Hollowell Matins and Guilsborough Evensong 19th August 2012. 
I imagine that many of you, like I was, were glued to the television for some hours in the evening a week ago today, watching the Closing Ceremony of the Olympic Games. We were in good company apparently with many hundreds of millions around the world.  
In this country I read that almost 23 million of us tuned in to see among other acts, a mixed choir of deaf and not deaf children singing "Imagine there's no heaven, it's easy if you try".   Then Roger Daltry (68) of The Who  -  incidentally he is No. 61 on Rolling Stone magazine's list of the 100 hundred greatest singers of all time - and Pete Townsend 67, song writer and guitarist of The Who and himself occupying 10[th] place in Rolling Stone' Magazine's list of the 100 greatest guitarists of all time  -  sang a song called "My generation ".  At least these two celebrities omitted the line "Hope I die before I get old ".   Then  Eric Idle of Monty Python fame and the  satirical " Life Of Brian "., surrounded by Welsh women in national dress, Scottish pipers and roller skating nuns, sang   -  well, I'll omit the full line that went out to the whole world  - he sang  " Life's a piece of S--- when you look at it ". 
It seems very strange to me that among all the euphoria about outcome of the Games, and the great achievements of the individuals concerned whether or not they won a medal, we should be pumping out to the world downbeat messages such as those.  As one commentator put it, the idea that things are getting worse and that life is actually quite a misery, is hard wired into the minds of too many of our leaders, and through them to the rest of us.   To adapt a well known poem for family consumption, "They mess you up your Mum and Dad/ They do not mean to but they do/ They fill you with the faults they had/ And leave some over just for you. / Man hands on misery to man / it deepen like a coastal shelf. / Get out as early as you can, / and don't have any kids yourself."

But when improvements are sincerely put forward we don't like them.  I sometimes think that almost any change that might affect the teaching profession or the NHS or shop opening hours is almost automatically opposed by self styled experts.  How about building a few more houses? Wahoo there!  Not in my back yard!  
Yet despite the dire economic news, the gap between rich and poor countries has narrowed as Chinas and India for example have embraced capitalism.  I had forgotten that the first of the so called Millennium Development Goals  -  to halve the proportion of the world's population living on a dollar a day by 2015  -  was met in 2008, seven years ahead of schedule.  Deaths from Malaria peaked, I read, in 2004 and Aids, with its horrendous death toll, may soon be defeated.  
Doom sayers claims that we are running out of fuel have been at least partly put to rest by the discovery of new sources of energy and fuel efficient cars etc.  That leaves Global Warming, I admit.  But there is no consensus yet about its causes and likely effects.   We can say confidently that the world has never been richer, healthier, freer or more equal than it is today.  But I doubt whether that opinion would be shared by many if we conducted an opinion poll on the streets of Northampton.  Since very few of those improvements have had anything to do with governments or government policy, it's not the message we hear from our leaders.  

That's where a bit of wisdom is sorely needed.  It's what Solomon famously asked for in to-days reading from the Old Testament.  It's one of the most important lessons in the Bible  -  he asked for wisdom.   And God replies to Solomon's request by giving him in the words of the KJV that "wise and understanding heart".   So what does wisdom mean?   The dictionary's definition is                                "possession of experience and knowledge together with the power of applying them critically or practically ".  
Now, despite the changes for the better I have mentioned, wisdom, I fear is out of fashion.  The very word has joined a number of others that are frequent in literature, like romance or stout hearted, upright, by which are seldom used in everyday life  How many of us can recall having heard a "wise" ?  
We tend to attach more importance to words like vigorous, forceful, youthful, dynamic, shrewd and clever.  The skills of our leader lie in reading opinion polls and listening to focus groups and in spinning their views to the media.   Even philosophers, who from the etymology of the word  -  love of wisdom  -  comes   might be expected to give it some proper meaning,  are not particularly wise.  Some are accused of incoherent gibberish whilst others have narrowed their focus to a point where the ordinary man or woman cannot understand,  still less appreciate,  what they are on about, for example, does this lectern exist? 
Later on in the Old Testament the Wisdom of Solomon puts forward King's ideas.  Actually, it turns out that it was written by him and it dates from much later.   What the author wants to get across, and he uses Solomon's name for that purpose, is that all will benefit from wisdom which he defines as temperance and prudence, justice and strength of will.   These are the cardinal virtues. 
Temperance meaning self control, moderation, restraint;  Prudence meaning the ability to judge between courses of action and find what is right at a given moment; Justice  proper moderation between self interest and the rights and interests of others  and Fortitude :  forbearance, endurance and the ability to confront fear, uncertainty or intimidation.    Wisdom he says is its own reward and makes us fit for the heavenly kingdom. 
These cardinal virtues are, incidentally, symbolised in the four points of the Maltese cross of the Order of St. John and St. John Ambulance. 
But we as Christians are by no means alone of course in wanting to find a direction and meaning in our lives. Lack of direction, lack of a compass is probably the biggest problem that our society faces today.   Spawning cults, sects witches etc on e-Bay. 
As G K Chesterton once wrote: when we cease to believe in God we do not believe in nothing, we believe in anything: fame, wealth, power, drugs alcohol.   "For Wisdom is glorious and never fadeth away; yea, she is easily seen to them that love her and found of such as seek her.
So the lesson for today is let's keep trying.  Temperance, Prudence, Justic and Fortitude.   And remember as some sage also said (not in the Old Testament) "Some drink deeply from the river of knowledge, others only gargle. " 








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