Worship the Lord in holy splendor

1 Chronicles 16:29

In the middle of winter
in the noisy distraction of a busy holiday season,
splendor slips in, if we have eyes to see it.

Splendor startles us with its quality of breath-taking beauty.

Merriam-Webster’s Dictionary

splendor (noun)

Great brilliance, brightness

By the tender mercy of our God,

The dawn from on high will break upon us

Luke 1:78

In my picture from Lake Buffalo, Minnesota, brilliant light 
dazzles across ice, snow, and sky. In the darkest season of the year, 
Zachariah’s words burst out of the text. There they are, palpable, before me.

Splendor, for a moment, erases fear. For a moment, encompassed by joy, 
we taste, we experience, we feel eternity. 

Cambridge Dictionary

splendour (noun); US: splendor

The quality of being extremely beautiful or luxurious.

When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting,

the child leaped in her womb.

And Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit.

Luke 1:41

In the warm, luxurious embrace of friendship, joy radiates.
New life leaps. Unadulterated beauty reveals itself. 

Splendor directs our attention to what is real, what is eternal.

The Britannica Dictionary

Splendor (noun); Plural: splendors; UK: Splendour

Great and impressive beauty.

O Lord, I love the house in which you dwell,

and the place where your glory abides.

Psalm 28:8

In the north, crystalline lakesides, and, in the south, tiny pine cones, declare the power and beauty of our God. Soft snows and hidden seeds tell of gentleness and the promise of life to come. Minnesota to Alabama, splendor seeps into the cracks of each ordinary day.

Come, bless the Lord, all you servants of the Lord!

Lift up your hands to the holy place,

And bless the Lord.

May the Lord, the maker of heaven and earth,

Bless you from Zion.

Psalm 134

This Advent, may you discover the splendor of the coming kingdom of heaven in your midst. 

Worship the Lord in holy splendor.

1 Chronicles 16:29