Newton's Law

I am one of those students who didn’t really like science. I will read any book except for a science textbook - not even science fiction. I will not watch a sci-fi movie because, like a science book, it is a little too winding and complicated for my little head. But should you give me any other book, I will consume it with all pleasure. If I do not like science stuff, as I claim, why am I even talking about Newton’s law? What do I know about it?

I didn’t know much about Newton’s Law until someone said something about it the other day. They said that just like an object wouldn’t move if no outside force or pressure is applied to it, in that same way we stay stagnant if no outside influence shapes the way we approach life.

I then decided to do some reading on Newton’s Law, and so I checked Wikipedia. This is what I found: “Newton's First Law of Motion states that an object in motion tends to stay in motion unless an external force acts upon it. Similarly, if the object is at rest, it will remain unless an unbalanced force acts upon it. Newton's First Law of Motion is also known as the Law of Inertia.” "Interesting," I said to myself.

This law basically makes the point that since objects are predictable, they will remain as-is until some external action is exerted on them. This is a weird example to use, but a few years ago, a drunk driver drove through our churchyard, dislocating some of the headstones of our beloved parishioners. Newton will argue that, but for the drunk driver (external force) driving through the churchyard, the headstones (objects) wouldn’t have been dislocated a few feet from where they have been since they were first erected. The dislocation of the headstones was caused by the external force from the car.

Reflecting on this law reminded me of a parable of Jesus - it is one of my favorites. It is the Parable of the Talents:

“For it will be like a man going on a journey, who called his servants and entrusted to them his property. To one he gave five talents, to another two, to another one, to each according to his ability. Then he went away.  He who had received the five talents went at once and traded with them, and he made five talents more. So also he who had the two talents made two talents more. But he who had received the one talent went and dug in the ground and hid his master's money. Now after a long time the master of those servants came and settled accounts with them. And he who had received the five talents came forward, bringing five talents more, saying, ‘Master, you delivered to me five talents; here, I have made five talents more.’ His master said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant. You have been faithful over a little; I will set you over much. Enter into the joy of your master.’  And he also who had the two talents came forward, saying, ‘Master, you delivered to me two talents; here, I have made two talents more.’ His master said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant. You have been faithful over a little; I will set you over much. Enter into the joy of your master.’ He also who had received the one talent came forward, saying, ‘Master, I knew you to be a hard man, reaping where you did not sow, and gathering where you scattered no seed, so I was afraid, and I went and hid your talent in the ground. Here, you have what is yours.’ But his master answered him, ‘You wicked and slothful servant! You knew that I reap where I have not sown and gather where I scattered no seed? Then you ought to have invested my money with the bankers, and at my coming, I should have received what was my own with interest. So, take the talent from him and give it to him who has the ten talents."

This parable taps into something very special about each of us, which is that we each have varying talents that have been given to us. Our task is to act on those gifts that have been graciously given to us. The first one acted on the five talents that he received. The second acted on the two that he received. The last one got his taken away from him and given to the one who had ten. I believe that the point of the story is that we lose whatever gift we fail to employ, but there is great value in those we put to use.

If we believe that value makes all the difference in our lives, then we certainly cannot sit idle like a stone and expect to bring value to ourselves. We cannot dig a hole and put ourselves and our gifts in it - there’s no value in that, too. Each of us has a unique talent, a measure of gold that we can work on, refine, improve, polish, hone, and upgrade for our own benefit and that of others - that is how progress is made possible.

Newton was right that an object remains at rest until an external force acts upon it. Our external force is the one God who calls us into a deep, deep relationship. The beauty of this relationship is that, just like the servants who were handed talents, it has never been about force or coercion.

The goal is progress - in our own lives, in the lives of our communities, and especially in the life of our church. It is this relationship that will ensure this progress.

Epictetus once offered this advice:

“Devote the rest of your life to making progress.”

May we never lose sight of the goal of progress.

Manny+