The Call of Wisdom

During the Diamond Jubilee Service in St Paul’s Cathedral, the children’s choir sang "The Call of Wisdom". This month we take up that theme. We have asked our prayer authors to reflect on a part of the Bible knows as the “wisdom literature” - five books in the middle of Old Testament: Job, Psalms, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes and Song of Songs. They will encourage us to “wise up” as we pray through these earthy pieces of Hebrew writing. Job encourages us to “wise up through suffering” - those experiences where life flies out of control and we are assaulted with questions. Job struggles through to a perspective on life that brings a strange contentment at the end of it all. The Psalms help us to “wise up through praying” - not fancy words, but prayers that bring the whole of life before the whole of God, raw rage and desperate depression as well as celebrations that have dancing in adoration. The Proverbs offer us practical choices that lead to life or ways that lead to self-destruction - and some marvellous imagery taken from observing the world of nature. Ecclesiastes is “The Preacher” who encourages us to “wise up through questioning” because life can sometimes feel pointless - work, pleasure and wealth all leave the writer feeling empty. The Buddhists call that “dukkha” or meaninglessness. The questioner breaks through to a position where life makes some sense if we “remember our Creator in the days of our youth” - and in old age. Song of Songs is a wonderful celebration of love and relationships. Many a stale marriage could wise up by letting the energy of this poem soak into the dry places of the heart. Behind the romantic imagery is the passionate heart beat of God the Lover who comes to us “leaping like a gazelle” - a wee glimpse of the beauty of God. As you share in this rich tapestry of prayer, we pray that you will be led into deep places where you will hear “the call of wisdom”.