The Word of God and the Wisdom of God

The Word of God and the Wisdom of God
Christmas: John 1:1-14, Hebrews 1:1-4
The prophets wrote: “Thus says the Lord.”
The price they paid to share God’s word
was more than we would dare afford,
but they must speak, ignored or heard.
What was it like to be God’s Word –
a living challenge to our ways,
a voice of love that seems absurd
amidst our spite and power plays?

A word has an uneasy fate,
as meaning shifts to suit our ends.
The longing to communicate
grows dazed around too many bends.
Yet God still takes the risk to be
a word immersed in human minds.
We read, but can we learn to see
beyond the certainty that blinds?

For what we humans think we know
is meagre, warped or second hand.
God’s word is small, takes time to grow,
like baby practising to stand.
Before the Word takes form within
it seems like babble in our ears.
We turn away to block the din
of cries of hunger, pain and fears.

But when the Word begins to speak
a resonance becomes a call
in all who stumble on to seek
a wisdom that can lift the pall
of anxious, meaningless non-life.
That Word stirs insight, frees the soul,
makes peace amidst chaotic strife,
and sings with joy in being whole.
	Barbara Messner 22/12/2021