Chaplaincy | Awesomeness and the Stars

The word ‘awesome’ seems to be getting quite a workout nowadays, encroaching upon territory once held by less emphatic adjectives. All sorts of experiences, however benign, are now labelled ‘awesome!’ The quality of a cup of coffee is no longer ‘good’, ‘decent’, or even ‘excellent’, but ‘awesome!’ In the hospitality industry ‘awesome’ is becoming synonymous with simple acknowledgements such as ‘that’s fine’ or ‘good choice’. 

I recently ordered a chicken parmigiana, only for the waiter to enthusiastically respond with ‘awesome!’It wasn’t always the case. ‘Awesome’ once meant experiencing something, such as profound natural beauty or even God, which caused awe and wonder, perhaps terror, in the heart of the beholder. The word was used sparingly.

I remember experiencing true awesomeness when my wife and I travelled to Uluru more than 30 years ago. We were enjoying a barbecue dinner with a group of tourists on a remote hill when our tour guide arranged for all the electric lights to be switched off. Paradoxically, without the intrusion of artificial light, we could see much more. The night sky came to life, bejewelled with a multitude of stars. The effect was overwhelming. Overseas tourists unaccustomed to clear night skies were awestruck and unsettled. Their familiar northern hemisphere constellations were either missing or relegated to odd quadrants of the sky.

I imagine that the Jewish patriarch Abraham experienced similar emotions when God more than once told him to look up at the night sky and number his descendants, represented by countless stars (Genesis 15:5 and 22:17). This aged and childless man was probably as much stunned by the audacity of God’s promise as the beauty of the heavens.

The awesomeness of the stars, from a religious perspective, also serves as a reminder that behind processes such as evolution and the ‘big bang’ stands a Creator who delights in his creation. We only need investigate the beauty and structure of the universe to observe the fingerprints of God. As the Psalmist wrote:    

The heavens are telling the glory of God;    

And the firmament proclaims his handiwork    

Day to day pours forth speech, and night to night declares knowledge.    

There is no speech, nor are there words; their voice is not heard;    

Yet their voice goes out through all the earth, and their words to the end of the world.

Take the time to appreciate God’s handiwork and have an awesome day!

Rev. Malcolm Woolrich

School Chaplain