‘Too many cooks spoil the broth’ but ‘Many hands make light work’ What are we to make of proverbs that like having it both ways? It’s all very well to say ‘Look before you leap’ but how can you then say ‘He who hesitates is lost’? Is a proverb worth its weight in printer’s ink? And what are we to make of the fact that there is a book of the Bible devoted to nothing else?
The plain and simple answer is that proverbs deal with day-to-day experience, with what it is like to live on this muddled planet with, as it may seem, only our flawed human nature to guide us. Life is replete with paradox. Sayings handed down from generation to generation contradict each other yet we know that they make sense of the world in which we live. Plato, Kierkegaard and the rest offer systematic approaches to understanding our days on this planet but we know that everyday life has something more about it.
We pride ourselves in this country on our approach to justice. But we know very well that an adversarial duel in the criminal courts does not always do justice to the interplay of motives and shortcomings of those directly involved and those with a general and remote concern in what the court may be deciding. We pride ourselves on our democracy but we know that there are various ways of defining that less than perfect pattern of political activity.
King Solomon had proverbs attributed to him. So did our King Alfred. Ninety-four Old English proverbs are found in an anthology called the Exeter Book. Before the Conquest Anglo-Saxons were saying: ’Do as I say, not as I do.’ As for riddles, the Anglo-Saxons liked them longer – and more poetic – than we prefer. They also enjoyed riddles about animals.
A riddle plays a prominent part in the story of Samson. Both Jeremiah and Ezekiel quote a proverb about sour grapes. We in the 21st century still talk of sour grapes. Jesus referred to a red sky as an indication of forthcoming weather (Matthew 16.2,3). We recognise a proverbial distillation of human experience as not only homely but authentic. Systematic thought goes so far. A day-to-day brush with human nature adds something that highly developed systems propounded by Aquinas or Calvin fail to accommodate. In its bumbling way the Anglican via media is more in touch with the quirks and dislocations of daily life.
The Biblical proverbs make uncomfortable reading for lazy and conceited people. And how about this for a meddlesome person: ‘Like someone who seizes a stray cur by the ears is he who meddles in a quarrel not his own’ (26.17)?
FOUNTAIN OF LIFE
If you are curious to know about an unusual initiative in the Church of England, look up the Fountain of Life church in Ashill, Thetford. The church building came into being from nowhere thanks to the energy and generosity of worshippers in this Norfolk outpost. Look for ‘Our story’ on the church website. Heading up the project is Paul Wilkinson. Proverbs 15.22 has an apposite adage: ‘Schemes lightly made come to nothing, but with detailed planning they succeed.’
SEE WALKER
One of the best intros to a church website is that of Christ Church, Walker, Newcastle-upon-Tyne. A roving camera flies in and around the church, built in 1848, which is set in an immense churchyard.
TEAM FIVE
The five parishes that amalgamated in 1988 to form the team parish of Christ the King, Newcastle-upon-Tyne are looking for a new rector. Their website features persuasive notes about Christian beliefs.
REALLY TRUE?
‘Is Christianity really true?’ was the question being addressed last Sunday in Jesmond parish church, Newcastle-upon-Tyne. David Holloway leads a large ministry team in this well supported parish. It aims to be a centre of Godly Living.
GATHERINGS
St George’s, Gateshead is part of the HTB network and is refreshingly free from jargon. It invites people to gatherings, not services.
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