The Center of the Universe

Experiencing the Copernican Revolution of Christianity

08/08/2018

Matthew 15: 21-28 At that time Jesus withdrew to the region of Tyre and Sidon. And behold, a Canaanite woman of that district came and called out, "Have pity on me, Lord, Son of David! My daughter is tormented by a demon." But he did not say a word in answer to her. His disciples came and asked him, "Send her away, for she keeps calling out after us." He said in reply, "I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel." But the woman came and did him homage, saying, "Lord, help me." He said in reply, "It is not right to take the food of the children and throw it to the dogs." She said, "Please, Lord, for even the dogs eat the scraps that fall from the table of their masters." Then Jesus said to her in reply, "O woman, great is your faith! Let it be done for you as you wish." And her daughter was healed from that hour.

What is at the center of the universe? Ancient astronomy proposed by Ptolemy argued the earth was at the center and all other planetary bodies revolved around it.  That was the geocentric view. But thanks to the Copernican Revolution of the 16th century, modern astronomy asserts the so-called heliocentric view, placing the sun at the center while the earth is relegated to one of the many planets that revolves around it. The eponymous Copernican Revolution is credited to one man, but it was matured and magnified by the gumption of Galileo and culminated and capped off by the inimitable Isaac Newton. The Copernican Revolution is sometimes used synonymously with the phrase “a paradigm shift,” a complete change of orientation and world-view. In the prior paradigm, we assume one thing is at the center of the universe (the earth), with the new paradigm we realize another thing is at the center of the universe (the sun).

I would suggest to you that a Copernican Revolution of sorts occurs not only in understanding the cosmos, but also in understanding Christianity. As our Christianity matures we no longer place ourselves at the center of our universe, and expect others to revolve around us. Rather, we place God and neighbor at the center, and we consequently revolve around others, and serve others. This is one goal we work for at Trinity: that our students would not make themselves the center of the universe – not easy for a teenager! – but rather put God and others at the center. We pray in these three years of junior high our students will experience a Copernican Revolution in their Christianity.

I hope this doesn’t sound irreverent, or worse heretical, but Jesus, too, seems to experience his own personal Copernican Revolution in the gospel. His mission, which he repeats and insists, is to the House of Israel, meaning he is not primarily preaching to the pagans, the non-Jews. This may help explain Jesus’ apparent rebuff to the Canaanite woman who begged Jesus to cure her daughter tormented by a demon. In the moment before she arrived, if we had asked Jesus, “Who is at the center of your universe?” he would undoubtedly have answered: “the Chosen People, Israel.” But then the Canaanite woman persists in her petition and the paradigm shift commences. Jesus stops, look at her and says, “O woman, great is your faith! Let it be done for you as you wish.” Now, someone new, a non-believer, stands at the center of Jesus’ universe. Romano Guardini put it beautifully, writing: “It was among the heathen that Jesus found open souls and fresh, ready hearts. Only too often, ancient religious tradition, long-training, and hard and fast usage stamp the ground hard” (meaning the Jews) (The Lord, 117).

When we look closely, you discover that every parable of Jesus also involves a paradigm shift, challenging the more popular perspective. We might take as an easy example the parable of the lost sheep. Jesus teaches in Luke 15 that the good shepherd leaves the 99 in search of the one lost sheep. That was a very surprising and even shocking conclusion. The parable proposes the question: what is at the center of your universe? Most of us would answer: cut your losses and hang on to the 99 good sheep. The good shepherd, however, replies: no, the lost sheep should stand at the center of the universe. The Copernican Revolution of Christianity was a paradigm shift Jesus experienced by putting the Canaanite woman at the center of his universe and so must all his followers.

As we stand on the threshold of a new academic year, can I invite you to a kind of Copernican Revolution here at Trinity? We are blessed with 230 students this year, which is up by 38 from four years ago when we had 192 students. That’s thanks in no small part to your great teaching! In every class you find students who are like the 99 sheep: well-behaved, hard-working, gregarious and come from caring families. But in each class you also find a few lost sheep: the trouble-makers, the introverted, the awkward, the academically challenged, and hail from broken families. May I suggest that you find the lost sheep in your class and put them at the center of your academic universe?

My first pastor, Msgr. Gaston Hebert – who taught cooking at Catholic High School – once told me he always took a special interest and loved the troubled students. That surprised me. I assumed we should focus on the studious and successful students. It was a moment of my own Copernican Revolution, maybe a little like Jesus had with the Canaanite woman. Today I’m asking each of you to be especially solicitous and take a special interest and to love the troubled students. That’s what Jesus would do.

What is at the center of your universe? That is not an idle question to tickle the minds of theoretical physicists. It is an urgent question for every Christian, and for every teacher here at Trinity Junior High. The sooner we realize that God and neighbor should stand at the center of the universe, the wiser we will be, and the more mature our Christianity.

Praised be Jesus Christ!