Sermon 5-15-2016; ‘The WOW of God’
Psalm 145, read responsively
Anne Lamott, Help, Thanks, Wow – The Three Essential Prayers, Riverhead Books, 2012, pps 71, 73
“The third great prayer, Wow, is often offered with a gasp, a sharp intake of breath, when we can’t think of another way to capture the sight of shocking beauty or destruction, of a sudden unbidden insight or an unexpected flash of grace. “Wow” means we are not dulled to wonder…” Anne Lamott
Years ago, Jon and I were traveling and stopped at a wayside. We climbed down a trail and could hear a waterfall deep below us. What an incredible ‘wow’ moment it was to stand beneath that power, in bright sunshine, with tons of water falling so nearby, flushing the pool below it, surrounded with tall trees, lush greenery, and the fullness of sound. It was a cathedral of space. It was an holy experience. It was an unforgettable ‘wow’ time of God’s ‘shocking beauty’, grace, and presence in my life and memory.
Anne Lamott reminds us that, “When we are stunned to the place beyond words, we’re finally starting to get somewhere. It is so much more comfortable to think that we know what it all means, what to expect and how it all hangs together. When we are stunned to the place beyond words, when an aspect of life takes us away from being able to chip away at something until it’s down to a manageable size and then file it nicely away, when all we can say in response is “Wow”, that’s a prayer.”
Jon and I recently visited New York City. We hadn’t been there in twenty years or so. We had a fabulous time going to some Broadway shows, eating great food, rowing boats in Central Park, and seeing and hearing lots of different people and languages all around us. What a great city! What a great experience! But one of the most incredible experiences was the day we spent at the World Trade Center… or what was left of it. It’s been fifteen years since that September 11th, and many of us have been able to ‘chip away’ at that horror, getting it down to a ‘manageable size’ – especially those of us who weren’t in New York City or near there that day. But when you walk up toward the place where the towers once stood, when you see the beautiful pools that fill those voids surrounded with plaques naming all those who died in each of the buildings, when you notice the white rosebuds next to certain names – those whose birthdays are being celebrated that day – you can’t but breathe a prayer of awe… wow.
‘The words “wow” and “awe” are the same height and width – all w’s and short vowels. They could dance together,’ says Lamott. Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers. Wow and Awe. Picasso’s ‘Guernica’. Awe and wow . The Grand Canyon. Beethoven’s 9th. The white and purple iris’ flagging us in to the Meetinghouse these past few days… Wow. Awe. Wow. Awe.
Barbara Dubois shares this story: “We had a tour guide during a Canadian trip to Banff a few years ago. Every time she saw something, if not several things in nature (God's wonders), she acknowledged it with a joyful "wowwowwow” - always three wows! We heard it when we witnessed a gorgeous blue sky with mountains behind, or Lake Louise with a tiny red canoe crossing it, the chance to witness rare animal wildlife, or the blessing that sunshine afforded so we could travel to exciting sights. She seemed to see beauty in every day's adventures. We all got to hear her positive "wowwowwow" daily and frequently, so much so, that on the last evening of the trip, at dinner, we all declared aloud our appreciation for her leadership and enthusiasm throughout the week by saying all together, "We think YOU are "wow wow wow!!!"
Lamott says “Wow” has a reverberation – wowwowwow – and this pulse can soften us, like the electrical massage an acupuncturist directs to your spine or cramped muscle, which feels like a staple gun, but good. The movement of grace from hard to soft, distracted to awake, mean to gentle again, is mysterious but essential. As a tiny little control freak, I want to understand the power of Wow, so I can organize it and control it, and up its rate and frequency. But I can’t. I can only feel it, and acknowledge that it is here once again. Wow… Gorgeous, amazing things come into our lives when we are paying attention: mangoes, grandnieces, Bach, ponds. This happens more often when we have as little expectation as possible. If you say, “Well that’s pretty much what I thought I’d see,” you are in trouble. At that point, you have to ask yourself why you are even here. And if I were you, I would pray, “Help”. Astonishing material and revelation appear in our lives all the time. Let it be. Unto us, so much is given. We just have to be open for business.”
Friends, the WOW of God is what Quakers call ‘continuing revelation’ – all those things God has yet to show us of Godself. The things God surprises us with every day – that we wake up in and for. The things we cannot yet see. The things we’ve perhaps missed. Those things we remember, and then say, ‘Oh… wow… that was God!” We sang, with the psalmist this morning, a song of awe. When have you experienced God’s power in your life? When have you experienced God’s mercy? When have you been awed by God’s goodness poured out in the face of evil? When have you been astonished by God’s ‘shocking beauty’ and grace? When have you been stunned by wonder? When have you been surprised by God?
Find a partner in the meetingroom this morning. Perhaps someone of a different age. Describe to them a moment when you sensed awe – wonder - the ‘wow’ of God. In nature. In another person. In an experience. What, for you, have you found to be the “wow” of God?