Eleven beautiful and lyrically rich songs accompanied by orchestra using texts of the Old and New Testament and the Apocrypha.

Wisdom

The teachings of Jesus fall squarely within the wisdom tradition of the world’s major religions. Very little of what He actually spoke was doctrinal, though some clearly was. Most of His words were both pastorally practical, and highly mystical. His sermons, parables, and paradoxes all complement the traditions of the other great religious teachers of the world. They also complete them.

“Wisdom” is a project that taps into the Old Testament wisdom tradition of the Jews from a universal New Testament perspective for all people. Specifically, I have used the books of Wisdom, Sirach, and Proverbs for texts. These books were most treasured by the early Christians as most similar in teaching and tone to the teaching of the Master. This is symbolized by the title of Sirach also being “Ecclesiasticus,” or the “Church Book,” in many translations.

There is some interesting history about the inclusion of Wisdom and Sirach, among others, in the canon of Old Testament scripture. They are part of what is called, “The Deuterocanonical Books,” and were accepted as part of scripture by the early Church. In 16th century European Christianity Martin Luther excluded them in an attempt to return to a faithful Jewish understanding of the Old Testament. Consequently, Protestants call them, “ The Apocrypha,” or the “veiled,” books. They were found in the Septuagint, or Greek translation of the Bible that was most widely used by the Jews in dispersion, and consequently, also by the early Christians, The Jewish Council of Jamnia in 80 AD excluded them on the basis that only books in Hebrew were to be accepted as canonical by the Jews, and in an attempt to combat the rise of Christianity that so easily used them. Since the discovery of the Dead Sea scrolls in the last century it has come to light that the books in question were, in fact, found in Hebrew and Aramaic before the time of Christ. Consequently, the Council of Jamnia, and Martin Luther’s conclusions, were incorrect. Nowadays, Catholic and non-Catholic scholars alike accept the books as truly credible, if not outright canonical.

I like the books because of their simplicity and orderly treatment of the wisdom found in Proverbs and Ecclesiastes in a less orderly and developed fashion. In this sense there is not much new in them, but they are presented in a very reader friendly way. They are also an excellent bridge from the wisdom of the Old Testament to the teachings of Jesus and the New Testament. They fill the missing gap between the last years of the Protestant Old Testament and the time of Christ. Wisdom and Sirach are also filled with teachings that would make some of the more painful controversies of Church history seem less complicated. Subjects such as the balance between God’s providence and human free will, the mystery of early death among the faithful, and the use of medicine in Divine healing are all simply and clearly treated. I cannot help but think of all of the controversy around these topics by good people that could have been alleviated if these scriptures had been available to them!

Specifically, I have included texts that refer to the use of all of creation in finding God’s wisdom, seeking out proper elders to teach us and the humility to really submit to them, the proper use of silence and speech, prohibitions against gossip and slander, and the early death of the faithful, especially in children. I concluded the texts with the Beatitudes of Jesus, and the teaching of St. Paul on the wisdom of the paradox of the Cross. All in all I hope it provides a good scope of wisdom from a Christian perspective. I also included some of the other mentioned texts in songs that did not make the recording of this collection for various reasons.

The inclusion of these texts is very personal to me. The inclusion of the texts on wisdom and creation comes from my love of the early Church Fathers, and the greats like St. Bonaventure from Franciscan history. These scriptures are used at every feast of St. Bonaventure, and stir my heart every time. The texts on the right use of the tongue, and the avoidance of gossip came after having been personally wounded by these things during my role in ministry. The scripture on the early death of the believer comes after consoling young parents who have suffered the loss of a child. Lastly, listening to the elder’s and father’s teaching comes after submitting to my own earthly father until he passed away, and my spiritual father for almost twenty five years. All of these things make these teachings far more than a mere exercise in intellectual knowledge. They become a study of the deeper wisdom of God.

Musically, this collection is one of my favorites. The construction of the songs is simple, but sophisticated. Hopefully, it shows some maturation as a composer after twenty-five years in Christian music ministry this year! Perhaps because of this, Michael Card and I were able to layer some interesting vocal harmonies over the more Impressionistic tones of the songs. Likewise, Ronn Huff and Jeff Lippencott were able to score some truly masterful orchestrations for the largest orchestra we have used in many years. Brent King did a great job of engineering the recording and mix down sessions. Phil Perkins gave it a master’s care, and a brother’s love in production. I believe it is a project we can all be appropriately proud of in Christ. The collection reminds me of the best of my past while still going forward into the future.

So I invite you to sit back, relax, and enjoy the journey. It goes back some twenty-five years, but moves forward. It involves the truth of scripture without getting stuck in doctrine. It is the combination of divine love and truth that constitute Wisdom.