Homily

I go into a restaurant and the hostess greets me: “How many for dinner?’ “Two,” I answer. “Awesome,” she replies. We are seated and a few minutes later our server comes over. “What would you like to drink?” “I’ll have an IPA.” “Awesome,” he says. “And what would you like to eat?” “I’ll have the cheeseburger.” “Awesome. And would you like fries?” “Yes, please.” “Awesome” says he.

I have conceded that the word “awesome” is totally ruined for probably at least the next twenty years or so. Something or someone who is ‘awesome” is something or someone that fills you with “awe” and awe is defined as “an overwhelming feeling of reverence, admiration, fear, etc., produced by something which is grand, sublime, extremely powerful, or the like, such as to be in awe of God.” I don’t believe that my choice of beverage actually reaches to the heights that can be described as awesome.

Last week a thought came into my head (it was one of three thoughts I had last week) and I wondered if anyone has ever calculated how many grains of sand there are on the earth, including the beaches and deserts around the globe. As it turns out, a group of researchers from the University of Hawaii actually did a study to try and determine how many grains of sand there are on the earth. Obviously, this is a huge guess, but trying to be as scientific as possible, they ended up with the figure that there are 7.5 x 10¹⁸ grains of sand on earth. That means 7.5 with eighteen zeros after it. Eighteen zeros! Now that staggering amount of numbers is truly difficult to comprehend. It gets a lot closer to the idea of awesome than French fries.

I looked up how many stars astronomers believe exist in the known universe. It is estimated that are at least 5 x 10²¹, or 5 with 21 zeroes after it. That’s 3 more zeros than the number of sand particles on earth, and stars are a whole lot bigger than grains of sand. That is even closer to awesome, just to try and contemplate how huge a number of stars that is, spread out over such mind-boggling distances. And, finally I learned something else that really impressed me even more. There are more molecules in one cubic inch of water than there are stars in the universe. 6 x 10²³ or a 6 with 23 zeros following. It. There are 120 times more molecules in a cubic inch of water than there are stars in the visible universe. That’s even closer to awesome.

I don’t suspect that way too many people are thinking about “awesome” for Christmas, but I ask you to consider the words of St. Gregory the Theologian. He wrote:

“The very Son of God, older than the ages, the invisible, the incomprehensible, the incorporeal, the beginning of beginning, the light of light, the fountain of life and immortality, … the perfect likeness, the definition and word of the Father: he it is who comes to his own image and takes our nature for the good of our nature, and unites himself to an intelligent soul for the good of my soul, to purify like by like. He takes to himself all that is human, except for sin. He comes forth as God, in the human nature he has taken, one being, made of two contrary elements, flesh and spirit. Spirit gave divinity, flesh received it.

“He who makes rich is made poor; he takes on the poverty of my flesh, that I may gain the riches of his divinity. He who is full is made empty; he is emptied for a brief space of his glory, that I may share in his fullness. What is this wealth of goodness? What is this mystery that surrounds me? I received the likeness of God, but failed to keep it. He takes on my flesh, to bring salvation to the image, immortality to the flesh. He enters into a second union with us, a union far more wonderful than the first (in the garden of Eden.)”

My friends, this is the meaning of awesome. This tremendous love of God for each and every one of you. Let us spend some time this Christmas thinking and pondering and being joyful over this great love for us. God becomes a man, that we might partake of divine life. That is indeed awesome.

While I believe at some point in the future it might actually be possible for scientists to count every grain of sand, and number every star in the universe, the great mystery of the love of God for us, shown in His holy incarnation will never be within our power to fully understand. Still, let us think on it to understand as much as we can this feastday. May the glory of the Incarnation grab you and lift you up this day, and may you be blessed by Him Who alone is truly awesome.