Wonder as Communion

Early this morning, I took my children out to run an errand. As we paused at a stop sign, we noticed a vertical rainbow directly in front of us. Pink and yellow, blue light streaming straight into the sky, hovering over the earth. The low position of the sun sending light to bounce off the ice crystals in the air, forming this astonishing, icy rainbow. We sat in the parking lot for a few moments at our destination, looking at the rainbow, a sense of wonder pushing the entire car into silence as we just observed it.

The word wonder comes from the Old English wundor. It means marvel, astonishment. Something that causes the heart to pause, to wonder is not merely to admire. Its roots reach deeper than curiosity or delight.. Wonder stills us. It opens us.