Magi: Earth's Crammed with Heaven

Elizabeth Barrett Browning’s well-known poem says:

Earth's crammed with heaven,
And every common bush afire with God;
But only he who sees, takes off his shoes,
The rest sit round it and pluck blackberries,
And daub their natural faces unaware.

Browning's poem reflects a Celtic vision of the world, which holds that the entire created world is alive with the presence of the Divine. The Celtic cross, a cross with a circle at its heart, reflects that oneness. There is no separation between the Divine and the human, the heavenly and the earthly. God is always and everywhere.

The Magi remind me to embrace wonder. And when I am in touch with the Magi within me, I am more prone to notice the wonder of the world . . . the wonder of stars in the night sky . . . the wonder of a friend who has overcome tremendous odds to arrive at this moment of life . . . the wonder of forgiveness that arises within the one who has every good reason to be bitter and angry. "Earth's crammed with heaven."

I want to invite you to consider this part of your own life . . .
the part of you that is observant and watchful . . .
the part of you that believes a Power beyond you holds the universe together . . .
the part of you that believes there is an unseen connection among all the seemingly random events of daily life . . .
that part of you that stays alert and awake . . .
the part of you that is open to newness . . .
the part of you that can believe there is truth and life and meaning that you have not yet understood . . .
the part of you that acknowledges there is more truth (about God, life, yourself) that lies beyond your current belief system . . .
the part of you that really does want to give yourself to something larger, something expansive, something beyond, something that is “exceedingly, abundantly beyond ALL you can ask or imagine” (Eph. 3:20).

The spirit of these magi is alive somewhere within you, opening you to the mystery of God, leading you onward toward new discoveries with God, expanding your soul.

This spirit is alive within you when you stand in awe before a sunset that takes your breath away . . .
when you hold a new grandson and allow his speechless cry to be God’s voice to you . . .
when you hear a new insight and sense the deep conviction that it was “just what I needed in this moment.”

As Eugene Peterson says in The Message, “The world’s a huge stockpile of God-wonders and God-thoughts.” (Ps. 40:4 – 5) Those who carry the spirit of the magi within know this from experience. The universe is alive, it is not settled. It is pregnant with truth, exploding with meaning, with God-wonders.

In the spirit of the magi we search, we watch, we enquire, we question, we follow.

Earth's crammed with heaven.


For Reflection:
Think about the last 24 hours. What “wonder” have you experienced in the last day? . . . in the created world? . . . or with another person? You might even take out your journal and create a “wonder list” that would form the basis of your prayer time.