Awe and the Mystery of God

Awe is a foundational spiritual experience. It keeps us open, tender, and receptive to the mystery of God. Without awe, faith risks becoming brittle, reduced to arguments or obligations. Awe softens us, reminding us that God is not a problem to be solved but a Presence to be encountered.

And yet, in our Western world, there is a weariness of spirit. The system, in its present state of exhaustion, does not look attractive. It is a telling judgment: the Western mind almost refuses to be in awe anymore. It notices only what is wrong, rehearses what is broken, and seems incapable of rejoicing in what is still good, true, and beautiful.

But Advent calls us back to awe. It invites us to look again, to see the signs of God’s presence shimmering in unexpected places. For me, this season has been marked by deep encounters with God’s mystery: in the Hinges of Hope Advent retreat, where I was anchored in hope; in the silence of the Ruah Center, where God’s whisper was louder than any noise; and even in the beauty and coziness of my own home, decorated for the season, which feels like a warm embrace.

Mystery and beauty are all around me. They greet me when I wake, when I pause to thank God for the gift of another day, when I notice the light flickering on an Advent wreath or the quiet peace of a room prepared for prayer. Awe is not far away—it is waiting in the ordinary, ready to open our hearts to the extraordinary.

This Advent, may we resist the temptation to despair. May we refuse the exhaustion of a culture that cannot rejoice. Instead, may we awaken to awe, to mystery, to beauty. For in awe, we discover again the God who is with us, Emmanuel, and we find ourselves anchored in hope.