An article from the Cathedral Times
by
the Very Reverend Samuel G. Candler,
Dean of the Cathedral of
St. Philip
On July 24, 2012, I was gazing at clouds in utter awe. I was
not on top of a mountain or at a beach, certainly glorious places where
one can absorb the majesty of God's handiwork in the sky. But I was in
an open space. I was out on a lake, where the horizon was distant, and
where I was small. Other places would have suited well, I am sure, maybe
the prairies or the deserts.
But the point was: awe.
These days, most of humanity spends our time in close quarters, within
the walls of office spaces or dens or apartment confines. When we do go
outside, we are often driving a car alongside other cars, and so always
glancing to our right, to our left, in the rearview mirror. Or, when we
go outside, it is to walk down a street with tall buildings beside us,
as if we were in a gray canyon.
There are lots of
ways to define "awe;" but I would say that awe is what happens to us
when the horizon is far away, when we feel small, and when some expanse
opens incredible possibility to us. We visit mountains, and oceans, and
even deserts in order to re-discover awe.
Also on
July 24, 2012, a brief article appeared in The Week
magazine, which reviewed a psychological study by Melanie Rudd of
Stanford. She has tried to determine, apparently, what happens to the
human mind when we encounter "awe."
[She]
conducted multiple experiments to see if there was a correlation between
awe and happiness. Two kinds of videos were shown to participants: The
"awe video" showed ordinary people encountering "vast, mentally
overwhelming, and seemingly realistic images" like waterfalls, whales,
and astronauts in outer space; the "happiness video" showed things like
rainbow confetti falling from the air and parades of smiling, joyful
people.
By fixating on the
moment, time seemed to slow down, making participants feel like they had
more of it to spare. This led them to feel more patient, less
materialistic, and more willing to help others. "People increasingly
report feeling time-starved, which exacts a toll on health and
well-being," says study author Melanie Rudd. The study shows that "being
in the present moment elongates time perception," and makes people want
to "partake in experiential goods over material ones." In short:
Feeling like they had more time seemed to make them better
people.
"Awe can be elicited by a
walk down memory lane, a brief story, or even a 60-second commercial,"
says the Independent, so you needn't necessarily book a trip to
experience a Hawaiian sunset to reap the benefits. The lesson,
researchers add, "underscore[s] the importance and promise of
cultivating awe in everyday life." (The Week Magazine, 24 July
2012)
Thus, Rudd showed that happiness and
joy are not exactly the same as awe. The awe-inspired people reported
greater freedom, and, in fact, nicer feelings!
Community is important for all of us these days. But
I believe that Christian community provides a distinctive form of
community to the world. Christian community, at its best, inspires awe
in our lives. Of course, I hope we are happy and joyful, too; don't get
me wrong! But awe is different. The vast space of a cathedral, of a
grand worship space, can inspire awe, as it represents the vastness of
God. An imaginative sermon, delivered with power and precision, can
transport us to a place without time. And, of course, the music of a
tremendous choir can make our souls soar beyond
limits.
We are called to community in church, to be
sure. We are called to love, to joy, and to peace"”three of the great
fruits of the Spirit. But, even more than those fine states, we are
called to awe. Other elements of our culture can provide happy community
and joy; local bars are good at that, as are clubs and even schools.
But genuine "awe" comes from something beyond our
human capacity. The Christian Church is called not just to lead people
to joyful community with one another, but to lead people to
awe-inspiring community with God. It is only God who can inspire amazing
awe. Only God can show us who is God and who is humanity. And we are
all the better for it.
The Very Reverend Sam Candler