(Accompanied by an operating single and double pendulum. A homemade one though, not as nice as the ones below!)
You all know what a pendulum is. It is a simple steady and absolutely predictable device. A pendulum swings back and forth, back and forth with clockwork precision. If you know your physics well you know that a pendulum swinging gently exhibits simple harmonic motion. The equations that predict it are very simple.
I have a clock from the late 1800’s with a pendulum. There is a screw at the bottom of the pendulum that adjusts its length. The clock’s instructions say that ¼ turn of the screw will increase or decrease the clock’s speed by 15 seconds per day. Despite the old technology and over a century’s worth of wear that clock doesn’t do too bad head-to-head with a modern quartz clock movement. And it will probably easily run for another century. Good luck getting quartz action to do that!
Even if you take a pendulum and swing it wildly it is still highly predictable. The formulas are a more complicated than those of simple harmonic motion, but it is still easily analyzed mathematically. Yes, pendulums are remarkable for their simplicity and predictability.
But what about a “double pendulum”? What happens if you add just one more moving piece?
Suddenly the whole thing goes to chaos. What was once predictable has now become wildly unstable. It is theoretically possible to use mathematical equations to predict a double pendulum, but you need a serious amount of computing power to be able to do it! And, even the most miniscule variation in the inputs can lead to dramatically different results. I have heard that the variations are so miniscule that even with precision equipment in laboratory conditions it is impossible to get the inputs precise enough to make a double pendulum predictable.
What happens then if we add a third, fourth, or fifth pendulum? We are getting into the area of chaos theory and there is just no predictability whatsoever. I know the Rochester Museum and Science Center has a chaotic pendulum. I think there are like four arms to it. The last I was there it was in the lobby of the planetarium. If you’ve never done it, give it a spin sometime you’re there. It is instant chaos!
If life were like a simple pendulum everything would be easy. Good things would happen for good work. Bad things would happen for bad work. There would be control. Sometimes when trends come and go or philosophies rise and fall people say it is like a pendulum and that if you wait long enough things will eventually swing back. It’s a nice thought. Sometimes it does happen. But would that life actually did work that way!
But life is like a pendulum with thousands, or millions, or probably even billions of moving pieces! Good luck predicting it, let alone controlling it!
For most of us, we live in a fairly stable and predictable society. We are not living in a place like Afghanistan or Ukraine. We are also not living in an area prone to wildfires or floods or tornadoes. Even so, I think we’d all like to feel like we have more control of life than we currently do. And so, life itself can become a source of constant anxiety. If people’s social media posts are any indication, a lot of people are feeling anxious and constantly drained. The chaos of the pandemic certainly hasn’t helped.
God has made this world wonderfully complex. But it can also feel incredibly scary and unpredictable. For many people each and every day is an exhausting ordeal trying to stay ahead of the chaos. They desperately want stability and a sense of peace.
At the birth of Jesus the angels announced to the shepherds, “Glory to God in the highest heaven, and on earth peace among those whom he favors.” (Luke 2:14) In today’s gospel reading we’re at the other end of the story, the evening of the resurrection. This is Jesus’ first appearance to the disciples. And his very first words to them are, “Peace be with you.”
The word “peace” can mean many things. In the Bible it generally means good wishes and friendly interactions. Peace between God and humanity is certainly a big thing! In a world where so much is unstable and chaotic it is an enormous relief to be at peace with God.
It is a huge statement of forgiveness that Jesus greets his disciples on that Easter evening with peace. They certainly didn’t deserve it! Jesus could have very justly said, “I told you so!” Or, “Where were you when I needed you most?” “You bunch of weak minded, weak willed, weak faithed cowards! You abandoned me the first moment things didn’t look good. None of you stuck with me, not even a bit! You are my closest followers, but one betrayed me, one denied me, and the rest of you fled in fear. Why should I be nice to you?”
Yes, all of these statements would have been well deserved.
But Jesus’ opening words are, “Peace be with you.” And then he goes on to calm their fears. He acknowledges their doubts and insecurities. He lets them see him and touch him. He asks for something to eat. They offer him some broiled fish, which proves that he is real flesh and blood. (Although in the resurrection reality I’m hoping for something like a bacon cheeseburger or a hot fudge sundae. Not broiled fish!)
Then he explains things to them. These were things that were mysteries to them beforehand. Then again, there was no way they could understand the crucifixion and resurrection without having experienced it. There was just no way they could believe that God would work redemption through innocent dying. That is the absolute opposite of justice; which is precisely the point.
The central point remains peace. God does not want to be at war with His creatures, even if they are weak and fickle. The world may be chaotic, unpredictable, and anxiety producing. There are an infinite number of moving pieces. But God sees all and knows all. Perhaps God does not control all, at least not in the sense of constantly overriding the natural dynamics of physics, but God does interact with all.
God is our friend in all of this.
God is our partner and our companion.
God, our true hope and salvation, is at peace with us.
God seeks to be at peace with us and to equip us even as we fail miserably. That’s exactly what was happening between Jesus and the disciples.
It is significant to note that it is in the midst of the chaos and the confusion that Jesus empowers his disciples. Jesus does not calm the chaos for them. They need to still live in it. But they have God as a friend in it. God will be with them.
God’s peace is with us always, even if all of life feels like chaos. God’s peace is greater than any chaos that can ever form. We can work and play and rest securely in that.
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