Vanity of vanities. All is vanity.

We work hard and for what? After all is said & done, does it matter?

Vanity of vanities. All is vanity. The word – which translates as foolishness, hopelessness, uselessness  - tolls like a funeral bell thru the verses. It is the epitome of folly.

It says: What’s the point? Does anything make any difference? Why even try? Who cares? Adding insult to injury, we brood about our frustrations sleeplessly at night..

Vanity of vanities. Vanity of vanities. It’s all just a colossal waste of time and energy.

What should we do, the Scripture asks: Gather knowledge & wisdom?

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

As Luke said, all can be lost in a flash. Of course, we’re not like the rich man in Luke who saves, right? Well, we don’t have grain silos, but how about garages too full for cars, closets overflowing or basements with bulk supplies from BJs or Sam’s Club. Perhaps several TVs, cell phones or computers? Or clothes we haven’t worn in years? No, the rich man in Luke surely isn’t us.

JUST like back then, the good life comes w/no promise of peace or security.  It’s always been that way..

What has been is what will be, & what has been done is what will be done; there is nothing new under the sun.” 

This book comes from 300 BC. Hmm, and you thought “there is nothing new under the sun” was new phrase? I actually thought it was something Mark Twain said. Aren’t you glad to came to church to hear such uplifting Bible passages?

 Yes, we have many other passages about doom & gloom, but this book seems to offer no hope. Life always has hope, no? It depends. It’s hard to come by in Egypt, Syria or neighborhoods with crime. Or households marred by domestic violence. But hope is there.

 BUT what was the author saying w/those dreary words? Had he NO optimism or hope? 

Is there a difference” Optimism vs hope? I talked about that in Dec.

  I think there is a big difference.   

 Optimism implies an upbeat expectation focused on a set outcome. I am optimistic I will pass the test, get the raise, handle the chemo-therapy. FILL in the blank.

 Hope, to me is an open-ended waiting in God w/trust that things will unfold as they should.

 That’s not SAYING “it’s God will” when tragedy or heartache strikes. We do NOT know God’s will.

 I’m talking of hope in the sense of “faith is hope in things unseen.”

Translate: Optimism is a human construct; hope has spiritual roots.                       

  I don’t see either in ECC. It took me a long time to see any value.in Ecc. HMMM. Well it does normalize the times when we despair. When we have that “why bother” ache deep in my soul. Now? Do you feel weary? Does the person next to you look weary. Do I look weary?

 Perhaps it is a family situation, perhaps work, school or church. Have we never lost hope in our Church community or leaders? But can we also celebrate that we have a faith community and freedom to worship in the United States?

Is Ecc really that bleak? Has it no redeeming value? Let’s look closer at the words & between the lines.

  “I hated all my toil in which I had toiled under the sun..seeing that I must leave it 2 those who come > me

 Under the sun.. That phrase appears 4x in 10 vs. In the cosmology then, God existed above the sun. God is a shadow UNDER the sun, but GOD is a light ABOVE the sun.

  And Ecc says eat, drink & be merry for tomorrow we die.(Who else said that? The rich man in Luke) Is it pessimistic to say for “tomorrow we die? Won’t we all die on some tomorrow soon? Should we say starve, go thirsty and be gloomy, for tomorrow we die. Is that less cynical? I hope at coffee hour today we can eat, drink and be merry!

 So how do we get a grip on Ecc. The most succinct description I saw of the Book of Ecclesiastes said:

  “It’s a bipolar book.”

  And so is life sometime. And so am I. And so are we sometimes. The writer here was neither an optimist nor a pessimist. I’d say a realist.

The author knew that our secular lives and our spiritual lives often are at war. But He knew God wants us to enjoy life.

 Ours is not an either/or existence. Ours is a both/and. For as Vs. 5 in Ecclesiastes says: We have both sunrises and sunsets in our lives.

“The sun rises and the sun goes down, and hurries to the place where it rises.”

  Is it vanity to count on that? Could we look at the universe as dependable, in that sense? Ecc says its vanity; perhaps we could look at it as a soothing pattern? What if we couldn’t count on the sun rising tomorrow in the east?

The title of Ernest Hemingway’s book “The Sun Also Rises” comes from Ecc.

Hemingway sees the survivors of WW I as the "Lost Generation" – decadent, dissolute and irretrievably damaged by war. I believe he fought as a mercernary, but WW I took a terrible toll on the English and French in ways we never saw here. The book’s partly autobiographical and is considered one of the 10 most influential novels of the 20^th Century.

  The novel has a sad ending, but critics say the characters were resilient and strong. Hmm.. really? And there was a lot of drinking. Every other line was let’s have a drink. And then, let’s have another.

 Let’s look at that plot. The femme fatale, Brett, the main protaganist, has hurt many. She rejects 2 main suitors and runs off w/a young matador. Then she dishonors and abandons the matador because she values her independence.

 Jake, a rejected suitor, is drinking w/Brett. They talk about Brett’s decision to dump the matador in favor of independence.  Yes, Brett says, being footloose & fancy free is the key to survival. Nobody to let you down. Here is Brett discussing her choice.

  “You know I feel rather good about that decision. It’s sort of what we have instead of God.”

I put the book down then.  What we have instead of God? That is just SO sad. Resiliency? That’s strength? Maybe that’s optimism, but it’s sure not hope in my book. Or in the Bible.

 A prayer of St. Theresa shows us where our real strength is in despair.

All things will fade away. God is unchanging. Be patient, for with God in your heart, Nothing is lacking. God is enough.

As much as we want guarantees, life even w/God comes w/uncertainty.  In our vain attempt to figure out what its all about, we ponder a lot. 2 much at nite? The unexamined life may not be worth living, but the over-examined one can be torture. And lamenting the past is folly.

  “Do not say why were the former days better than these? For it is not from wisdom that you ask this.” Ecc

  Yes, the good old days of 500 BC. How I miss them.   No, the point is, enjoy life and accept it as it is. Yet we so much want to control things. An instructor I had, both a Christian and a Buddhist, shared something in a counseling course called PsychoSynthesis. It was psychology but it allowed room for God. She put it this way:

 “We can just about drive ourselves crazy when we say every single problem must have a happy ending or something is wrong. Sometimes, just needing that happy ending all the time – every time - is what’s wrong.

  Yes, it’s good to set goals, aim for a purpose, work for better lives.

But sometimes,its OK to sit w/the bi-polar thoughts in Ecc.

  Remember I said Ecc is bipolar. It’s because Chapter III contains one of the most comforting and beloved passages. There is a season..

“For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven. A time to be born, a time to die. A time to plant and a time to pluck up what is planted. YOU know it..

  How could such a dreary book be so comforting there? I think because it’s associated w/death –we have no control there and we relent & accept how dependent we are on God. Where we realize how foolish characters in “The Sun Also Rises” truly are.

  Yes, we humans live mostly “under the sun,” but it’s “above the sun” where we find salvation, redemption & hope. Even in the midst of heartache, tragedy & loss.

W/out Jesus, we’re resident aliens in that dark place under the sun.   For w/Jesus as our savior, we’re just temporary visitors there.

 Our faith in the risen Christ frees us from that jail. We become chained to hope. We become bound to the salvation story for weknow our sins are forgiven. And then we can truly hear the prayer of St. Theresa

 “All things fade away. God is unchanging. Be patient for with God in your heart, nothing is lacking. God is enough. God is enough.”