Thursday, December 12, 2013

Star of Wondering (Anne Trenning)


The best Advent Bible study I have ever been to was with a bunch of 5-7 year olds. Sorry colleagues and friends, sorry pastors and teachers. And to be clear, I have participated in some excellent advent-themed discussions and studies. But my favorite, by far, was one cold Sunday morning, gathered around a table with twelve little hands passing between them figurines of Mary, Joseph and a donkey, while the teacher told the story of their long journey to Bethlehem and of Jesus' birth.

After the story the teacher said "Let's imagine about that long journey, what are some things you wonder about?" And slowly but surely the wonders started to emerge, "I wonder what a donkey feels like?" "Did Mary get cold?" "Did God wish he could hold Baby Jesus when he was born?" The wise teacher didn't answer the wonderings, but just let them hang in the air, sparking our imaginations. 

Advent is a time to wonder. A time when we are confronted with unabashed mysteries and questions whose answers dance just at the edge of our understanding.
A time for small wonders and big wonders, wonders that warm our spirits and those born of our deep longing- 
What do donkeys feel like? 
How do reindeer fly? 
How does selfless love come to us? 
How did such a big God fit into such a tiny baby? 
How can a person's heart change after so long a time? 
Will peace ever come? 

We hold the questions, we visit and revisit them, not as a theological exercise per say (although theologies are fine things to work on) but we hold them in a different way in this season. Maybe they are bathed in the light of hope or ringing an echo of Mary's assertion that all things are possible with God, or maybe they have just been dusted with the magical whimsy of our Christmas culture, a la It's a Wonderful Life and Miracle on 34th Street

Even so, there is something in that story of a starlit manger, of God breaking into the world in such a way, that pulls us toward a deeper sense of wonder: that mix of awe and mystery and hope, that unsteady, tiptoed longing, reaching, imagining, marveling. Like a child who imagines Santa's trip around the world in one night or someone who open themselves to the mystery of a Love Incarnate. For this season promises one of the greatest wonders of all, that in the midst of our questioning and wondering and longing, Christ comes to dwell.


Today's song has no words. Instead I would encourage you to take these moments to wonder, to question, to marvel at this story, this promise, this hope to which we give our hearts year after year...




Please share with us some of your 'wonders' this season in the comments below.





-Lindsey

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