Friday, January 15, 2010

Awe

"If there is one characteristic more than others that contemporary public worship needs
to recapture it is this awe before the surpassingly great and gracious God."
--Henry Sloane Coffin

Awe.  An emotion variously combining dread, veneration, and wonder that is inspired by authority or by the sacred or sublime.

Do you find "awe" when you think of God?  What is awe-inspiring about God, for you? 

Is it an emotion that we have forgotten how to experience?   Do we take too much effort to make God "soft, warm, and cuddly" - and forget about the wonders, the power, and the honor that make up God?

Take a moment this week - what evokes "awe" for you?  What about God evokes "awe" for you?

When we worship, and come into our holy space...  what would help remind us of the awe of God?

1 comment:

  1. Hmmm... good thoughts. I don't know if I like to think of God with awe, as you define it here. Words like dread, veneration, power... seem foreign to my concept of God. But, maybe not... I need to give this more thought.

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