Thursday June 21
The Circle of Creation
Morning Office:
| Scripture: | Psalm 148; Proverbs 8:22-31 |
| Hymns: | # 425 Joyful Joyful |
Bible Study: Proverbs 8:22-31
Wisdom is often referenced in the Hebrew Scriptures, usually as a human characteristic that devout persons should seek to develop: “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom.” Paradoxically, wisdom was also the one aspect of Hebrew religion that could be shared across cultural boundaries: some of the Proverbs are even borrowed from Egyptian sources! Here, however, wisdom speaks in her own distinctively Hebrew voice and persona. Chapters 7-8 of Proverbs contrast the self-indulgent attractions of worldly wisdom with the genuine delight of wisdom that comes from God. The thought that God created Wisdom first, as a step towards the physical creation, may be connected to the later Christian idea of Christ as the Word of God (begotten, not created) by whom all things were made. Other Christian commentators have seen Wisdom as analogous to the Holy Spirit or to the feminine aspect of God.
Discussion questions
- Can you think of other scriptural passages that speak of the wholeness and integrity of the circle of creation?
- Where have you learned (or could you learn) – to “rejoice in the whole creation”?
- What experiences of being in the midst of creation have shaped your faith?
- What wisdom about creation have you received from other traditions, or from voices at the margins of society? How has this affected your perception of the Creator?
- How does your church acknowledge the wholeness and integrity of creation through its prayer, worship, and action? What else could it do?
Night Prayer: See National Aboriginal Day of Prayer resources on the Worship pages of www.anglican.ca