The Most Powerful Discovery
In the sixth month, God sent the angel Gabriel to Nazareth, a town in Galilee, to a virgin pledged to be married to a man named Joseph, a descendant of David. The virgin's name was Mary. The angel went to her and said, “Greetings, you who are highly favored! The Lord is with you.” Mary was greatly troubled at his words and wondered what kind of greeting this might be. But the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, you have found favor with God. You will be with child and give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever; his kingdom will never end.” “How will this be,” Mary asked the angel, “since I am a virgin?” The angel answered, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the holy one to be born will be called the Son of God.” (Luke 1:26-32)
Surprisingly not many people actually know his name, which is kind of strange given the incredible impact he has had on our world. There have been only a handful of people who could legitimately claim they actually redirected human history. This man was one of them. His name was Enrico Fermi. It’s not exactly a household name, but it’s likely, in one way or another, he’s impacted your life. He was an Italian who won the Nobel Prize for Physics in 1938. In that same year he fled the regime of Mussolini and became the professor of physics at Columbia University in New York. A little over 66 years ago Fermi was responsible for one of the most- if not the most significant - scientific discoveries in human history. On Dec 2nd 1942 Fermi gathered with a team of scientists on a squash court beneath Stagg Stadium at the University of Chicago – before a 400 ton pile of graphite bricks impregnated with uranium pellets. At Fermi’s command the cadmium control rods were pulled out of the pile and at 3:36 PM on Dec. 2nd 1942 the first self-sustaining nuclear reaction in human history occurred. The impact of that moment has literally transformed the world, in which we live. Of the 30 million people who are hospitalized in the U.S. every year – 1/3 are treated with nuclear medicine. Consumer goods from smoke detectors to non-stick frying pans depend on nuclear technology. 1/6 of the world’s supply of the world’s electricity is supplied by nuclear reactors. All of America’s submarines and several of her massive ships are powered by nuclear energy. And let’s not forget nuclear weapons. Fermi’s discovery led to the dropping of the first two atomic bombs named “Little Boy” and “Fat Man.” Together those two weapons killed over 100,000 people and brought about the end of W.W. II. But today’s nuclear weapons would make those two bombs seem like a cap gun. Not a day goes by in our world when we don’t ponder the unimaginable consequences if that power was ever unleashed.
Fermi’s scientific discoveries undoubtedly impacted human history in a major way. But his discoveries don’t come close to the impact of a little baby born in a Bethlehem stable some 2000 years ago. Amazing isn’t it – that a little babe can have a greater impact than the world’s greatest scientists? Foretold by the prophet Isaiah seven centuries before it occurred, and now over 2,000 years after the event, the birth of Jesus in an obscure town in Palestine is still the most powerful and greatest event ever to happen in this world. A virgin girl conceiving a divine Son, a noble boyfriend who listens to angels, poor shepherds watching over their flocks by night, Eastern mystics following a star, and a stable of domesticated animals provide the backdrop for this extraordinary story. The scene was set perfectly – the divine time table ready for the one event that still perplexes the greatest minds of humanity. All the world stands amazed when a virgin gives birth to the Savior. The Incarnation of God in Jesus Christ is both a mystery and a miracle. No scientist or theologian will ever be able to explain it adequately. Why? Simply because it is miraculous. It goes beyond the understanding of science and technology. An angel comes from the Lord and proclaims that humanity and deity will be fused together in the womb of a virgin. No law of physics or biology could begin to explain it. It was something no scientist could hypothesize and no computer could predict. Quite beyond the boundaries of biology, God announces that the Son of God will be born of a virgin.
In the Incarnation, God reveals his unconceivable power and absolute sovereignty over nature. It’s a power far greater than anything understood by man. It impacts every man, woman and child on the face of the earth. It was meant to reveal to us all our need of a Savior and God’s willingness to gift us with forgiveness and grace. Without the Incarnation there would be no perfect sacrificial lamb. Without a perfect sacrificial lamb there would be no cross. Without a cross there would be no salvation. Without salvation there would be no hope. No scientific discovery can provide what Christmas delivers: Hope for the future & forgiveness of sin.
