The poet Mary Oliver gave these instructions for living a life: “Pay attention. Be astonished. Tell about it.” Was Oliver thinking of Advent and Christmas when she wrote these words? Who can say, but each of the three directives shows up in the carols we sing at this time of year:
Pay attention: Watchmen, tell us of the night, what its signs of promise are.
Be astonished: Silent night, holy night! Shepherds quake at the sight;
Tell about it: Go, tell it on the mountain that Jesus Christ is born!
Brenda & Paul Clark
Our friend and brother, Paul Clark, who is a pastor and preacher, is also a poet. Many of you know that Paul was diagnosed with ALS in the spring of 2017. He and Brenda have responded to this unwelcome reality with courage and faith. If allowed to do so, a grave illness can bring the gift of opening our eyes to things we otherwise might have missed. Paul has written poems throughout his journey with ALS that reveal a child of God who is looking beneath the surface and listening beneath the noise. The following poem is one of my favorites. I don’t know if Paul was thinking of Advent and Christmas when he wrote these words, but this poem shimmers with all the gifts of this holy season:
There Is Wonder in The World
There is wonder in the world
Looking up and gazing on a star
And listening for a sound in the heavens
Or possibly seeing objects move
And wondering if life can remain as it is right now
There is wonder in the world
There is mystery for the taking
In the eyes of the beholder
When as a child I believed in the realty of wonder
Life spoke through the blowing of the trees
In the unexpected voices of the woods
When I became an adult, as growing up took so much
Life as wonder or mystery is no more
Life turns to paying attention, to hearing voices that are so many
Tasks, money, power, survival at any means
So many pressures in the turmoil of living
Living in a way taxing to the soul
It has its way of making us feel old
Then comes a new birth-a child, a new love, something exciting
A much sought after discovery
And to our surprise the heart moves things around
Creates space for love, making a place for wonder
In the blessing of the moment
Behold wonder and mystery
As in the birth of a child
We pause to remember, to give thanks and
To praise every time we experience wonder
© The Reverend Paul A. Clark
June 12, 2019
Still learning to live in wonder,
