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Prepare to be amazed and awed…
Awww. Isn’t she cute? This is our puppy Indie on the day we got her. She was just under two months old.
She and her brother Doug, our other puppy, are one year old today. Puppies and kittens and babies tend to make us say “aww.” Why? Because they’re so cute. Because they remind us of the wonder of creation. Because as they grow, we know there will be times when they will be awwwful…
What amazes you? As I scrolled through my photos looking for these pictures of my puppies, I noticed that I take pictures of things that are surprising and wonderful and amazing to me. I’ve taken tons of pictures of these puppies, and bunches of the sky, and of people that I don’t get to see very often, and of interesting buildings. I take pictures every time it snows, and when the trees and flowers in my yard bloom in the spring because these things are wonderful to me.
What do you take pictures of?
There are some things that just can’t quite be captured in a picture. Pictures of the Grand Canyon did not prepare me for how awe-inspiring it would be to see it in person. None of my pictures of my puppies or my favorite people are sufficient for conveying how much I love them or how amazing they are to me. It can be hard to put my feelings into a photo or even into words in such a way that you will understand, and better yet, experience them too. But when you do, I think that’s amazing. I think it’s amazing when we can connect with emotions through art or music or dance or nature or humor…
What do you call a maze that loves to tell jokes?
A corny maze!
Wasn’t that joke amaze-ing?
In today’s scripture reading, we find that an entire neighborhood is amazed. To understand why, let’s flashback to two weeks ago, when we read about Zechariah meeting the Angel Gabriel in the temple. The angel told Zechariah that his wife Elizabeth was going to have a baby. Since Zechariah and Elizabeth were both old and had never been able to have children, Zechariah had a hard time believing the angel, which isn’t really very surprising, since Elizabeth getting pregnant was so extraordinary. But the angel wasn’t happy with Z’s questions and made Zechariah unable to speak until the baby was born.
Today we pick up the story nine months later. Elizabeth gives birth to her miracle baby, and all the neighbors rejoice with her over how wonderfully good God has been to her.
Eight days later, at the circumcision, the neighbors and relatives expect that the baby will be named Zechariah after his father, but Elizabeth says, “No, his name is John.” So the people look at Zechariah to see whether he agrees. Zechariah still can’t speak, so he asked for a writing tablet and wrote, “His name is John.” And all of them were amazed. (Luke 1:63 NRSV)
In this image, the artist, Rev. Leslie Gwinn Garrity says that she “wanted to capture the moment Zechariah’s voice returns to him.” She shows “only half of Zechariah’s face because this miracle is not really about him, but about what happens through him. When he confirms John’s name, he sheds his distrust of the angel’s impossible news. His skepticism and weariness subside as he awakens to the joy in his midst. He allows himself to be amazed.”
Then Luke tells us that 65 Awe fell upon the whole neighborhood, and the news of what had happened spread throughout the Judean hills. 66 Everyone who heard about it reflected on these events and asked, “What will this child turn out to be?” For the hand of the Lord was surely upon him in a special way. (NLT)
Why are the people amazed in this scripture?
Women have babies all the time. Every baby is a wonder, for sure, but in this case there’s even more to wonder at. The people around Zechariah and Elizabeth probably know the whole story by now, how they thought they were too old to have children, and maybe their neighbors and family also know what the angel told Zechariah that day in the temple. Knowing the whole story makes this even more amazing, and more clear that God is up to something. Luke tells us that “everyone who heard these things ‘pondered them and said: ‘What then will this child become?’ For, indeed, the hand of the Lord was with him” (v. 66).”[5]
A psychologist at the University of California, Berkeley, Dacher Keltner says that, “Awe is the feeling of being in the presence of something vast that transcends your understanding of the world.” In his book “Awe: The New Science of Everyday Wonder and How It Can Transform Your Life,” Keltner acknowledges that awe is vast, but adds that “awe is also simpler than we think — and accessible to everyone.“ We experience awe when dramatic, life-changing events happen, but awe can also be a part of everyday life.[6]
This is expressed beautifully in this poem by Rev. Sarah Speed:
The Last Time I Saw God Written by Rev. Sarah (Are) Speed[7]
The last time I saw God face to face
I was looking at a bed of tulips.
God was every color of red.
I was merely a mortal,
in awe of it all.
The time before that,
we were tying back the curtains,
looking for stars.
God was the deepest purple
and the brightest light.
The time before that,
the city was soft with snow.
God was the quiet
that tucked us all in.
And in between these small gifts there were
newborn babies,
and sapling trees,
homemade bread,
the sound of a church
singing on Sunday.
…
Why, yes, we are lucky.
We are more than lucky
for the moments when
delight and awe
unzip the weight
we carry around.
I love that last line: “We are more than lucky for the moments when delight and awe unzip the weight we carry around.” Sarah artfully describes something that Dr. Keltner writes about in his book, that “awe is critical to our well-being — just like joy, contentment and love.” Keltner’s research suggests that awe calms down our nervous systems and triggers the release of oxytocin, the “love” hormone that promotes trust and bonding.
