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Showing posts from January 12, 2025

A Song of Sophia

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A Song of Sophia There wére yet no óceans, but Í was his daúghter— befóre ancient hílls was Í given bírth, befóre every spríng burst aboúnding in wáter, befóre he scáttered the dúst of the eárth. The Lórd wove me ínto the wórld’s new foundátion, the Lórd brought me fórth as the fírstborn of áll; and, whíle he fáshioned, I dánced with elátion as cháos found fórm in replý to his cáll. Cóme now and heárken: I crý in the ópen, whére the paths meét do Í take my stánd, seéking the foólish, the wáyward, the bróken, yeárning to táke every óne by the hánd. My hoúse I have buílt, seven píllars uphóld it, the táble is sét with a rích feast and wíne. Come and wélcome! For hére you belóng, be then bóld: sit besíde me, enjóying as yoúrs all that’s míne. (check out my previous post for the background to this poem)

I should have been listening to the sermon, but ...

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I have moderate hearing loss and sometimes find it hard to follow what's being said in church: when the building echoes, when there's a lot of noise (from the kids, the musicians or the ministers!), when the sound system isn't working or isn't adjusted right or simply doesn't exist. Then I try to find other ways of engaging with what's going on.  So yesterday morning, as the Chapel Centre in Billesdon began a new sermon series on the book of Proverbs and I couldn't quite follow it all, I started looking through the opening chapters first myself. Two things struck me. The whole book is in poetry (like so much of the rest of the Bible), a fact which we don't give nearly enough attention. And in English translation many of the lines seem to fall out as near tetrameters, mostly iambic:  Listen, my sons, to a father's instructions ... Let the wise listen and add to their learning ... Thus you will walk in the ways of the just ... I open my lip...