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“Those who live at earth's farthest bounds are awed by your signs;
you make the gateways of the morning and the evening shout for joy.”
–– Psalm 65:8
Some folks see a magic trick and react with amazed wide-eyed wonder, while others react with a skeptical squint, immediately deconstructing what they have seen to uncover the magician’s sleight of hand. Both reactions are legitimate, but both also come with risk. The skeptic will point to the gullibility of the gobsmacked, while the impressed will take aim at the scoffer’s cynicism. One is vulnerable to fraud and exploitation and the other refuses the indulgence of ever being “lost in wonder, love, and praise.” Isn’t a mature faith somewhere between the extremes? Yes, faith seeks understanding, yet faith also acknowledges there are mysteries our finite minds will never tame. The scientist’s pursuit of answers is not mutually exclusive from the theologian’s pursuit of meaning. Evidence need not eliminate wonder. The astrophysicist can provide a simple explanation of the phenomenon of aurora borealis, but that shouldn’t dissuade you or me from trekking to Alaska or Iceland where we may see in the beguiling ballet of the Northern Lights something of the glory of God.
Every day provides us the opportunity to both unravel mystery and be filled with wonder. “You make the gateways of the morning and the evening shout for joy.”
Whether it is a Webb telescope image of the cosmic cliffs of Carina some 7600 light years away or the sight of an infant asleep on a parent’s shoulder; whether it’s the discovery of an ancient text that challenges our assumptions or the beauty of a literary image in your current read; it is not only permissible, but warranted that we learn and marvel, absorb and praise simultaneously. “Those who live at earth's farthest bounds are awed by your signs…”
Jesus challenged those who would follow him to –– “Be wise as serpents and innocent as doves.” Be aware and be amazed. God is good.
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