Ecclesiastes 4

Ecclesiastes 4New Revised Standard Version (NRSV)

Again I saw all the oppressions that are practiced under the sun. Look, the tears of the oppressed—with no one to comfort them! On the side of their oppressors there was power—with no one to comfort them. And I thought the dead, who have already died, more fortunate than the living, who are still alive; but better than both is the one who has not yet been, and has not seen the evil deeds that are done under the sun.

Then I saw that all toil and all skill in work come from one person’s envy of another. This also is vanity and a chasing after wind.

Fools fold their hands
    and consume their own flesh.
Better is a handful with quiet
    than two handfuls with toil,
    and a chasing after wind.

Again, I saw vanity under the sun: the case of solitary individuals, without sons or brothers; yet there is no end to all their toil, and their eyes are never satisfied with riches. “For whom am I toiling,” they ask, “and depriving myself of pleasure?” This also is vanity and an unhappy business.

Two are better than one, because they have a good reward for their toil. For if they fall, one will lift up the other; but woe to one who is alone and falls and does not have another to help. Again, if two lie together, they keep warm; but how can one keep warm alone? And though one might prevail against another, two will withstand one. A threefold cord is not quickly broken.

Better is a poor but wise youth than an old but foolish king, who will no longer take advice. One can indeed come out of prison to reign, even though born poor in the kingdom. I saw all the living who, moving about under the sun, follow that youth who replaced the king; there was no end to all those people whom he led. Yet those who come later will not rejoice in him. Surely this also is vanity and a chasing after wind.

A short chapter with lots of proverbial types of admonitions and advice.

And hard stuff to hear I think in some ways with our modern (or post-modern) sensibilities.

In here we have a mash up of the nature of work and pleasure. Of the nature of companionship.

And again a return to the idea of the vaporous effect of life.

So what do we do with it?

He is rather harsh on the single individual. And we could dismiss this easily since we live in a different time.

But is there a larger message of community here that we can still value as important?

And through relationship itself do we find meaning?

Studies show that most people today meet their life partners at work (or school). So literally today "toil" and "pleasure" are inexorably connected.

Relationship matters. It matters for the single person. It matters for the couple. For the family. For the work mates. For the school mates.

For the neighbors. For the members of the community.

Relationship matters. It matters to God that we have community for love, comfort, companionship, and co-workers with us in the business of life.

What relationships are the ones that most impact you?

Lord of relationship, you know it is not good for us to be alone. Help me today to reach out to those on the journey with me! Amen.

Ecclesiastes 3:12-22

Ecclesiastes 3:12-22New Revised Standard Version (NRSV)

I know that there is nothing better for them than to be happy and enjoy themselves as long as they live; moreover, it is God’s gift that all should eat and drink and take pleasure in all their toil. I know that whatever God does endures forever; nothing can be added to it, nor anything taken from it; God has done this, so that all should stand in awe before him. That which is, already has been; that which is to be, already is; and God seeks out what has gone by.

Moreover I saw under the sun that in the place of justice, wickedness was there, and in the place of righteousness, wickedness was there as well. I said in my heart, God will judge the righteous and the wicked, for he has appointed a time for every matter, and for every work. I said in my heart with regard to human beings that God is testing them to show that they are but animals. For the fate of humans and the fate of animals is the same; as one dies, so dies the other. They all have the same breath, and humans have no advantage over the animals; for all is vanity. All go to one place; all are from the dust, and all turn to dust again. Who knows whether the human spirit goes upward and the spirit of animals goes downward to the earth? So I saw that there is nothing better than that all should enjoy their work, for that is their lot; who can bring them to see what will be after them?

Who knows what's to come.

Truth is that we have no idea what comes next. We have vague notions of heaven and hell based on tradition that has been passed down, but nothing really concrete about what to expect of either place.  For my part, I'm doubting there will be chubby cherubs playing harps on clouds, or red-horned demons poking people inside a ring of fire.

All we really know, the teacher tells us, is that God endures forever.

That life is a gift.

That life is meant to be lived fully and enjoyed.  Even our work.

And that God knows the rest. Knows our hearts. Knows our dreams. Knows our hopes. Our fears.

Our sins.

Our triumphs.

Our pain.

Ecclesiastes could be read perhaps with an air of futility. 

Or it could be read with hope and wonder.

God endures forever.

Life is a gift.

