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| Image by P J Hansen |
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A GREETING
I will sing to my God a new song:
O Lord, you are great and glorious, wonderful in strength, invincible.
(Judith 16:13)
A READING
Then Job answered God: I know that you can do all things: you have only to think something, and it is done. “Who is this obscuring my plans with such ignorant words?” you asked. That was me. I’ve been spouting off about things I can’t understand, about wonders beyond my experience and my knowledge. “Listen now, and I will speak; I will ask the questions and you will answer me!" you said. Formerly I knew you only by word of mouth, but now I see you with my own eyes. And so I now take back all that I said, and repent in dust and ashes.
(Job 42:1-6 TIB)
MUSIC
A MEDITATIVE VERSES
Such knowledge is too wonderful for me; it is so high that I cannot attain it. I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Wonderful are your works.
(Psalm 139:6-7)
A PRAYER
Dear God....At times I have felt a great intimacy with You. It is clear, warm and all encompassing. But this sensation dissipates like a dream that fades the longer I am awake. I try to recapture that feeling but only a memory remains and it grows dim. I am seeking renewal. Fill my soul with the breath of Your magnificence. Surround me with Your goodness and love. Rejuvenate me so that I may have the strength to reach out to others and revitalize them. This is my prayer now and forevermore.
- from "Dear God" by Randee Rosenberg Friedman
found in The Flowering of the Soul: A Book of Prayers by Women, edited by Lucinda Vardey
VERSE OF THE DAY
Praise God, sun and moon; praise God, all you shining stars!
(Psalm 148:3)
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| "Halley's Comet as Seen by Giotto" by Paterson Ewen (1979) |
In today’s readings, the Hebrew word for ‘wonderful’ has been given an an emphasis in meaning. When Job and the Psalmist say the word, they are expressing a feeling that is even more intense than our word ‘wonderful’ conveys. In Biblical Hebrew, verbs are expressed in just two tenses: the past and the imperfect. This is because Hebrew does not use ‘time’ as a condition of speech, but instead considers whether an action is ongoing or has been completed. This can make translating into English challenging. Quite often it is the ‘past’ tense in Hebrew, known as the ‘perfect’, which is used to derive the future tense in translation. Therefore, both Job and the Psalmist know that the ‘wonderful’ is not just wonderful in the moment of being spoken, but has always been. It’s truth has no finite or complete end. Job’s contrition at the end of the reading is not just about having failed to fully understand God’s power; he is also saying, “I understand now that all this has always been true and always will be.” How can this help us with a reading that otherwise characterizes a stern and insistent God? In Psalm 139, we hear the word ‘wonder’ again, this time reflected back on us as God’s beloved ones. The word ‘wonderful’ appears twice in two verses, forming a direct connection between God’s ability to inspire wonder, and the wonder that is manifest in each of us. We are wonderfully made, and we are an expression of God’s wonder in the world. But in Advent 2020, is that how we feel? It may be hard to connect to this beautiful idea. As we put on our masks each day and stand at a distance from others, we may feel anything but wonderfully made. What would happen, however, if we looked at the person in front of us in the grocery line, as wonderfully made? How can we close the gaps of social distancing by imagining God’s wonder in having made that person? Today’s painting by Paterson Ewen is an ironic homage to the medieval painter Giotto, whose famous nativity and Magi frescos include a Star of Bethlehem that appears like a comet. (Click here to see the Giotto.) Ewen is suggesting that what we might try to explain with astronomical phenomena does not change the mystery of the experience itself. The awe-inspiring planets and stars were always so, and always will be. How can we reclaim in our lives a sense of wonder in Advent? Amid our cell phone news feeds and our blaring tvs and radios, how can we detach from the ‘certain’ to dwell once again with God in the ‘unknown’? How can we come to know the feeling of ‘too wonderful’, even for a timeless moment?
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| Image by P J Hansen |
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LC† Longing for Renewal is a project of Lutherans Connect, supported by the Eastern Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada. Join us on Facebook, follow us on Instagram and on Twitter. Lutherans Connect invites you to make a donation to the Ministry by going to this link on the website of the ELCIC Eastern Synod and selecting "Lutherans Connect Devotionals" under "Fund". Devotions are always freely offered, however your donations help to support extended offerings throughout the year.
Thank you and peace be with you!
