, friendship, tragedy, laughter, fear, trust, joy, death, birth, clouds, love, sexuality, tigers, songbirds, struggle, gain, loss, integrity, duplicity, oceans, economic forces, concern, trees, doubt, and faith—in short, with all that is. And when we look deep inside ourselves to discover what we are, we find that the answer to that question is as much an unsolved puzzle as the origin of the universe.
The world in which we live is infinite in every direction and in time. Our universe has no edge, yet the notion of an area without a boundary is inconceivable. We have no answer to such questions as: Why does anything exist at all? Scientists may refer to reality, theologians may refer to God, but they speak of the same enigma.
From A Prayer Book for the 21st Century by John McQuiston II. Copyright © 2004. Used by permission of Morehouse Publishing, Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. www.morehousepublishing.com