Yes, sometimes it is grinding. And scary. And seemingly futile.

You might wonder where it is leading. Or what the point is.

We might look around and wonder at what comes next and worry about it.

Or we might look around and see that whatever it is that comes next, we know that God endures.

And so hope endures.

Lord, let me not worry about tomorrow, but grab on tightly to the gift of today. Amen

Ecclesiastes 3:11b

Ecclesiastes 3:11bNew Revised Standard Version (NRSV)

Moreover he has put a sense of past and future into their minds, yet they cannot find out what God has done from the beginning to the end. 

Lately I've been hearing a lot about mindfulness meditation, and trying to practice it myself. I find that I often fall into the trap of either being so focused on the future that I miss what's happening in the here and now (or maybe trip over myself because I'm not paying attention!)

Or sometimes I so caught up ruminating about the past, that I can't prepare for the future or make the most of the present.

So sometimes either my head is in the clouds, or the past is weighing me down.

Have either of those been issues for you? Based on the number of people I talk to, it seems to be a common problem. Letting the past steal our joy of the present, or worrying about the future so that we fail to see what is going on now.

Yet we clearly have a sense of both the past and the present, and without them we wouldn't grow or mature. We navigate the past, present, and future, often it seems without a road map.

And with only a limited perspective.

Yet God has the whole picture. Past, present, future. All at once. All together. Kairos time rather than Kronos time. 

God's time rather than our time.

And the time we have most clearly and certainly with God is now. In the present. 

God is preparing us for the future, yes. And healing past wounds, certainly.

But standing with us, beside us, working through us, now.

Mindfulness helps keep me living in the here and now. Appreciating what is in front of me, and keeping regret and worry at bay. Do not worry about the future, God says.

Your past is forgiven, God says.

The road map might not be clear. It might be a mystery.  Yet, whatever I am focused on - past, present, future - it is by faith that I navigate it.  

And whatever the past or the future, God is with me now.

God of all time, help me to live each moment fully and gratefully.  Amen.

Ecclesiastes 3:1-11a

Ecclesiastes 3:1-11aNew Revised Standard Version (NRSV)

For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven:

a time to be born, and a time to die;
a time to plant, and a time to pluck up what is planted;
a time to kill, and a time to heal;
a time to break down, and a time to build up;
a time to weep, and a time to laugh;
a time to mourn, and a time to dance;
a time to throw away stones, and a time to gather stones together;
a time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing;
a time to seek, and a time to lose;
a time to keep, and a time to throw away;
a time to tear, and a time to sew;
a time to keep silence, and a time to speak;
a time to love, and a time to hate;
a time for war, and a time for peace.

What gain have the workers from their toil? I have seen the business that God has given to everyone to be busy with. He has made everything suitable for its time; 

Probably the most famous verses here from Ecclesiastes. 

Are you like me and you want to sing these verses? The song, Turn, Turn, Turn, recorded by the Byrds came out 50 years ago this week as a matter of fact. If you look it up on Wikipedia, you'll see the writer credit goes to both Pete Seeger and the Book of Ecclesiastes, as the lyrics are nearly a line by line adaptation from the book.

And here in Ecclesiastes the tone begins to "turn, turn, turn" as well, if you'll pardon the pun. Suddenly, everything doesn't seem to be a vanity or vapor.

Everything instead has a time and a season.

As someone who turned 50 myself this year, that message has been a particular poignant one for me to try to fold into my life. I can see in the mirror the passage of one time to another. I can feel in my bones the passage of one time to another.

What time is it in your life? Are there things you are holding onto from a previous time that it is time to let go of so that you can be ready for the next thing?

And in our homes and churches and communities, are we being nudged to move from one time to another?

God has made everything suitable for its time, the teacher writes.

What time is it?

To close, here's Turn, Turn, Turn, sung here by Pete Seeger and Judy Collins.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0elIkxqmITw

Lord, help me to let go of those things that it is time to let go of so that I may be ready for the next thing you would have me move into. Amen.

Ecclesiastes 2:18-26

Ecclesiastes 2:18-26New Revised Standard Version (NRSV)

I hated all my toil in which I had toiled under the sun, seeing that I must leave it to those who come after me —and who knows whether they will be wise or foolish? Yet they will be master of all for which I toiled and used my wisdom under the sun. This also is vanity. So I turned and gave my heart up to despair concerning all the toil of my labors under the sun, because sometimes one who has toiled with wisdom and knowledge and skill must leave all to be enjoyed by another who did not toil for it. This also is vanity and a great evil. What do mortals get from all the toil and strain with which they toil under the sun? For all their days are full of pain, and their work is a vexation; even at night their minds do not rest. This also is vanity.

