Carol Nine: I Wonder as I Wander

Listen as the hauntingly beautiful solos of the clarinet and tenor invite us draw near to this holy mystery.  Here are the words to follow along:

1. I wonder as I wander out under the sky,

How Jesus the Savior did come for to die.

For poor on'ry people like you and like I...

I wonder as I wander out under the sky.

2. When Mary birthed Jesus 'twas in a cow's stall,

With wise men and farmers and shepherds and all.

But high from God's heaven a star's light did fall,

And the promise of ages it then did recall.

3. If Jesus had wanted for any wee thing,

A star in the sky, or a bird on the wing,

Or all of God's angels in heav'n for to sing,

He surely could have it, 'cause he was the King.

The closer we get to Christmas, when the smell of the straw first starts to ride the airwaves to our senses, the stars faintly twinkle over our heads, and we realize what we have been preparing for is about within our reach...

The closer I get to Christmas, the less I feel like I can say.  How do you really explain God's love?  Certainly not with the scientific method...it cannot be proven.  How do you tell someone else the holiness of God awakening the sacredness within us?  Certainly not with a graph or Powerpoint presentation.  How do you point toward the ineffable and indefinable and indescribable grace upon grace when others simply shrug?  

What happens within us, to us, and around us at Christmas is a wonder beyond words.  What happens within us, to us, and around us is at once sacred and scary...why do you think we give lip service to letting this last all year long...then promptly turn to taking control again by making New Year's resolutions?  It is vulnerable to encounter, experience the vulnerability of God.  We'd rather cling to a God who is in charge...like a CEO.  We'd rather talk about a God who is about power rather than weakness.  A God who likes rules rather than relationships.  A God who is distance rather than so close.

But if we wonder as we wander out under the star-filled sky...the mystery...hauntingly beautiful... really can find space and place in our heart to make us different.  Wouldn't that we wonder-filled holy kind of moment?

Prayer:  God, keep us open to You.  Amen.