Sunday 15 November 2009   Spratton
" Help us O Lord to become masters of ourselves that we may become the servants of others. Take our lips and speak through them,  our minds and think through them and take our hearts and set them on fire. "

On Wednesday of this week I was in my office at the eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month  As I looked out of the window I recalled the Remembrance Service at All Saints in Northampton on the previous Sunday and the reading from the Apocrypha by the Mayor  It was that well known beautiful passage from Ecclesiasticus Chapter 44 that begins  " Let us now praise famous men and our fathers that begat us ."  
There we were, many dressed in uniforms others in robes and  three cornered hats or just in jackets and ties. All there to honour the dead of war.  
And I thought too of those whom the writer of Ecclesiasticus describes as  having perished as though they have never been.  I  wondered in which category most of us in that church would fall in, say, 50 years time.  I have not found out musical tunes, nor recited verses in writing  I'd like to think that as a civil servant I could claim a place among  those "wise and eloquent in their instructions"   But I rather doubt it.  
Instead I take comfort from another quotation from Ecclesiasticus  "Wisdom lifteth up the head of him that is of low degree and maketh him to sit among great men"  
That's more contemporary, promoting social mobility. 
That in turn made me think of wisdom.  For one of my favourite readings from the Old Testament is that story from the first Book of Kings about Solomon's dream, and his reply when God asks him what he wants  -  wisdom   God likes that idea , and gives Solomon  as a reward  what the King James Version calls "a  wise and understanding heart" 
I thought of that when, as a young Civil Servant  my first boss told me that good judgement was more important that good morals. I tried nonetheless to cultivate both attributes, without, I'm afraid,  ever quite achieving either. 
 Besides getting good judgement, Solomon got plenty of wives, concubines and riches as well.  So with his reply, one could argue that Solomon could have his cake and eat it
Call me a cynic, but despite Solomon's example, I rather doubt that many of us,  given the opportunity, would plump  for wisdom today over a winning lottery ticket.    
For wisdom, is out of fashion.  The very word has joined a number of others that are frequent in works of literature, "dashing" or "jejune"  but are seldom used in everyday life.   
How many of us can recall ever having heard a philosopher, politician or indeed anyone described as "wise".    The most common terms of approval of our leaders or other so called celebrities are  -  `clever'  ` astute' `shrewd, `high powered'.  
The skills of our leaders lie in reading the opinion polls or hearing what focus groups have to say and spinning their view to the media . And the image they want to project is of someone vigorous, forceful, youthful, dynamic, but not wise.  Professors, such as Professor Nutt who has been the news recently in a dispute with the Home Secretary over position of academic advisors ,  are appointed for their specialist knowledge of, say, the effects of cannabis;  university chancellors ( and certainly the heads of Oxbridge Colleges)  are appointed for their abilities as administrators and fundraisers, rather than as the elders of the people.   
Sadly, even philosophers, who from the etymology of the word ( love of wisdom) might be expected to give some meaning to the word, are no longer 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,a question such as  does this lectern exist can take up an entire lecture ?  As for morals, well Bertrand Russell and A J Ayer were undoubtedly highly intelligent, but judging from their private life could not be called wise by any standards.
So what can we learn from the Wisdom of Solomon  or Ecclesiasticus those books in the Apocrypha that address the issue.?   Certainly not how to have one's cake and eat it.  Wisdom  wasn't written by Solomon in any case. His authorship, scholars now agree, was apparently a commonly used literary convention.  It is addressed to the Jews in the first century before Christ and is a critique  -  or that is how I read it  -  of a sceptical hedonistic society in Alexandria, like that we find in the developed world to-day.  It is in fact, I've learned,  a link between the Old and New Testaments.  The description it gives of Wisdom  could be that of the Holy Spirit  "For she (note the feminine gender) is the breath of the power of God, and a pure influence flowing from the glory of the Almighty......the unspotted mirror of the power of God......entering into holy souls she maketh them friends of God and the prophets." 
The Wisdom of Solomon's attack on the permissive society of its time does explain in part why in our own, often agnostic, age, wisdom has gone out of fashion.  To the author God is the source of wisdom  " All wisdom cometh from the Lord "  says the writer of Ecclesiaticus  " and is with him for ever" 
And it is vain to  believe that we on our own can reach a true understanding of who we are and what we are doing here on earth, " For what man is he that can know the counsel of God? Or who can think what the will of the Lord is?  For the thoughts of mortal men are miserable and our devices are but uncertain. For the earthly tabernacle weigheth down the mind that museth upon many things."   So to be wise you have to be virtuous
The good news is that even if you don't make your fortune in this life, "the earthly tabernacle"   you can, if  you get wisdom  find your reward in the next  -  a very Christian sentiment.  Interestingly the writer also warns against wanting those traditional signs of, as the Jews believed, divine approbation, namely,  wealth and longevity i.e. precisely what God gave to Solomon.
But what the writers of these two books in the Apocrypha  wants to do is to persuade their readers that they will benefit from wisdom because it fosters temperance and prudence, justice and strength of will. These are the four cardinal virtues  
Temperance : self control, moderation restraint;  
Justice: proper moderation between self interest and the rights and needs of others; 
Prudence: the ability to judge between courses of action and find what is the appropriate at a given moment;  
Fortitude:  forebearance, endurance and ability to confront fear and uncertainty  or intimidation   
The four points of the Maltese cross, used by the Order of St. John. 
Wisdom, based on these virtues, in short  is its own reward.  
Whether we are, say, a ballet dancer, a GP, a bank clerk of a lollipop lady we can learn some wisdom based on those four cardinal virtues and put them into practice in our lives.  As an example to others, leaving something behind for others to follow. 
150 years or so after those books were written the teachings of Jesus pointed the way, avoiding materialism, seeking virtue, justice etc and through virtue he showed how  we receive wisdom,  and through prayer and Bible reading draw closer to God and discern his purpose for each of us.   
We as Christians are not alone wanting to find a direction and meaning in our lives beyond our own wills.  So do a lot of other people who are not Christians, of course and that is probably the biggest problem that our society faces to-day.   For 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, sex. 
I recommend then having another look at Ecclesiaticus and Wisdom. There is plenty of food for thought in both books, guiding towards a more fulfilling life. 
Finally still in the context of  "what is it all about"  I'd like to read you the last paragraph of an American novel, the Bridge of San Luis Rey that does indicate for us one purpose of life on earth that personally I find attractive., namely the creation of love.  