There is nothing better for mortals than to eat and drink, and find enjoyment in their toil. This also, I saw, is from the hand of God; for apart from him who can eat or who can have enjoyment? For to the one who pleases him God gives wisdom and knowledge and joy; but to the sinner he gives the work of gathering and heaping, only to give to one who pleases God. This also is vanity and a chasing after wind.

Are there days when you realize that everything you own - every shirt, piece of jewelry, coffee mug, couch, dollar bill, computer, television - will ultimately end up somewhere else? Or with someone else?

That every bit of work you do could likely a year from now be forgotten?  Maybe not, but there's a good chance you'll not be remembering that report, that survey, that presentation, the homework assignment you gave, the temperature you took, that meeting you led, that dress you sold, the order you took.

So why do you still do what you do?

To pay the bills?

Well, that's part of it, certainly.

But what in your job gives you joy? For many, sadly perhaps, the answer is nothing.

Yet is there some part of it where you can find God keeping you company?

The teacher here speaks to truth that is no different today than it was 2500 years ago. 

Nothing in this life is permanent. Every "thing" we own will fade away.

And our work may seem to not have impact. We may long for the day to be over and we can "eat, drink, and be merry."  

Yet God is with us in the work. Side by side.

And then God blesses us in merriment when we can sit back and relax after the day. Those moments when we can find joy in work, or find joy in celebration, are the times we remember. The times we can find God's company.

The stuff? Ultimately, it is living on borrowed time.

Lord, today let me see you in my work and in my play.  Amen

Ecclesiastes 2:1-17

Ecclesiastes 2:1-17New Revised Standard Version (NRSV)

I said to myself, “Come now, I will make a test of pleasure; enjoy yourself.” But again, this also was vanity. I said of laughter, “It is mad,” and of pleasure, “What use is it?” I searched with my mind how to cheer my body with wine—my mind still guiding me with wisdom—and how to lay hold on folly, until I might see what was good for mortals to do under heaven during the few days of their life. I made great works; I built houses and planted vineyards for myself; I made myself gardens and parks, and planted in them all kinds of fruit trees. I made myself pools from which to water the forest of growing trees. I bought male and female slaves, and had slaves who were born in my house; I also had great possessions of herds and flocks, more than any who had been before me in Jerusalem. I also gathered for myself silver and gold and the treasure of kings and of the provinces; I got singers, both men and women, and delights of the flesh, and many concubines.

So I became great and surpassed all who were before me in Jerusalem; also my wisdom remained with me. Whatever my eyes desired I did not keep from them; I kept my heart from no pleasure, for my heart found pleasure in all my toil, and this was my reward for all my toil. Then I considered all that my hands had done and the toil I had spent in doing it, and again, all was vanity and a chasing after wind, and there was nothing to be gained under the sun.

So I turned to consider wisdom and madness and folly; for what can the one do who comes after the king? Only what has already been done. Then I saw that wisdom excels folly as light excels darkness.

The wise have eyes in their head,
    but fools walk in darkness.

Yet I perceived that the same fate befalls all of them. Then I said to myself, “What happens to the fool will happen to me also; why then have I been so very wise?” And I said to myself that this also is vanity. For there is no enduring remembrance of the wise or of fools, seeing that in the days to come all will have been long forgotten. How can the wise die just like fools? So I hated life, because what is done under the sun was grievous to me; for all is vanity and a chasing after wind.

Well, first of all - don't have any concubines, OK?

And here we really get into the meaning of life. Truth is, if you are a fool, you die.

If you are wise, you die.

So, what's the answer? Is it to hate life?

We'll keep reading on just as the teacher here in Ecclesiastes kept living. And perhaps as we get further, and dig deeper, the meanings will come to the fore.

Ecclesiastes for me is a good model for how to read scripture in general.  Do we take it at it's surface level, or do we dig deeper. Wrestle with it? Question it?

Even doubt it.

Yes, even doubt it. Just as the teacher here begins this book by doubting life.

