Weekly Pulpit -- Warren Sentinel -- August 25, 2010
Today is my 20th wedding anniversary! It is hard to believe that 20 years ago today, less than a month after I turned 20, my beautiful wife and I committed to spending the rest of our lives together. I have now spent just over half of my life married to her. Before I go on, dear reader, I'd like to state for the record that I love my wife even more today than I did on August 25, 1990!
It seems fitting, having just turned 40, to take a moment (in the space that remains) to reflect. The Old Testament book of Ecclesiastes basically begins with these words: “Meaningless! Meaningless! Utterly meaningless! Everything is meaningless.” Not the sort of thing you'd read on a Hallmark card, right? Not very hopeful. Not very positive and encouraging.
I once had to read Ecclesiastes twice a week as part of a seminary course I was taking. I recall that after reading it the first time I was really depressed by it and thought there was no way I could do so another 19 times. But as I repeated the process, week in and week out, I began to discover that Ecclesiastes is actually an incredibly hope-filled book.
You see, the author of Ecclesiastes describes a life journey of seeking meaning and how meaning is not found, per se, in work, wisdom, pleasure, wealth, or even in the so called “golden years” of life. But when we come to Chapter 9:7-11, we are commended to “eat our food with gladness, and drink our wine with a joyful heart” and to “enjoy life with your wife, whom you love” and to “do whatever our hands find to do, with all our might.” Meaning is found … and maybe finds us … in the simple things of life.
Ecclesiastes also includes some of the best known Bible verses (thanks in part to Pete Seger's “Turn! Turn! Turn!”). Chapter 3:1-8 begins with these words, “There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under heaven: ...” And I've heard 4:9-12 read at countless weddings (it includes phrases such as “Two are better than one ...” and “If two lie down together, they will keep warm. But how can one keep warm alone?) Life has its ups and downs. I know mine certainly has. But having one I love to journey through life with has made it far more than bearable for me.
The first verse of chapter 12 may be one of the most challenging verses in the entire book. It reads, “Remember your Creator in the days of your youth, before the days of trouble come and the years approach when you will say, 'I find no pleasure in them'.”
Young people (I'm 40 now so some folks think I'm still a kid while others think I'm getting pretty old) tend to think that their relationship with their Creator can wait until much later in life. Many young people tend to think of church and matters of faith as something for the elderly among us. But the author of Ecclesiastes encourages us to remember our Creator while we are young because the golden years of life aren't necessarily all that golden. Nurture your faith now, we are told, as you are likely to need it even more later.
Life, I have found, is far from meaningless. And I thank God especially for my wife who has brought so much more meaning to the life God has given me.
