The Wisdom of Solomon

Vanity of vanities, says Qoheleth,
vanity of vanities! All things are vanity!
What profit has man from all the labor
which he toils at under the sun?
One generation passes and another comes,
but the world forever stays.
The sun rises and the sun goes down;
then it presses on to the place where it rises.
Blowing now toward the south, then toward the north,
the wind turns again and again, resuming its rounds.
All rivers go to the sea,
yet never does the sea become full.
To the place where they go,
the rivers keep on going.
All speech is labored;
there is nothing one can say.
The eye is not satisfied with seeing
nor is the ear satisfied with hearing.

What has been, that will be;
what has been done, that will be done.
Nothing is new under the sun.
Even the thing of which we say, “See, this is new!”
has already existed in the ages that preceded us.
There is no remembrance of the men of old;
nor of those to come will there be any remembrance
among those who come after them. Eccl. 1:2-11

I thought the first reading today was too beautiful not to include in its entirety. The link will take you to the Book of Ecclesiastes, which I recommend you spend an hour with in prayer. It’s difficult for me to write about it because some things simply stand on their own. However, I will say this much, when we reach a point that we can look back on our lives with appreciation for the wisdom that adults tried to impart to us when we were teenagers, we are then at the point that we can accept the words of Qoheleth. I think this is also the point that we can begin serious spiritual discernment in our lives, though it can happen at any age. I was blessed to have first considered what God was telling me through Ecclesiastes when I was 18.  That was all of 29 years ago. It is a time that I mark as the beginning of my true discernment for God's will.

As you read Ecclesiastes you may find at first that you disagree with Qoheleth on the matter of all things being vanity. Only recognize that what Qoheleth anticipated, perhaps longed for, was the coming of a Savior who might give true meaning to a life that otherwise lacked it. I can certainly appreciate the existentialism in Ecclesiastes—Qoheleth looks at life squarely and without any presupposition to block his view of what is. Yet he is not without hope; no, to the contrary, his words are full of the hope that is found only in God. By clearing his eyes of the vanities, the presuppositions, regarding life, Qoheleth sees that true hope and meaning are only to be found in God. Qoheleth sees what is real with profound depth.

As I read the familiar passage from Ecclesiastes I thought of my parents, now both long deceased. I thought how I would like to go back and spend just one day with them. I think of all the joy that I would be able to share, the thing I would most want to express woud be the wisdom that Christ has imparted—besides, what else has meaning? What else is truly eternal? In God alone there is peace.

Comments

[Honora]

Oh, DDW, both Qoheleth and you have captured it so beautifully. We need the ideals of the Lord, the living ideals, yes. How often I have thought the same.. to be able to go back with what I have now and tell my parents how greatly they are loved by someone far far more important than me, and if they knew, to be able to discuss it.. to speak with joy, not with only the temporal memories or hopes which are so dismal or so limited. :-)

And there is NO way you are 47. Nope. Surely, Deacon Sun-smile, you have mis-added the years somehow..

[Deacon DW]

NO way you are 47

You're way too nice to me!

[Gabrielle]

I think it is important to be able to express to our children, in our home and in our way of being, that we can hear the Lord speaking to us, to our hearts; that it is not just a case of the Holy Spirit speaking to our consciences re right and wrong, but it is a natural and supernatural way of living, to be open to His voice, guiding us, directing us.

[CSR]

You are exceedingly discerning, Gabrielle. I think my grandmother all but hid this very thing.. I wish she had spoken of the naturalness of it all, of that possibility. We are going to step into this life one day fully. It IS natural. But she was 100% obedident to the Church, deferred 100% to Her, she was the ultimate peacemaker-servant, and so, she probably only prayed for us all, and admonished us when needed.. instead of speaking of the joy.

And here we some of us are-- hearing Him with our hearts made for Him, knowing He is here.