Preaching Wisdom

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Though the lectionary includes relatively few selections from Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, and Job, these biblical books contain a wealth of perspective for how to understand life and live it well. How do we make sense out of life? How much control do we have over the events that happen to us? Why do we suffer? How can we find meaning and joy amidst our experiences of real pain and frustration? Proverbs suggests that in wisdom there is joy, and that life has a discernable pattern of cause and effect. And yet, though the pithy proverbs in the book are simple, they are not simplistic, but rather provide us with guidance that we must apply to the specific situations in which we find ourselves. Ecclesiastes and Job, by contrast to Proverbs, both highlight that we humans are limited in our ability to control or even understand things that…