The Divine Proportion, a funeral sermon

Ephesians 2:20-22 New Revised Standard Version (NRSV)

20 built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the cornerstone.[a] 21 In him the whole structure is joined together and grows into a holy temple in the Lord; 22 in whom you also are built together spiritually[b] into a dwelling place for God.

The Golden ratio is a special number found by dividing a line into two parts so that the longer part divided by the smaller part is also equal to the whole length divided by the longer part. It is often symbolized using phi, after the 21st letter of the Greek alphabet. In an equation form, it looks like this:

a/b = (a+b)/a = 1.6180339887498948420 …

If you have no idea what I am talking about, we are in good company.  The numbers and the ratios, often called Divine proportion, make no sense to me when they are explained in mathematical jargon.  

However, I do know that Leonardo DaVinci created many drawings and paintings that all exhibit this golden ratio.   He sketched out images of the human body that show perfect proportion.  

Proportion that shows that 

the distance from the elbow to the tip of the hand is a quarter of the height of a person

the distance from the elbow to the armpit is one-eighth of the height of a person

the length of the hand is one-tenth of the height of a person.

]I know you are all taking a sly look at your forearm and hand right now. 

The Golden Ratio assumes that everything in nature is proportioned as a part of God’s design.  The petals on a flower are placed  the distance of  the golden radio apart to allow for optimal sun exposure.

The seed pod on a pine cone is placed in a spiral direction with each layer of the cone matching the numbers in the golden ratio.

Seashells, hurricanes, human faces, starfish, ants, honeybees.  They all exhibit this golden ratio.  The divine proportion.

I imagine that as Ed, a craftsman at heart and his Grace friends John van Buren and Klaus Fullerborn were repairing houses in New Orleans or building closets for Broad Street Ministry, that they measured their angles and checked their  proportions and knew the working principles of where to put the screws in the drywall or how to insure that a roof truss would connect properly to the frame of the house.  I believe that they knew that ratio and proportion matter.  

Though I never met Ed, it feels as though his life was ordered by these divine principles, these perfect ratios.  A life marked by an almost 59 year marriage to his high school sweetheart, a life that balanced loving children and  grandchildren, great friends, a strong and committed heart for service and an unmatched work ethic.  Perhaps, I hear,  a little unbalanced on the work side of things!

In Ephesians 2, Paul tells us that the believers have laid a foundation  of faith but with any building, it is by the cornerstone that all other stones will be laid.  

In our homes, in our work, in our  service, in our lives, Christ is the cornerstone, the first stone by which all other stones must be laid.  

The years that Ed studied scripture with the Ball and Chainers here at Grace, the servant work that he did of providing x-ray machines and transformers and necessities to those in need in Mexico.  The love and care that fueled his desire for those without to have what they needed.  The tireless devotion to God and family. 

These items, ordered and planned and carefully, painstakingly perfected,  all stem back to the love that Christ had for Ed and for Ed’s knowledge that Jesus was the basis upon all life that was built.  

Just as Ephesians tells us all life must be built on the cornerstone, we can rest knowing that this starting point, this beginning can change everything that is built afterward.  

There were times when Ed knew that things were not as he had hoped, when to him it felt as if life was out of proportion.  When it was time to sell the house, to turn over the business, when Carol dealt with health concerns.  Times when it felt like all of the petals on the flower weren’t lined up perfectly, when life seemed out of order.  

Perhaps you have those  moments in your own life right now.  

The order of the universe is divine.  The ratio is golden.  We cannot change the length between our elbow and our wrist, but we can change what we order our lives around. What stone comes first in your life?  What is the basis for how you orient your days?  

The Golden ratio is a special number found by dividing a line into two parts so that the longer part divided by the smaller part is also equal to the whole length divided by the longer part. It is often symbolized using phi, after the 21st letter of the Greek alphabet. In an equation form, it looks like this:

a/b = (a+b)/a = 1.6180339887498948420 …

Yes, this is a complex math equation for the order of the universe, but don’t let that math get you down.

Because In reality, the order is focused on beauty.  

The pieces of Ed’s life were ordered in such a way that the beauty we see now, the beauty of your family, the beauty of his service to others, the beauty of a long, committed marriage, the beauty of a peaceful end to a well lived life, these are perfectly ordered proportions that God has given you as his great and wonderful gift.  

Built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus himself being the cornerstone, in whom the whole structure, being joined together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord. In him you also are being built together into a dwelling place for God by the Spirit.