In recent weeks, I’ve been mulling over Dacher Keltner’s perspective on the different kinds of awe we can experience and how important these experiences are.[i] I’ve also been aware we are in the season of Passover and Easter. For more than 40 years, one of my responsibilities was to find fresh meaning in these stories; it’s a habit I have yet to break. I’ve been wondering: does Keltner’s work offer any insights to the spiritual meaning of the season?
At this point, I’m thinking of five specific points Keltner describes:
- Awe-ful experiences. While many experiences of awe are inspiring, we can also feel it when we witness something dark and harrowing, like the events of 9/11, contemplating the holocaust, or personal tragedies.
- Awesome experiences: when we experience something beyond our understanding that is mysterious and fills us with wonder.
- Moral courage: In Keltner’s research, this is the most frequently reported experience of awe. We feel it when we see someone selflessly take on serious challenges for the good of others: social justice pioneers, foster parents, people navigating serious disabilities and hardships, etc.
- Collective effervescence: The powerful feelings we can have when we are part of a group having a shared experience that takes us beyond our ordinary sense of life. This can be at athletic and musical events, moving purposefully in unison, worship services, etc.
- Awe-inspired resolve: Witnessing or experiencing awe can give us courage to face difficult situations.
With these in mind, I thought of the Passover and Easter stories in a very basic way. Do these familiar stories contain examples of awe?
Passover
(I am indebted to my Jewish friends and clergy for my understanding of Passover; I hope my comments are valid.)
The Hebrew people are suffering as exploited laborers in Egypt. Moses has a personal divine encounter that directs him to lead them from bondage to freedom. As he confronts Pharoah, seven disasters (“plagues”) fall upon Egypt, each reminders of how vulnerable human life is. When the time is right, the people flee. They come to a body of water but have no way to cross. They look back and see Pharoh’s army coming after them. Death seems certain.
A way through the water appears. The people make their way to the other side, expecting Pharoah’s army to crush them. But the waters return, frustrating Pharoah’s intention. The time of oppression ends and a time of freedom begins. Moses’ sister Miriam leads the people in celebration.
Where are any elements of awe?
The experience of seeing an army approaching determined to destroy you when you are defenseless? Awe-ful.
A mysterious force leads you to a liberated future? Awesome.
Moses’ example, risking his life to lead the struggle? Moral courage.
Joining Miriam in the dance of deliverance? Collective effervescence.
Becoming a source of inspiration? The story has been a constant source of inspiration from the early days of Israel up to the civil rights and liberation movements of our time.
Easter
Yeshua is a peasant who appears in first century Galilee, healing the sick and engaging people of every background. He offers a vision of spiritual life embodied in what he calls “the kingdom of God.” In words and actions, he identifies with the poor and marginalized, assuring them of divine favor. What he says and does threatens the social order. He is arrested, convicted, and sentenced to death. While in custody he is abused. He is paraded through the streets and executed as a public display of the power of the state. The men he chose to follow him flee. As he nears death, he feels even God abandons him.
A few days later, several of his female followers come to his tomb. They begin to have experiences that convince them his personal spirit lives and is present with them. In the days to come, that experience is shared by a growing number of people.
Where are any elements of awe?
Imagining what it would be like to be dying in severe pain, separated from loved ones, and feeling total despair? This is awe-ful.
Becoming convinced he survived the death of his body and is present with his followers — that darkness cannot extinguish divine light, and in the end, love is stronger than death? This is awesome.
Joining the circle of people who experience his risen presence celebrating what this means? Collective effervescence.
Reflecting on his personal journey in those final days and hours, seeing his purpose was to serve and empower others? Moral courage.
Becoming a source of inspiration? The story has inspired countless people, leading them to decide what is worth living for and how to approach death.
I believe both stories contain multiple elements of awe. I have been in gatherings focused on both stories that uplift and inspire me and others. They remind us of what terrifies us. They invite us to see life in a spiritual perspective, encouraging us to know there is light beyond the darkest of circumstances. They teach us that our ancestors have overcome great hardship. They encourage us to share the story, insights, and joy with others through celebration, community, and service. They give us hope and courage.
May we all welcome moments of awe in this season.
Featured image: “Italian Landscape,” Gustav Klimt, 1913
[i] Awe: The New Science of Everyday Wonder and How It Can Transform Your Life, Dacher Keltner, 2023
[iii] “The Offering of the Pipe,” Black Elk Speaks, John G. Neidhardt, ed., 1932
Steve Jacobsen, Ed.D 