Ecclesiastes 7:1-14

Ecclesiastes 7:1-14New Revised Standard Version (NRSV)

A good name is better than precious ointment,
    and the day of death, than the day of birth.
It is better to go to the house of mourning
    than to go to the house of feasting;
for this is the end of everyone,
    and the living will lay it to heart.
Sorrow is better than laughter,
    for by sadness of countenance the heart is made glad.
The heart of the wise is in the house of mourning;
    but the heart of fools is in the house of mirth.
It is better to hear the rebuke of the wise
    than to hear the song of fools.
For like the crackling of thorns under a pot,
    so is the laughter of fools;
    this also is vanity.
Surely oppression makes the wise foolish,
    and a bribe corrupts the heart.
Better is the end of a thing than its beginning;
    the patient in spirit are better than the proud in spirit.
Do not be quick to anger,
    for anger lodges in the bosom of fools.
Do not say, “Why were the former days better than these?”
    For it is not from wisdom that you ask this.
Wisdom is as good as an inheritance,
    an advantage to those who see the sun.
For the protection of wisdom is like the protection of money,
    and the advantage of knowledge is that wisdom gives life to the one who possesses it.
Consider the work of God;
    who can make straight what he has made crooked?

In the day of prosperity be joyful, and in the day of adversity consider; God has made the one as well as the other, so that mortals may not find out anything that will come after them.

There is a lot of advice and adages here to draw your attention.

Read through this a couple of times. What are the lines that jump out for you?

What are the ones you come back to or maybe you go "hmmm..." 

Or cause you to grimace?

Or cause you to smile?

That make you ponder?

For me, the line is "better the end of a thing than its beginning."

Ponder, ponder, ponder...

I think of the excitement this summer when I was going to Italy. The anticipation of the arrival.

The seeing the countryside for the first time.

And then the sadness when I had to leave.

And yet...

I also think of the project that haunts me as I struggle to get started.

And the satisfaction when it is completed.

I wonder here if the teacher is again reminding us to be mindful of the present moment. I'm not sure about you, but when I am at the beginning of something I tend to let my mind race to the future and get ahead of myself sometimes. 

But when something is over, I can savor that moment.

Dialogue with the teacher in this passage. Ponder and mull. Read it aloud and then ponder some more.

And see what wisdom comes from it.

Lord help me to see your wisdom. Amen.