Reflection - The other side of permanence

http://www.usccb.org/bible/readings/092216.cfm

Ecclesiastes 1:2-11
Luke 9:7-9

The book of Ecclesiastes opens by stating that what follows are the words of Qoheleth. In other words, Qoheleth is the author. Some translations identify him as the Preacher. His view of life seems to be a dark one; his opening lines cheered our hearts this morning. "What profit has man from all the labor?" he asks. "One generation passes and another comes. 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."

Shall we now lift our glasses and toast that thought?

"What has been, that will be;
what has been done, that will be done.
Nothing is new under the sun."

Wow! Now I can continue through my day with my spirit lifted and my heart rejoicing! Not! 

Of all the seventy-two books of Scripture, the Book of Ecclesiastes, the musings of Qoheleth, may well be the most misunderstood. For a time the whole Church debated whether or not it was the divinely inspired word of God, and worthy of being included among the Scriptural texts. Various covmmentaries have described the author as a skeptic, a cynic, a fatalist and a pragmatist. After all, his opening lines --- the ones we just read --- are just the first volley in a stream of gloomy observations that continue unabated through several more chapters. He claims to have seen it all:  He says he has witnessed injustice, even in the courts; stupidity, even in high political places; dissatisfaction, even among the rich. His words are difficult to hear.

I said of laughter, 'It is mad,' and of pleasure, 'What use is it?'

    (Ecclesiastes 2:2)

I made great works; I built houses and planted vineyards for myself;
Then I considered all that my hands had done
and the toil I had spent in doing it,
and behold, all was vanity and a striving after wind,
and there was nothing to be gained under the sun. 

    (Ecclesiastes 2:4, 11)

Then I said to myself, "What befalls the fool will befall me also;
why then have I been so very wise?"
And I said to myself that this also is vanity. 

     (Ecclesiastes 2:15)

Moreover, he says, even when we get what we think we want, it brings only temporary happiness at best. "The eye is not satisfied with seeing, nor is the ear satisfied with hearing."

The Greek word, which the translator has rendered as 'vanity,' also carries the sense of 'breath' or 'vapor.' It is the latter, I.e., 'vapor' which I find most meaningful. In fact there is another English word which I personally believe is even more suitable to this part of the message of Ecclesiastes even if it does not capture the true meaning of the original Greek. The word is 'sublimate.' It means to pass directly from being a solid to being a vapor, or gas. The appropriateness of the word is best understood in the context of Qoheleth's teaching; for he's speaking throughout of the impermanence of all things --- what we build, what we accomplish, what we achieve, what honors we are given, what we pursue, and where we search for happiness, even our physical existence --- none will last. They will depart quickly. In an instant they will be gone. They will pass directly from having substance into the apparent nothingness of a vapor. As I said earlier: His view of life seems to be a dark one. Fortunately, that's not the end of his story; it's only the introduction. Qoheleth is setting the stage.

Have you ever noticed that at daybreak the world seems to have no color? Everything seen is a shade of grey. A few objects might suggest a color as if there was more to see than a nondescript shade of nothingness; but the absence of color is what remains dominant. However, as light begins to shine on that within our visual reach, colors begin to brighten and all objects can be more clearly distinguished and identified. Qoheleth is similarly attempting to shine a light on human existence and human endeavor.

His statements may seem pessimistic; but that doesn't make them untrue. His teaching may sound gloomy; but that doesn't make it unreal. In fact, it is the opposite which is untrue and unreal. That, which supposedly has permanence, regularly and consistently disappears. The mountains will fall and the hills will turn to dust. The unsinkable will sink. The unbreakable will shatter. One by one the stars will go out. These truisms reflect only one side of the coin Qoheleth is showing. It is the other side he is tying to make the reader see. The message is a simple one: what we know and pursue in this world will not last. And that is true if, for no other reason, than that our very lives in this world will not last. As a good friend never tires of saying: our life on earth is the shortest part of our eternity. Since this is the case, says Qoheleth, don't spend an inordinate amount of time and energy running after what will soon turn to vapor. It will sublimate to nothing even as you hold it in your hands. 

Seek first the kingdom of God.