Article October 28, 1967 Issue

The Quality of Wonder

BERNARD ROBINSON

The quality of wonder is akin to joy and delight. Isaiah's prophetic vision of the coining Messiah, or Christ, as the Redeemer of mankind from the woes of the flesh, as the holy manifestation of God, reached sublime heights of poetic utterance: "His name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace."^{ Isa. 9:6;}

The spiritual concept of God was apparent to Isaiah's exalted perception, and the inspiration of this great vision has woven itself into the idiom of the language, into the noble music of the great composers, as in Handel's oratorio, "The Messiah," echoing its resounding hallelujahs of praise through the centuries.

The quality of wonder, often identified with the innocence of children, is the opposite of that cynicism which is the limiting and restricting stamp and seal of materiality. Wonder at its highest is redolent with gratitude and carries with it spiritual spontaneity and inspiration. It gives wings to right action and soars over obstacles with delight and confident assurance.

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