As impacting as Enrico Fermi’s work is, it was merely a discovery of the ways God had designed the universe to operate. In itself, the laws of physics are truly amazing and should cause us to be amazed at the power that set them in place. But the virgin birth is greater still. It shows us that God has the power to go beyond the physical laws that govern the universe. There are no boundaries or limits in His plan to bring salvation to us. The Incarnation proves, “Nothing is Impossible with God.” Let us proclaim His glory together this Christmas season.
In Joy,
PT
Surprisingly not many people actually know his name, which is kind of strange given the incredible impact he has had on our world. There have been only a handful of people who could legitimately claim they actually redirected human history. This man was one of them. His name was Enrico Fermi. It’s not exactly a household name, but it’s likely, in one way or another, he’s impacted your life. He was an Italian who won the Nobel Prize for Physics in 1938. In that same year he fled the regime of Mussolini and became the professor of physics at Columbia University in New York. A little over 66 years ago Fermi was responsible for one of the most- if not the most significant - scientific discoveries in human history. On Dec 2nd 1942 Fermi gathered with a team of scientists on a squash court beneath Stagg Stadium at the University of Chicago – before a 400 ton pile of graphite bricks impregnated with uranium pellets. At Fermi’s command the cadmium control rods were pulled out of the pile and at 3:36 PM on Dec. 2nd 1942 the first self-sustaining nuclear reaction in human history occurred. The impact of that moment has literally transformed the world, in which we live. Of the 30 million people who are hospitalized in the U.S. every year – 1/3 are treated with nuclear medicine. Consumer goods from smoke detectors to non-stick frying pans depend on nuclear technology. 1/6 of the world’s supply of the world’s electricity is supplied by nuclear reactors. All of America’s submarines and several of her massive ships are powered by nuclear energy. And let’s not forget nuclear weapons. Fermi’s discovery led to the dropping of the first two atomic bombs named “Little Boy” and “Fat Man.” Together those two weapons killed over 100,000 people and brought about the end of W.W. II. But today’s nuclear weapons would make those two bombs seem like a cap gun. Not a day goes by in our world when we don’t ponder the unimaginable consequences if that power was ever unleashed.
Fermi’s scientific discoveries undoubtedly impacted human history in a major way. But his discoveries don’t come close to the impact of a little baby born in a Bethlehem stable some 2000 years ago. Amazing isn’t it – that a little babe can have a greater impact than the world’s greatest scientists? Foretold by the prophet Isaiah seven centuries before it occurred, and now over 2,000 years after the event, the birth of Jesus in an obscure town in Palestine is still the most powerful and greatest event ever to happen in this world. A virgin girl conceiving a divine Son, a noble boyfriend who listens to angels, poor shepherds watching over their flocks by night, Eastern mystics following a star, and a stable of domesticated animals provide the backdrop for this extraordinary story. The scene was set perfectly – the divine time table ready for the one event that still perplexes the greatest minds of humanity. All the world stands amazed when a virgin gives birth to the Savior. The Incarnation of God in Jesus Christ is both a mystery and a miracle. No scientist or theologian will ever be able to explain it adequately. Why? Simply because it is miraculous. It goes beyond the understanding of science and technology. An angel comes from the Lord and proclaims that humanity and deity will be fused together in the womb of a virgin. No law of physics or biology could begin to explain it. It was something no scientist could hypothesize and no computer could predict. Quite beyond the boundaries of biology, God announces that the Son of God will be born of a virgin.
In the Incarnation, God reveals his unconceivable power and absolute sovereignty over nature. It’s a power far greater than anything understood by man. It impacts every man, woman and child on the face of the earth. It was meant to reveal to us all our need of a Savior and God’s willingness to gift us with forgiveness and grace. Without the Incarnation there would be no perfect sacrificial lamb. Without a perfect sacrificial lamb there would be no cross. Without a cross there would be no salvation. Without salvation there would be no hope. No scientific discovery can provide what Christmas delivers: Hope for the future & forgiveness of sin.
As impacting as Enrico Fermi’s work is, it was merely a discovery of the ways God had designed the universe to operate. In itself, the laws of physics are truly amazing and should cause us to be amazed at the power that set them in place. But the virgin birth is greater still. It shows us that God has the power to go beyond the physical laws that govern the universe. There are no boundaries or limits in His plan to bring salvation to us. The Incarnation proves, “Nothing is Impossible with God.” Let us proclaim His glory together this Christmas season.
In Joy,
PT
posted by Larry | 3:34 PM
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