Wonderful is coming
"For a child will be born to us, a son will be given to us; And the government will rest on His shoulders; And His name will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Eternal Father, Prince of Peace".
(Isaiah 9:6)
"His Name will be called Wonderful [One], Counselor..." Many translations like the one above render this as just one name, "Wonderful Counselor". But the "Wonderful" is a noun in the Hebrew -- which means not an embellishment to "Counselor", but a separate, parallel, equal, and prior name. Wonderful. It's a word we have overused so that nowadays it has come to mean something like "really, really good", or "fantastic". Applied to all sorts of mundane things: "Dinner was wonderful." But wonder-ful's real, original meaning corresponds to the original Hebrew word, something that causes us to wonder, to marvel, to be astonished and amazed. That is from beyond our natural comprehension, beyond our reason, our paradigms. Like the continuing miracles of Jesus which left the people "amazed" throughout the Gospels. This child who is coming to us will be named Wonderful. Shocking. Mind-blowing. Mind-breaking. Who is coming? Wonderful. Wonderful is coming.
But His name is next Counselor, One who advocates for us and advises us, who guides and directs us. How can one whose very name is Wonderful/Mind-blowing/Astonishing guide us or speak to us or even be "understood", known by us? By us who are trapped in this earth and its thinking, very deeply of this earth?
There is a clue for us here: this series of appellations begins with "a child". He is first a child for us. And finally -- a Father! How could it be more baldly Trinitarian? He gives Himself to us first as a child.
Not just God descending to Earth, which is crazy enough; but literally growing up from the earth, a shoot, a "fruit-bearing branch" from the "stem of Jesse" -- yes, stem and even "roots"! (Isaiah 11:1) Rooted in our ground, in our poisoned soil of our broken world. Instead of the Most High just humbling Himself in coming as low as possible, He be-comes for us, begins for us low and grows High among us, with us, for us. For us who are hopelessly trapped, who cannot grow because we cannot even see or admit or know without Him that we are so low. He is not just far higher than we can think, but lower than we can be. Lower than my sin, than my sinning world.
Let us wonder this Christmas.
[LH, 2007]
(Isaiah 9:6)
"His Name will be called Wonderful [One], Counselor..." Many translations like the one above render this as just one name, "Wonderful Counselor". But the "Wonderful" is a noun in the Hebrew -- which means not an embellishment to "Counselor", but a separate, parallel, equal, and prior name. Wonderful. It's a word we have overused so that nowadays it has come to mean something like "really, really good", or "fantastic". Applied to all sorts of mundane things: "Dinner was wonderful." But wonder-ful's real, original meaning corresponds to the original Hebrew word, something that causes us to wonder, to marvel, to be astonished and amazed. That is from beyond our natural comprehension, beyond our reason, our paradigms. Like the continuing miracles of Jesus which left the people "amazed" throughout the Gospels. This child who is coming to us will be named Wonderful. Shocking. Mind-blowing. Mind-breaking. Who is coming? Wonderful. Wonderful is coming.
But His name is next Counselor, One who advocates for us and advises us, who guides and directs us. How can one whose very name is Wonderful/Mind-blowing/Astonishing guide us or speak to us or even be "understood", known by us? By us who are trapped in this earth and its thinking, very deeply of this earth?
There is a clue for us here: this series of appellations begins with "a child". He is first a child for us. And finally -- a Father! How could it be more baldly Trinitarian? He gives Himself to us first as a child.
Not just God descending to Earth, which is crazy enough; but literally growing up from the earth, a shoot, a "fruit-bearing branch" from the "stem of Jesse" -- yes, stem and even "roots"! (Isaiah 11:1) Rooted in our ground, in our poisoned soil of our broken world. Instead of the Most High just humbling Himself in coming as low as possible, He be-comes for us, begins for us low and grows High among us, with us, for us. For us who are hopelessly trapped, who cannot grow because we cannot even see or admit or know without Him that we are so low. He is not just far higher than we can think, but lower than we can be. Lower than my sin, than my sinning world.
Let us wonder this Christmas.
[LH, 2007]
posted by CS at 10:55 AM
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