WAITING…HOPING

Carved in the stone of UCLA’s physics hall is a quote from Michael Faraday, the British scientist who in the mid-19th Century developed the electric generator.

“Nothing is too wonderful to be true,” it proclaimed above the heads of students streaming through the heavy doors, hurrying to classes. I always regarded the inscription somewhat whimsically as I scuttled into Physics IA lectures (decidedly not wonderful!!). This almost frivolous thought from the man who postulated magnetic lines of force seemed a serious digression from the scientific method. Who had time to consider what was wonderful? With surprise quizzes, term papers and teachers who used the Socratic method thundering down upon us, our thoughts were more attuned to the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse than raindrops, roses and whiskers on kittens.

So Faraday’s thought was tucked away, awaiting a
time that encouraged further consideration. Ironically, it
is a thought that has percolated through my thinking more
often than the great moral platitudes tossed about by my
professors.

Advent is an excellent time to contemplate Faraday’s
observation. How likely would it seem to a somber
logistician that the Creator of our universe would send His Son—His Son!—to be the salvation of struggling humanity. How incredible to suggest that that Son would suffer unspeakable torments…would be condemned as a criminal…all to offer redemption to us! This idea boggles my mind more than physics ever did!

The Spanish language, with its easy grammatical structure, well-behaved vowel sounds and melodic rhythm, has many admirable aspects, but one of my favorites is the verb esperar. Esperar means “to wait.” It also means “to hope.” As we anticipate the birth of Christ, our waiting is infused with the great hope and promise of John 3:16. “For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish but have everlasting life.”

Nothing is too wonderful to be true.

--Donna Gaddy