The Glow of Wonder
Claude Monet’s The Houses of Parliament, Sunset 1903
Dear Parents,
Several years ago I accompanied Mrs. Luu and her 2nd grade class on their annual trip to the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C. to see works of Claude Monet in person.
Our tour guide led us into Gallery 80 where a number of his pieces were on display. Like the students, I sat down cross-legged on the floor in front of two paintings. They were of the west facade of the Rouen Cathedral in Normandy, France at different times during the day; one capturing the reflected light of sunset, the other of the house of worship in winter.
While my eyes rested there for a moment, shifting from one to the next, my attention was arrested quite suddenly by another painting in the room: Claude Monet’s The Houses of Parliament.
I had heard about people having tears of joy but had never experienced them myself. Something happened to me, however, as my attention alighted on that great work—my eyes filled with tears.
The picture above does not do the painting justice. The light, reflecting off the water and in the sky, is the most beautiful shade of pinkish orange. The painting glows.
Looking back to that time I’m moved by the mystery of that moment: the sideways glance, the arrested attention, and the physical response of my eyes welling up with tears.
At Christmas time, we are surrounded by wonder and beauty: the winter landscape, traditional carols, decorated trees, blooming poinsettias and cactuses, glowing lights, and stories of reconciliation and homecoming.
And above all, the most beautiful story of all being why we celebrate in the first place—God incarnate, Immanuel.
But just like visiting an art gallery, we can quite innocently and easily walk by beauty and not notice, not be moved. And it is possible to move through the Christmas season with nary a thought of the wonder of Advent.
“But truths get flat and wonders stale upon us,” Mason writes in A Philosophy of Education.
May it not be!
Our annual Lessons and Carols program, modeled after a program that began on Christmas Eve in 1918 at King’s College in Cambridge, will be held on Friday, December 20 at 6 p.m. In it we tell the story of Christmas as seen through Holy Scripture and hymns.
We remember multiple angelic visits, including a vast number of heavenly hosts appearing to the shepherds in the field and saying, “Glory to God in the highest! And on earth, peace to the people with whom he is pleased.”
We remember fulfilled Old Testament prophecies including a virgin birth, an immaculate conception, Bethlehem as Jesus’ birthplace, and the worship of the wise men.
And finally, we remember the greatest wonder of them all—that the Word became flesh and dwelt among us.
I hope you can join us. May we all experience that glow that comes with wonder, again, this season.
To Him be the glory!
Krise