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Lifelong Learning Opportunities

Ordinary Time (Second Section)Education Reform, Access and Lifelong LearningWeek 38 · Day 6

Scripture References

Read First

Old Testament

Proverbs 9:1-12

1 Wisdom has built her house. She has carved out her seven pillars.

2 She has prepared her meat. She has mixed her wine. She has also set her table.

3 She has sent out her maidens. She cries from the highest places of the city:

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4 “Whoever is simple, let him turn in here!” As for him who is void of understanding, she says to him,

5 “Come, eat some of my bread, Drink some of the wine which I have mixed!

6 Leave your simple ways, and live. Walk in the way of understanding.”

7 One who corrects a mocker invites insult. One who reproves a wicked man invites abuse.

8 Don’t reprove a scoffer, lest he hate you. Reprove a wise person, and he will love you.

9 Instruct a wise person, and he will be still wiser. Teach a righteous person, and he will increase in learning.

10 The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom. The knowledge of the Holy One is understanding.

11 For by me your days will be multiplied. The years of your life will be increased.

12 If you are wise, you are wise for yourself. If you mock, you alone will bear it.

New Testament

Colossians 3:16-17

16 Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly; in all wisdom teaching and admonishing one another with psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your heart to the Lord.

17 Whatever you do, in word or in deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.

Thought for the Day

Proverbs 9 does not picture wisdom as a lecture but as a table. Wisdom builds her house, prepares her meat, mixes her wine, and calls out to the simple: “Come.” Learning is offered as hospitality. It is an invitation into a way of life.

Colossians tells us what fills that house: “Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly.” Teaching and admonishing happen as songs are sung and gratitude rises. Wisdom is not merely acquired; it is inhabited. It takes up residence. And once it does, it begins to reorder even ordinary days, quietly.

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Lifelong learning, then, is not only professional development. It is the steady enlargement of the soul: growing in truthfulness, in compassion, in discernment, in the ability to listen. It is a mercy when adults are given second chances, when skills can be learned late, when shame does not have the last word.

Lord, make us teachable. Give opportunities for learning to those who missed out: the poor, the excluded, the older, the newly arrived, the weary. Bless libraries, colleges, apprenticeships, and community groups. And let your word dwell richly in your people, so that our learning becomes wisdom: hospitality to others, and praise to you.

Prayer Points

Respond
  • Give accessible learning opportunities for adults and communities, especially where poverty has narrowed options.
  • Strengthen vocational and apprenticeship pathways; honour skilled trades and practical wisdom.
  • Provide patience and support for learners returning with fear or shame; give teachers kindness and skill.
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  • Bless libraries, community centres, and colleges as places of welcome and growth.
  • Let the word of Christ dwell richly in us, shaping how we learn, speak, and live.
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