Word to the Wise
Thursday, September 26, 2024 - Thursday in the 25th Week in Ordinary Time
[Eccl/Qoh 1:2-11 and Luke 9:7-9]Vanity of vanities, says Qoheleth, vanity of vanities! All things are vanity! .....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 notremembrance of the men of old; nor of those to come will there be any remembrance among those who come after them. [Ecclesiastes]
After reading the first scripture for this day from Ecclesiastes one might be justified in asking, "Who invited him?" The name, "Qoheleth" means a preacher or teacher, and this one seems to be a doomsayer, or the personification of "It's no use...." We do owe him the well-known phrase, "There's nothing new under the sun!" Optimists need not apply!
Pessimism is a terrible virus that can poison all endeavors. It should not be equated, as some do, with "realism." Disappointment can cause pessimism and discouragement to fester and erode. Those who lived through Jesus' suffering and death, like the disciples on the road to Emmaus [Luke 24] expressed that kind of disappointment and discouragement. It almost blinded them from recognizing the stranger who joined them on the journey and opened their minds to the scriptures.
Ecclesiastes does have some beautiful moments, as we will see tomorrow (Friday) in the famous passage "A time for everything." Even Ecclesiastes can give us something to look forward to! AMEN
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