大象传媒

Good morning.聽 I struggled a bit with physics at school.聽 In later years, sitting in a taverna on a Greek island, watching the little motor boats moored after a busy day鈥檚 pottering around the coast, I met a science undergraduate.聽 He got out a biro and with the aid of a paper napkin explained the differences between a two and a four stroke engine and the forces and ratios that made it so.

I guess theoretical physics may be a bit much for some at this time of day, but you might be wondering why water behaves as it does or the process that makes a coffee hot or cold, the nature of time or the laws of gravity and why (and if) toast always falls the way it does.聽
71 years ago today, the scientist Albert Einstein died.聽 They talk about him as the most influential physicist of the 20th century.聽 His extraordinary gifts changed the way we see the world.聽 But he also had a childlikeness that shines in the photos we have:聽 riding a bicycle with glee, his wild hair, the twinkle in his eye.

Science and religion are sometimes crudely seen in opposition, but Einstein would say, 鈥淭he most beautiful thing we can experience is the mysterious. It is the source of all true art and science.鈥澛� But this mystery isn鈥檛 something we just sit back and absorb.聽 He said, 鈥淚 have no special talent. I am only passionately curious.鈥澛� Persistent questioning led to extraordinary discoveries, and I imagine not a few blunders.聽 The child constantly questions and so learns. Jesus once said, 鈥淲hoever does not receive the kingdom of God as a little child will never enter it.鈥澛� Maybe he was encouraging people not to accept religion at face value, but to keep on asking why.

Lord, help me to value the gift of imagination and never to be afraid to question.聽 Amen.