God Stuff

In Awe of Flying Buttresses

Flying_Buttresses

I met somebody recently.

Of course, I meet people every day and I’m sure you do too. But some people stand out don’t they? Some people make such an impression that you’ll likely never forget them. Why?

Then just a few weeks ago I climbed to the observation point at the top of a mountain ridge. I spent a few minutes looking out over the valley below. As it grew dark, a thunderstorm was visible in the distance. The wind blew gently. Above me, millions of stars sparkled in the night sky. Some places make such an impression that you’ll likely never forget them. Why?

Gothic architecture (of course I was going there next) is a style popular in the late medieval period beginning in the twelfth century A.D. Some of the most beautiful and famous cathedrals ever created were built during this time.

But the architects had a problem.

Stone.

Stone was the chief building material of the day. And stone is heavy. The steel girders that make today’s modern skyscrapers possible wouldn’t be invented for nearly 800 years. Architects needed to find a way to distribute the weight of the massive stone walls.

So, the flying buttress was born.

With the advent of the flying buttress, the exterior walls of the cathedral could be made more thin and considerably taller. No longer were churches dark and cramped. Now huge spacious interiors were lit with the light from enormous stained glass windows.

In short, the flying buttress is the support structure which allows the cathedral to be the phenomenal place of piety and worship it was intended. The cathedral became truly awe-inspiring.

Awe.

Awe is similar to other emotions. Love, fear, admiration, amazement and wonder all share similar traits. But awe is special. We reserve it for only the most fantastic circumstances. There is a touch of the mystic in awe. Awe is vast. It’s timeless.

In a 2003 paper, Dacher Kelter and Jonathan Haidt say this:

In the upper reaches of pleasure and on the boundary of fear is a little studied emotion – awe. Awe is felt about diverse events and objects, from waterfalls to childbirth to scenes of devastation. Awe is central to the experience of religion, politics, nature, and art. Fleeting and rare, experiences of awe can change the course of a life in profound and permanent ways.

Fleeting and rare, experiences of awe can change the course of a life in profound and permanent ways.

In the classic Hindu story the Bhagavadgita, Krishna grants Arjuna the ability to see the universe. He sees gods, suns and infinite time and space. Clearly in a state of awe Arjuna says, “Things never seen before have I seen, and ecstatic is my joy.” Arjuna becomes a changed man.

And in the ninth chapter of Acts, Saul is on the road to Damascus when he becomes blinded by a bright light. Upon hearing the voice of God, Saul becomes Paul, a changed man.

We experience awe in the presence of that which we cannot explain. Perhaps the feeling is too intense or the space so vast that it is beyond comprehension.

People can elicit awe. Beauty, intellect and charisma can be awe-inspiring.

From a soaring symphony to the simplest ballad music, too, has a way of connecting us with something larger than ourselves.

However, nothing inspires awe like nature. The enormity of and ocean with it’s unending cycle of waves, the power of a storm and the grandeur of a mountain peak all remind us of our relatively small place in the universe. Or as Emerson put it in his essay Nature:

In the woods, we return to reason and faith. There I feel that nothing can befall me in life – no disgrace, no calamity (leaving me my eyes), which nature cannot repair. Standing on the bare ground, – my head bathed by the blithe air and uplifted into infinite space, – all mean egotism vanishes. I become a transparent eyeball; I am nothing; I see all; the currents of the Universal Being circulate through me; I am part or parcel of God.

Dictionary.com defines awe as “an overwhelming feeling of reverence, admiration, fear, etc., produced by that which is grand, sublime, extremely powerful, or the like.”

Produced by that which is grand, sublime, extremely powerful, or the like.

Produced by God which is grand, sublime, extremely powerful, or the like.

God.

Fleeting and rare, experiences of awe can change the course of a life in profound and permanent ways.

Fleeting and rare, experiences of God can change the course of a life in profound and permanent ways.

I met somebody recently. They made such an impression that I’ll likely never forget them. I climbed to the top of a mountain peak. It made such an impression that I’ll likely never forget it.

Why?

Awe.

Why?

God.

As you go about your lives, may you become aware of those times you are filled with wonder and awe. May you feel the power of God at work in the world. As you sense His presence, may you stop to ask why? Why here? Why now? Why God? And may you be filled with peace of mind knowing that the Creator of the universe is at work in your life even today.

Shalom.

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