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A spiritual comment and prayer to begin the day with Rev Canon Dr Jennifer Smith, Superintendent Minister of Wesley’s Chapel and Leysian Mission

Good morning.

The ±«Óãtv news website once published a ‘proverb of the day’ on its Africa page. They’ve been reposted on their Facebook page during these last few weeks of lockdown, and examples include ‘A baby on its mother’s back does not know the way is long,’ and ‘if beards signified intelligence, the goat would have been a genius.’

Every culture has proverbs. They tend to give a cautionary check to a prejudice, or a common-sense reminder to call us back from our first take or knee jerk reaction to a situation. They can give encouragement when we lose heart, or assure us we are not the only ones rolling our eyes in disbelief when something is amiss. Proverbs sometimes offer a way out of conflict, and are often humorous: ‘Not my circus, not my monkeys’ is a Polish favourite of mine. This is partly because the English translation offers such a clear visual image of noisy chaos, and partly because there is such clear permission to close the door and move on.

The great novelist Chinua Achebe used proverbs frequently, not least in the 1958 novel ‘Things fall apart.’ He wrote, ‘a man who lives by the river should not wash his hands with spittle.’ Broadly understood, ‘none of us has to do without help when we are in need.’ We have resources beyond what we can imagine, and we do not have to go it alone whatever the circus, however many monkeys, if we would but look up and take a breath.

Whatever we face today, God protect and guide us. Give us a gentle heart and tolerant spirit, humility to ask for help and grace to offer it. In Jesus’ name we pray,

Amen.