Does Wonder Lead Us to God?
O God, you have taught me from my youth,
and I proclaim your wonders still. (Ps 71:17)
“Does God have a giant big toe?” Jacob, age 5, asked this delightful question with eyes as big as saucers. I stopped and considered it for a moment, bemused, and said, “Well, maybe so!” My son, who constantly pointed at anything and asked, “Whatssat?” as he learned to talk, sparked our curiosity and wonder.
Jesus exclaimed: “I give praise to you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, for although you have hidden these things from the wise and the learned you have revealed them to the childlike.” (Matthew 11:25-27)
I remember reading about fireflies as a kid, but I never thought they existed. Growing up west of the Rockies, if we had one of the 2,000 species of fireflies in our area, none of them lit up. Yet, when I went to college in Indiana, I discovered the mysterious and beautiful movements of fireflies accentuated by small bursts of yellow, green or even orange light, sometimes in a simultaneous or synchronous fashion, at dusk in the summer grass. Watching them even today in Ohio makes me pause as I am taken in by their mesmerizing bioluminescence as the males search for a mate. Lightning bugs usually catch me off guard, an unexpected and delightful surprise every year. I am transported to a childlike wonder, open and expectant, trying to guess where the next light will glimmer. Even at the end of summer, glimpses of the last few fireflies spark hope.
“He who can no longer pause to wonder and stand rapt in awe, is as good as dead; his eyes are closed.” Albert Einstein
Still considering moments of wonder, the summertime does not disappoint. In the early morning hours, I noticed the sudden appearance of a hummingbird hovering at eye level at our window, as if the bird had been waiting to make sure I was watching. This majestic petite bird, with the ability to fly backwards and even upside down, proceeded to visit the various potted flowers in my view, pausing once again near the window. Only as heavy as a single sheet of paper, this hummingbird nearly hypnotized me. Its speed and agility captivated my imagination as it flitted away as quickly as it appeared. I marvel at the fact that God made this creature.
When I sit still and revere these surprises of creation, my ponderings direct me toward the sacred. The more time I spend contemplating the movements and beauty of the hummingbird, for example, the more that I wonder about it. Wonder leads to a desire to know more. The more I know, the stronger connection I feel to the Creator of all things. My amazement at the hummingbird leads to more amazement at God. Sometimes, my sense of wonder and awe overwhelms and renders me speechless, as with the incredibly detailed transmissions from deep space recently shared by NASA.
“Everyone should have their mind blown once a day.” (Neil deGrasse Tyson, American Astrophysicist, author and science communicator)
The images from NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope blow my mind. Not only am I not comprehending all that I see, I am incapable of knowing what lies beyond. The telescope captures the infrared light, shows the birth of a star, and sees beyond the cosmic dust. These data images, believed to be over 13.5 billion light years away, depict the deepest that we have ever seen into space. This aids our understanding of the beginning of the universe, a universe we believe God designed and created. And it’s beautiful and mystical and disarming all at the same time. It reminds us that there is so much that we still don’t know. And that’s an understatement. Is your brain exploding too?
“Concepts create idols; only wonder comprehends anything….Wonder makes us fall to our knees.” St. Gregory of Nyssa (d. 394), The Life of Moses
An article from NPR released a few days after this tremendous revelation reports that scientists are “giddy.” Giddy. Knowing the looming and endless possibilities of what the JWST can teach us has overwhelmed everyone’s curiosity. I laugh to think of scientists excitedly grappling with the data. I appreciate that there exists so much in our world, in the cosmos, that still baffles the experts. I’m grateful that we don’t have it all figured out, that mystery surrounds us. Discovery will not end as long as humans exist. When faced with the reality of the unknown, the unending state of the cosmos, it takes effort not to consider the omniscience and omnipresence of God. God is, indeed, all things and everywhere, knowing everything.
The Tension Between Wonder and Fear of God
Not only does this new data from the JWST reveal a sense of mystery and wonder, but also uncertainty and even fear. Particularly, the fear of God. Fear of the Lord, or “holy fear” (a gift of the Holy Spirit), “ensures our awe and reverence before God” (Catechism of the Catholic Church, 2nd ed.). Saint John Henry Cardinal Newman (1801-1890) wrote about this sense of the sacred. He penned, “Are these feelings of fear and awe Christian feelings or not?...They are the class of feelings which we shall have, if we realize [God’s] presence” (CCC, 2nd ed. #2144).
What do you think of when you hear the phrase, “the fear of God”? It might inspire a sense of awe, humility, unworthiness even. Yet, we are given this gift of the Holy Spirit as a means of receiving God’s revelation of God’s self, God’s will and vision. This revelation culminates in the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. Rudolf Otto, German philosopher and theologian (1869-1937), studied the human experience of the holy. He offered a phrase, in Latin, that juxtaposed two seemingly contradictory elements of our experience of the holy: dread and fascination. Mysterium tremendum et fascinans, the Latin term meaning “a mystery before which humanity both trembles and is fascinated, is both repelled and attracted. Thus, God can appear both as wrathful or awe-inspiring, on the one hand, and as gracious and lovable, on the other.” Especially in the Hebrew Scriptures (Old Testament), God’s wrath seems prominent, as does God’s mercy. We move from wrath to wonder and awe, entering into God’s unending love. The Jerome Biblical Commentary (p 454) states, “fear of the Lord [the heart of wisdom - Proverbs 28:13]...opens us to heed what God reveals and respond to [H]im. But this divine communication comes not only in terms of knowledge but also in terms of love.” Love, indeed, the love of the Trinity causes all of creation to co-exist. Every image of the cosmos we discover, every star, nebula, black hole uncovered by the Webb Telescope in years to come will reveal this love, this dance of the Trinity.
Just like the experience of the fear of God at different stages of our lives, the maturing of our sense of faith and of God can move from a fear of God’s wrath and judgment to an embrace of God’s grace and love at every step. Fascinated by God’s wonder, we can engage a healthy sense of fear that keeps us humble and open to God’s awesome presence, enabling the love of the Trinity to flow through us and around us. In other words, if we learn to grow in our faith and relationship with God and others, we can accept the grace and love of God. God invites us, through the wonders of God’s creation, to a life of abundant love and mercy available to all people.
Show me the wonders of your great love. (Psalm 17:7)
God is already showing us God’s wonders, whether big or small. Take the time to stop and see the wonders around you. It may be the laughter of a child, the consoling words of a friend, the beauty of a sunset, the communication among trees, the sights and sounds of a summer storm or the growth of a baby in the womb. Know that your acknowledgement and sense of awe can and will lead you to a greater love, the love of our Creator.
Does God have a giant big toe? I wonder.
Call to Action: In the comments below, share a moment of wonder that causes you to stop and consider God’s presence.
Song for Contemplation: “Thing of Beauty” by Hothouse Flowers
