Message from Pastor Carol: May 1, 2014

Pastor CarolEcclesiastes 3:1-8:
To everything there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven:
A time to be born, and a time to die;
A time to plant, and a time to pluck up that which 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 cast away stones, and a time to gather stones together;
A time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing.
A time to get, and a time to lose;
A time to keep, and a time to cast away;
A time to rend, 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 of war, and a time of peace.

I attended a funeral this past month and this scripture was offered as a word of counsel and hope. I wondered, does it bring us comfort? Do we find these poetic lines to be wisdom or placating remarks giving us permission to feel impotent and lost?

Ecclesiastes is often considered to be a pessimistic book due to references that say history merely repeats itself and nothing is new under the sun. In reality, this book contains collected musings of a common man trying to figure out what is important for us to realize during our lifetimes. Because this literature was written close enough to Solomon’s reign, we often credit this book to him but the notation for authorship is given simply to “Qoheleth” meaning “the teacher.” In the material before the above cited poem, the teacher is considering every pursuit of life that we chase after in vain. Why can’t we just control the economy, the weather, natural disasters, or warring madness?

…because that is not how the God created world works!

In God’s world, there is a natural rhythm to life. Qoheleth exemplifies this even in the aforementioned poem’s construct. The poem employs the literary device called merism (the use of polar opposites in comparison form) to demonstrate that God’s plan of rhythm and time brings with it a completeness and totality. God has time and space covered. Our participation is not control over, but rather submission to and cooperation with the rhythm of life. As my good friend Rev. John Thornburg has said more than once, “God is God and we are not and that is good!”

If we can learn to cooperate with God’s creative design and not attempt to work against it, we are free to grow through each experience of life without fear of failure or regret. We are open to the wisdom each season affords without apology for not having wisdom yet to be gained. Yes, this means we can enjoy what life brings and grow through life’s challenges because we are confident in God’s great design of ebb and flow. So the comfort of this literature comes from the wisdom of a nameless, faceless, common teacher of antiquity… “allow your mind, heart and spirit to be God-centered and you will come to relax and find joy in the Divine rhythm of life.”

Blessings,
Pastor Carol