The Village ILWIDIot

Walt Wiltschek

“’Is anything too wonderful for the Lord?’” —Genesis 18:14a

Recently, as part of Advent worship, I spoke about capturing the sense of wonder that’s part of this season. We hear it all through the scriptures this time of year: through angelic visits to Joseph and Mary, Elizabeth and Zechariah, shepherds on the hills of Bethlehem, and others. These weeks are filled with a tingling sense of anticipation, waiting for hope on the horizon. 

While I’m not a fan of winter, I do love Christmas—in part for that very reason. As one of my former mentors once said, “Sometimes the only response we can give is, ‘Wow!’”

A few years ago at a graduation ceremony, I was introduced to something called the “science of awe.” It’s a relatively new area within the field of neuroscience, examining the jaw-dropping emotions we experience when we confront something beyond our understanding. Those emotions can include both wonder and terror, delight and fear—not unlike what many of those people in the biblical story likely felt. Dacher Keltner, one of the primary researchers in this field, said, “Awe is really about vast things that transcend your understanding of the world.” 

The research has shown that experiencing awe can have emotional, social, and physical benefits, relieving stress and creating a greater sense of possibility. The people more likely to encounter awe are those who are open to new experiences, comfortable with ambiguity, and attentive to subjects like beauty and gratitude. 

When enough people experience it together, Keltner calls it “collective effervescence,” like what you might feel at an inspiring concert or at a thrilling sports event surrounded by other fans or, in our context, at a particularly moving worship service.

As we approach this Christmas season, I hope we can find a sense of that, even as many of our congregations are smaller and the weight of everything happening in our world is heavy. It was no less so for those in the events we read about in the Gospels, yet they still found the awe and wonder in what was happening around them. 

Millennia later, how do we recapture those tingling, Godly goosebumps of Emmanuel, God with us? Take time to marvel in the awesome-ness of this season. And perhaps, as you connect with others who are doing the same, you’ll find a new sense of divine possibilities in our midst.