by Roger Lynn
December 24, 2020
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From the time of the Beginning until now the world has always been filled with Wonder. Everything was called into being by the very Word of God, so how could it be otherwise. But it is also true that for all of that time from then until now we humans have often forgotten to notice. We get busy doing whatever it is that’s right in front of us, and we stop seeing the Wonder. Sometimes, however, usually when we least expect it and are busy not noticing, the Wonder shines through so brightly that we can’t help but pay attention. And on those occasions, when we are lucky enough to be present and awake, our lives are transformed and marked by the experience forevermore. I want to tell you about one night many years ago when that happened to me.
My name is Caleb, and I come from a family of shepherds. I am old now, and no longer spend my nights out in the field with the sheep, but in my younger years, now long past, that was often where you would find me. On one of those occasions, when I was a young man, there were several of us gathered around a fire to keep warm, for there was a chill in the air. The sheep were quiet, and we were talking among ourselves. It was one of those times when we weren’t particularly paying attention. Oh, we were mindful of the sheep, but the larger picture was not in our awareness. It was just a night like so many others before it. And then, suddenly, everything changed. Some of us noticed, and some of us didn’t. I’ve never been able to comprehend how anyone could fail to catch at least a hint of what was happening, but I guess we each have our own unique ways of experiencing the world. Even for those of us who did come awake to the wonder of it all there is no one way of telling the story. You may have heard my cousin, Jonas, tell his version of that night. He was there, just a kid though he was at the time. He talks about the air exploding with life, and being intoxicated with joy. And I can understand why he would describe it that way, but it felt different from where I stood. There really are not enough words to tell this story, at least not that I’ve been able to find. The closest I’ve ever come is to say that one moment the air was full of snow, and then next moment it was full of God.
Some folks talk about angels – manifestations of sacred presence. And maybe that’s what I’m trying to describe. There were no wings and halos, or trumpets and fiery swords. In fact, as far as my senses were concerned there wasn’t anything out of the ordinary at all. But whatever it is in us that senses what lies just beneath the surface of things knew beyond any shadow of a doubt that the air was full of something, and it sure felt like holiness to me. There is a Hebrew word, Emmanuel, that means “God with us”, and that’s what it felt like. God was with us! Not in some ethereal, out there somewhere sort of way. This was a right here, right now, filling every bit of everything kind of experience. Earlier, when I was talking about Wonder – this experience is what I was talking about. Even now, all these years later, I can still feel it.
Well, as I said, some of us noticed and some of us didn’t. And those of us who noticed couldn’t sit still a moment longer. Those who didn’t seemed perfectly content to stay with the sheep, so we let them. I don’t know why we headed into town. I don’t know how we ended up by the stable out behind the old inn. I don’t where the young couple came from. I don’t know when the child had been born. There is so much that I don’t know. And none of that matters. What matters is that we were there and we were awake and paying attention. The sense of God’s almost tangible presence had softened, but it was still very real. In fact, maybe it was even more real in the quiet of that moment. What I know is that it felt as if I had come face to face with God shining through the face of that newborn child, and my life has never been the same since. I was touched by Wonder, and I was paying enough attention to notice.
I have walked through all of the long years that brought me from then to now with my eyes and my heart wide open, always on the look out for another glimpse of that Wonder. And what I want to tell you, what I want you to know, is that I found it. Over and over again I found it. Every day I find it. Emmanuel – God with us – is the story of my life. In every moment it is the great story of the world. Wonder is everywhere. Pay attention.
From the time of the Beginning until now the world has always been filled with Wonder. Everything was called into being by the very Word of God, so how could it be otherwise. But it is also true that for all of that time from then until now we humans have often forgotten to notice. We get busy doing whatever it is that’s right in front of us, and we stop seeing the Wonder. Sometimes, however, usually when we least expect it and are busy not noticing, the Wonder shines through so brightly that we can’t help but pay attention. And on those occasions, when we are lucky enough to be present and awake, our lives are transformed and marked by the experience forevermore. I want to tell you about one night many years ago when that happened to me.
My name is Caleb, and I come from a family of shepherds. I am old now, and no longer spend my nights out in the field with the sheep, but in my younger years, now long past, that was often where you would find me. On one of those occasions, when I was a young man, there were several of us gathered around a fire to keep warm, for there was a chill in the air. The sheep were quiet, and we were talking among ourselves. It was one of those times when we weren’t particularly paying attention. Oh, we were mindful of the sheep, but the larger picture was not in our awareness. It was just a night like so many others before it. And then, suddenly, everything changed. Some of us noticed, and some of us didn’t. I’ve never been able to comprehend how anyone could fail to catch at least a hint of what was happening, but I guess we each have our own unique ways of experiencing the world. Even for those of us who did come awake to the wonder of it all there is no one way of telling the story. You may have heard my cousin, Jonas, tell his version of that night. He was there, just a kid though he was at the time. He talks about the air exploding with life, and being intoxicated with joy. And I can understand why he would describe it that way, but it felt different from where I stood. There really are not enough words to tell this story, at least not that I’ve been able to find. The closest I’ve ever come is to say that one moment the air was full of snow, and then next moment it was full of God.
Some folks talk about angels – manifestations of sacred presence. And maybe that’s what I’m trying to describe. There were no wings and halos, or trumpets and fiery swords. In fact, as far as my senses were concerned there wasn’t anything out of the ordinary at all. But whatever it is in us that senses what lies just beneath the surface of things knew beyond any shadow of a doubt that the air was full of something, and it sure felt like holiness to me. There is a Hebrew word, Emmanuel, that means “God with us”, and that’s what it felt like. God was with us! Not in some ethereal, out there somewhere sort of way. This was a right here, right now, filling every bit of everything kind of experience. Earlier, when I was talking about Wonder – this experience is what I was talking about. Even now, all these years later, I can still feel it.
Well, as I said, some of us noticed and some of us didn’t. And those of us who noticed couldn’t sit still a moment longer. Those who didn’t seemed perfectly content to stay with the sheep, so we let them. I don’t know why we headed into town. I don’t know how we ended up by the stable out behind the old inn. I don’t where the young couple came from. I don’t know when the child had been born. There is so much that I don’t know. And none of that matters. What matters is that we were there and we were awake and paying attention. The sense of God’s almost tangible presence had softened, but it was still very real. In fact, maybe it was even more real in the quiet of that moment. What I know is that it felt as if I had come face to face with God shining through the face of that newborn child, and my life has never been the same since. I was touched by Wonder, and I was paying enough attention to notice.
I have walked through all of the long years that brought me from then to now with my eyes and my heart wide open, always on the look out for another glimpse of that Wonder. And what I want to tell you, what I want you to know, is that I found it. Over and over again I found it. Every day I find it. Emmanuel – God with us – is the story of my life. In every moment it is the great story of the world. Wonder is everywhere. Pay attention.
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