Thursday of the Twenty-fifth Week in Ordinary Time
Who is the wisest person you’ve ever met?
Qoheleth is the wise man supreme featured in the Book of Ecclesiastes, written 300 years before Christ. “Qoheleth” translates to “the Preacher," a sage addressing the assembly of the faithful. This Wisdom book was essential in the autumn’s Festival of Tabernacles or Succoth. Its tone is thanksgiving for the produce of the land (of Israel).
Ecclesiastes may well be the most realistic book of the Bible. But it takes a certain maturity and lack of naivete, brought on by life experience, to appreciate its message. Its pessimism and realism can catch us off guard. It is reflective of the way most of us pass through life, challenging and questioning. One of the most startling quotes of Qoheleth is “There is nothing new under the sun,” as days turn into weeks and weeks into months and months into years.
Years are filled with the unfairness and losses of life and the older we become the more likely this will be.
At the same time it is the only Biblical work that not only rejects but outright attacks workaholism. Leisure, for Qoheleth, is a good thing. Life is to be lived to the full. The joy of life and the blessings of God are mentioned seven times in the book. But there’s nothing here that could be called “pollyannish.” In fact, the second verse banishes a world view of sunshine and lollipops: “Vanity of vanities. All is vanity."
As a sage, Qoheleth is not unlike Torah scholar Rabbi Yisrael Meir Kagan. His was a life of humility before the mystery of living. Once a young man sought him out, as the youth had taken a “gap year” between college and “the real world.” Finding the wise man, the twenty-one year old was astonished to see that he lived in utter simplicity — a single room sparsely furnished with a few books, a table with a bench. Confused, the lad asked, “Sir, where is your furniture?" The wise man responded with a question of his own, “Son, where is yours?” Surprised, the American replied, “Mine? I’m just passing through.” To this the Rabbi replied, “So am I.”
Yes, life is fleeting and unpredictable. So chasing after wealth and status is futile. Joy is to be found in the ordinary. Reliance on God is the key. As our Psalm (90) response today proclaims, “In every age, O Lord, you have been our refuge.” No “vanity” around that!
-Timothy J. Cronin