Vanity, Enjoyment, Life and Death

This meditation is based on a passage for June 8, 2010 in the Daily Lectionary Year 2 from the Book of Common Worship for the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) (1993).

Text: Ecclesiastes 8:14-9:10

Reflection and Question: The earthy wisdom of the Teacher here gives strong evidence that there really is nothing new, that we fool ourselves to think that modern stuff sets us apart from people in the past. These insights echo John Maynard Keynes’s blunt assertion, “In the long run, we are all dead.” So what is the moral to this story? The Teacher “commends enjoyment,” which means appreciating all that life holds for us and is distinct from profligacy. What for you is “the vanity that takes place on earth?”

Prayer: Great God, all that is, all that we are, all our deeds in this life are in Your hands. Help us to see that nothing matters more than the hope known in living. Bless our living, our eating, drinking and toiling so that we may delight only in You. Amen.