Don't be afraid to ask the tough questions. Those are the questions that will draw you closer to God.

Good and gracious God, remind me that answers can never come, if I don't ask the questions and face my doubts and fears. Amen.

Ecclesiastes 1:12-18

Ecclesiastes 1:12-18New Revised Standard Version (NRSV)

I, the Teacher, when king over Israel in Jerusalem, applied my mind to seek and to search out by wisdom all that is done under heaven; it is an unhappy business that God has given to human beings to be busy with. I saw all the deeds that are done under the sun; and see, all is vanity and a chasing after wind.

What is crooked cannot be made straight,
    and what is lacking cannot be counted.

I said to myself, “I have acquired great wisdom, surpassing all who were over Jerusalem before me; and my mind has had great experience of wisdom and knowledge.” And I applied my mind to know wisdom and to know madness and folly. I perceived that this also is but a chasing after wind.

For in much wisdom is much vexation,
and those who increase knowledge increase sorrow.

When I think about everything happening in the news right now - refugees fleeing their homes because of brutality; the craziness of our presidential election; drought; violence; etc - none of it does make much sense if I apply only my mind to it. If I think about it only, my faith isn't much good.

How do we tend to view faith? Is it something that we do with our minds? Do we imagine that belief is conjured up simply in our pre-frontal cortex?

And is wisdom itself something only of the mind?

If so, then yes, it does make sense that what is crooked cannot be made straight or what is lacking cannot be counted.

But I'm inclined to think instead that the answer is no. 

Chasing after vapor might not seem smart. Or wise. Or part of a pattered, mind-led belief.

But there is someone who mades crooked paths straight.

Who counts those who are lacking.

And I'm not sure our brains enough are capable of fathoming that.

Lord, you lead me with more than my brain. Grab me today by all of my senses and through my heart as well that I might see what otherwise is impossible to see. Amen

Ecclesiastes 1:1-11

Ecclesiastes 1:1-11New Revised Standard Version (NRSV)

1 The words of the Teacher, the son of David, king in Jerusalem.

2 Vanity of vanities, says the Teacher,
    vanity of vanities! All is vanity.
3 What do people gain from all the toil
    at which they toil under the sun?
4 A generation goes, and a generation comes,
    but the earth remains forever.
5 The sun rises and the sun goes down,
    and hurries to the place where it rises.
6 The wind blows to the south,
    and goes around to the north;
round and round goes the wind,
    and on its circuits the wind returns.
7 All streams run to the sea,
    but the sea is not full;
to the place where the streams flow,
    there they continue to flow.
8 All things are wearisome;
    more than one can express;
the eye is not satisfied with seeing,
    or the ear filled with hearing.
9 What has been is what will be,
    and what has been done is what will be done;
    there is nothing new under the sun.
10 Is there a thing of which it is said,
    “See, this is new”?
It has already been,
    in the ages before us.
11 The people of long ago are not remembered,
    nor will there be any remembrance
of people yet to come
    by those who come after them.

The wisdom literature is probably my favorite part of the Old Testament. We know Psalms the best most likely, and then perhaps Proverbs and Job. But Ecclesiastes and Song of Songs (or Song of Solomon) are the other two wisdom books, and each are unique to scripture.

Ecclesiastes holds a special place in my heart. A book about the meaning of life! And on the surface, a challenging one to think of being in the Bible. It seems so fatalistic and even cynical in parts.

And yet it somehow paints life in a way that we can often relate to and in the end, isn't as despairing as it initially seems.

Part of the perceived fatalism comes right at the beginning: "Vanity of vanities! All is vanity!

Other ways this has been translated is: "everything is meaningless!" and "everything is useless."

I tend to prefer how the Message Bible phrases it: "There's nothing to anything. It's all smoke!"

Maybe I like it because it is so visual. But also it comes closest I think to the translation I mentioned on Friday: All is vapor.

Smoke, vapor...those are things you can see. Those are things that were here, and then slowly fade away.

Those are things I think that are not meaningless OR useless.

Or vanity!

As you read the rest of these verses, does it paint a life of meaninglessness to you?

Or something else. Something that lasts and then disappears.

Can you think of something that was that kind of vapor in your life? Beautiful and then gone?

I'll bet you were happy for the beauty while it lasted!

Lord of all, open my eyes and heart to the beauty that is before me now that I might truly see it and live it before it disappears into the mist. Amen