School Worship Bible Project
Year 2Advent– Proverbs 8
Reflections from Proverbs 8
11 “I am Wisdom, I am better than jewels;
nothing you want can compare with me.
12 I am Wisdom, and I have insight;
I have knowledge and sound judgement.
14 I make plans and carry them out.
I have understanding, and I am strong.
17 I love those who love me;
whoever looks for me can find me.
22 “The Lord created me first of all,
the first of his works, long ago.
23 I was made in the very beginning,
at the first, before the world began.
24 I was born before the oceans,
when there were no springs of water.
25 I was born before the mountains,
before the hills were set in place,
26 before God made the earth and its fields
or even the first handful of soil.
27 I was there when he set the sky in place,
when he stretched the horizon across the ocean,
28 when he placed the clouds in the sky,
when he opened the springs of the ocean
29 and ordered the waters of the sea
to rise no further than he said.
I was there when he laid the earth's foundations.
30 I was beside him like an architect,
I was his daily source of joy,
always happy in his presence —
31 happy with the world
and pleased with the human race.
32 “Now, young people, listen to me.
Do as I say, and you will be happy.
33 Listen to what you are taught.
Be wise; do not neglect it.”
Notes
This is an edited version of a famous chapter on wisdom. It is not really necessary to give very detailed notes but we have given some ideas below. It is important that the piece is seen in its poetic context; the words almost sing for themselves with no help from us.
Verses 11, 12, 14, 17: We are introduced to wisdom who is portrayed as a person. These verses show wisdom to be a lively character who both possesses and gives such gifts and understanding and strength. The importance of verse 17 cannot be overstressed. As we saw in the Advent season the theme of inclusivity which is clearly seen in this verse. The gift of wisdom is freely available to everyone.
Verses 22-31: This is a fast paced account of creation. vv 22-26 stress the place of Wisdom as being born or created before anything else. In exactly the same way as we read about the Word in John’s Gospel. We have seen in the Advent season how important the parallels between Word, wisdom and reason are to a thorough understanding of the idea of logos which John is using. From verse 27 the poetry moves on to the creation itself and ends with some lovely lines about how God feels towards the natural world described in the earlier verses.
Verses 32 and 33 provide a powerful ending to the section with the voice of wisdom speaking almost as a parent to a child. It is worth asking the question – is the advice which she gives good advice?
The Reflections:
There are four simple reflections in this season. These provide a chance to think about the theme of wisdom so closely linked to the logos of John’s Gospel. The bold type should be spoken by everyone. The remainder can be read by a reader or by different readers. You might like to include music such as instrumental versions of carols – even possibly Hely-Hutchinson’s Carol Symphony or Peter Warlock’s delightful ‘Bethlehem Down’.
Reflection 1
I am Wisdom,
I love those who love me;
whoever looks for me can find me.
Knowledge and judgement are gifts of wisdom
Our knowledge is something to be treasured
Judgement is a skill which can take a long time to learn
Let us think for a moment – what do we know?
What did we know when we were younger?
What will we know in the future?
What is it that we most want to know?
How do we make judgements?
How do we know what is wrong and what is right?
How do we know what is good and what is bad?
How can we help other people understand these things?
In a moment of silence say a short prayer of your own to ask for God’s help in the search for wisdom.
Listen to what you are taught.
Be wise; do not neglect it.
Reflection 2
I am Wisdom,
I love those who love me;
whoever looks for me can find me.
I make plans and carry them out.
I have understanding, and I am strong.
In a moment of quiet let us think about plans
Do you have any plans?
Are there things that you wish to do?
Are there things that you wish to be?
Are there places you would like to go?
Are there people that you would like to meet?
Lord of Wisdom,
You have given us wisdom and the example of Jesus to guide us and in the Christmas story we see your plan coming to life.
Please help us to find understanding from our learning that will help us to make our plans come true.
Give us strength to persevere in our work and to grow in understanding so that we will know more of each other and more of you.
Amen
Listen to what you are taught.
Be wise; do not neglect it.
Reflection 3
I am Wisdom,
I love those who love me;
whoever looks for me can find me.
This is a musical reflection, read the ‘creation’ section of the extract from Proverbs and listen to some reflective music such as Debussy’s ‘Reflets dans l’eau’ (Images Bk 1) (no pun intended!). You could read the section over the music and then allow the piece to finish while thinking about the words.
“The Lord created me first of all,
the first of his works, long ago.
I was made in the very beginning,
at the first, before the world began.
I was born before the oceans,
when there were no springs of water.
I was born before the mountains,
before the hills were set in place,
before God made the earth and its fields
or even the first handful of soil.
I was there when he set the sky in place,
when he stretched the horizon across the ocean,
when he placed the clouds in the sky,
when he opened the springs of the ocean
and ordered the waters of the sea
to rise no further than he said.
I was there when he laid the earth's foundations.
I was beside him like an architect,
I was his daily source of joy,
always happy in his presence —
happy with the world
and pleased with the human race.”
Listen to what you are taught.
Be wise; do not neglect it.
Reflection 4
I am Wisdom,
I love those who love me;
whoever looks for me can find me.
“Now, young people, listen to me.
Do as I say, and you will be happy.
Listen to what you are taught.
Be wise; do not neglect it.”
We can learn a great deal from the wisdom of people who have lived before us.
Let us think of Mary and Joseph, of the Shepherds and the Kings who listened and paid attention to what they were taught and because of this all played an important part in the Christmas story.
“Now, young people, listen to me.
Do as I say, and you will be happy.
Listen to what you are taught.
Be wise; do not neglect it.”
Now in a moment of stillness we will remember the things that make us happy.
Our families …
Our friends …
And the gifts that we give and receive at Christmas.
“Now, young people, listen to me.
Do as I say, and you will be happy.
Listen to what you are taught.
Be wise; do not neglect it.”
I am Wisdom,
I love those who love me;
whoever looks for me can find me.