“Keltner says that our bodies respond differently when we are experiencing awe than when we are feeling joy, contentment or fear. We make a different sound, show a different facial expression. Dr. Keltner found that awe activates the vagal nerves, clusters of neurons in the spinal cord that regulate various bodily functions, and slow our heart rate, relieve digestion and deepen breathing.”[8]
Maybe we already know this from experience, or maybe it’s happened without us noticing. I find it validating to know that science has documented our experience and explained the physiological responses. For myself, I’ve found that the more I’ve opened myself up to God and to spiritual experiences, the more I’ve noticed my own physical reactions.
Sometimes things that cause awe in us aren’t good things. Sometimes we’re in awe mixed with fear. In our scripture today, the people’s amazement is like that.
In verse 63 when the people see the new baby, the word is thaumazó: to marvel, wonder. Then in the verse after Zechariah is able to speak after nine months of silence, the word is phobos: fear, terror, respect. Sometimes our amazement is a mix of all of these too.
I may have told you before about a day when I was here in the sanctuary at the beginning of the pandemic around the first time that we were asked to stay home for 15 days. That Sunday before the first pandemic stay-home request, there was a heaviness among us, and then a few days later as I was here in the sanctuary wondering what was going to happen in the weeks and months ahead, I had a physical sensation – a God moment. I had the sense that something big was happening, as we later knew all too well, but in that moment of unknowing I had wonder and fear, but also respect and trust that God would not leave us to go through this alone.
How Does A Weary World Rejoice? We Allow Ourselves to be Amazed!
Allowing ourselves to be amazed can mean simply taking the time to reflect and ponder what’s happening. That might mean just stopping for a moment, or sitting somewhere quiet for a bit, or writing about it in a journal – whatever helps us notice and pay attention.
We allow ourselves to be amazed when we don’t allow the growing frequency of violence to become background noise. Pope Francis recently warned that we cannot harden our hearts and ignore the human suffering caused by the violence. “We must not become accustomed to war…we must not allow our hearts and minds to be anaesthetized at the repetition of these extremely serious horrors against God and humankind.”[9] May our amazement at the horrors of war fuel and impassion our prayers and actions for peace.
We allow ourselves to be amazed when we take notice of the good things people are doing, and even more so if we allow ourselves the time to learn more about that person to understand their experiences and background and challenges.
Pop music icon Taylor Swift was just named Time Magazine’s Person of the Year for 2023. Her latest music tour broke records and made headlines. She’s become a powerful voice and she’s used it well, encouraging people to vote, and to overcome discrimination, harassment and assault.[11]
Time magazine said the reason they chose her to be the person of the year:
“In a divided world, where too many institutions are failing, Taylor Swift found a way to transcend borders and be a source of light. No one else on the planet today can move so many people so well.”
She is the first Person of the Year to be chosen for her success in the arts. Her songs connect with people, and so do her words.
“No matter what happens in life, be good to people. Being good to people is a wonderful legacy to leave behind.” –Taylor Swift
Being amazed doesn’t mean you have to be amazing, or that you can only be amazed by superstars like Taylor Swift, just that you have to be willing to be amazed. Cynicism and pride can get in the way. Busyness and weariness can get in the way. When we notice that we’re not allowing ourselves to be amazed, we can ask God for help. We can practice mindfulness and gratitude, and follow our awe all the way to joy.
All the Way to Joy Written by Sarah Speed
We could play hard and fast,
not let anything touch us at all,
keep composure,
have all the answers.
Or we could crack ourselves open
and let everything in.
We could feel everything,
every touch, every marvel.
We could stand gaping
at the beauty of the world,
mouths wide open (because sometimes
a mouth wide open is the very best gratitude).
We could laugh so loudly
that the whole restaurant looks,
and err on the side of goofy
whenever possible.
We could put our defenses down.
We could grow soft.
We could choose awe.
We could take her by the arm.
We could let her lead us all the way to joy.
Thanks, God.
[1] https://punsteria.com/maze-puns/
[2] (n.d.). Cosplayer Winters Knight > Photo of Gabriel (Constantine). Acparadise.com. https://www.acparadise.com/display.php?p=41710
[3] Image by rawpixel.com
[4] “What Wonder Turns Into” by Lisle Gwynn Garrity. Inspired by Luke 1:57-66. Acrylic painting on canvas with digital drawing. © a sanctified art | sanctifiedart.org
[5] David B. Burrell in Jarvis, Cynthia A.; Johnson, E. Elizabeth. Feasting on the Gospels–Luke, Volume 1: A Feasting on the Word Commentary (p. 90). Presbyterian Publishing Corporation. Kindle Edition.
[6] Hope Reese, “How a Bit of Awe Can Improve Your Life,” New York Times, January 3, 2023 https://www.nytimes.com/2023/01/03/well/live/awe-wonder-dacher-keltner.html
[7] © a sanctified art | sanctifiedart.org
[8] Hope Reese, ibid.
[9] As quoted by Jim Rice in Sojourners, January 2024, pg. 9.
[10] Photo by Cosmopolitan UK, CC BY 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=85379657
[11] Sam Jacobs, “The Choice,” Time, December 25, 2023, pp.40-41.
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