Nothing
Magnum mysterium
Nothing is not nothing
From nothing comes something
From something comes beginning.

These are part of the opening words of a new composition called Origins of the Universe, of Life, of Species, of Humanity by evolutionary geneticist Jenny Graves, poet Leigh Hay and Australian composer Nicholas Buc.  Origins was performed by the Heidelberg Choral Society and full orchestra and soloists last Tuesday evening 18 July at the Melbourne Recital Centre.  It was billed as “a breathtaking libretto inspired by cosmology, evolution, genetics and anthropology describes our origins from the Big Bang to the emergence of humanity.”

I attended the premier and found it inspiring. As a Christian and a theologian, I am used to working with biblical text that reflects on the origins of our world, of humankind and of the call of human beings to reflect the benevolent Creator who Christians claim brought all that lives to life.  The Judeo-Christian tradition continues to inspire many of us to care for the earth, to respect the inalienable dignity of every human person, and to be accountable for the lives we live and the way we leave our planet.  Recalling this very tradition, Pope Francis reminded us in his 2015 Encyclical, Laudato Si, that “[we] have forgotten that we ourselves are dust of the earth (cf. Gen 2:7); our very bodies are made up of her elements, we breathe her air and we receive life and refreshment from her water” (Laudato Si No 2).  He goes on to remind us of our responsibilities to the earth and its people.

Jenny Graves’ libretto also reflects on the potential of human beings to be destructive of our planet but also of our great capacity to heal, repair and understand our place in the universe.  At the end of Origins, Graves gives voice to the chorus who respond to some of the despairing questions in relation to humanity’s future.  These four verses below (taken from the libretto provided in the program) express the hope that she finds.

But man is the philosopher
historian, sociologist –
man the anthropologist
can devise new rules for living

But man is the ecologist
the keeper and protector
of our planet and humanity
to love nature we must know it

But man is the geneticist
Genes of our children, sleeping,
offer the promise
of immortality

But man the astronomer,
Channels our wonder and awe
into understanding that
we are made of stardust

Origins was created to put into poetry and music the rich and unfolding tradition of how various scientific disciplines understand the world, its beginning and its evolution.  It explores the Big Bang, the discovery of DNA, it covers Darwin, evolution, survival of the fittest and much more.  Often science and religion are pitted against each other in popular media.  While Origins makes no claims about a transcendent God at all, as a Christian I found it an incredibly spiritual experience.  The poetry and music took me deeper into the beauty of the scientific models and modes of understanding and explaining the world in which we live.

As a priest and theologian I am interested in truth and beauty.  Origins provided an explosion of both.

By Fr Brendan Reed