O Wisdom

Today is Dec. 17, traditionally the day when Christians begin praying the "O Antiphons" in preparation for Christmas. We probably know these prayers best as the verses of the Advent hymn “O Come, O Come Emmanuel.”

Last year, I was preparing a sermon on one of the antiphons and toyed with the idea of beginning with a recording of a choir singing the antiphon. We would then discuss the mood of the piece and how that relates to the text. I found a few great examples. However, as I was searching, I got hit with an ad on YouTube — the ones you can’t skip for 10 seconds. Instead of “O Lord,” I got “O-o-o-Ozempic!”

I thought that was a perfect picture of our society. America has a problem with chronic obesity and so we’re singing songs to pharmaceuticals, praising them for our deliverance. There’s no problem that can’t be solved with a little ingenuity and prescription drugs.

(That is not a comment upon you or your doctor if that has been an appropriate treatment for you. It is simply to say that singing songs to medication is not something that a healthy person does — healthy in any sense of the word.)

“O Wisdom, coming forth from the mouth of the Most High,

reaching from one end to the other mightily,

and sweetly ordering all things:

Come and teach us the way of prudence.”

Our greatest need isn’t something that can be solved by a pill or a shot. Our greatest need is for our God to come to us and set all things aright. We long for God’s wisdom because we live in a world of foolishness — both in the world at large and in our own hearts.

“Where is the wise person? Where is the teacher of the law? Where is the philosopher of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world? For since in the wisdom of God the world through its wisdom did not know him, God was pleased through the foolishness of what was preached to save those who believe. Jews demand signs and Greeks look for wisdom, but we preach Christ crucified: a stumbling block to Jews and foolishness to Gentiles, but to those whom God has called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. For the foolishness of God is wiser than human wisdom, and the weakness of God is stronger than human strength.”

1 Corinthians 1:20-25, NIV

Pray that, as you prepare for Christmas, God would open your eyes to Christ – the power of God and the wisdom of God.