I invite you to open a Bible to Ecclesiastes and to read the third chapter on your own, taking a moment to reflect on the text in silence.

Ecclesiastes 3:1-8 is perhaps the most widely known passage in the book, but it is easy to move through the poem quickly when reading it in context. Each line deserves to be meditated on individually in order to understand the specific application of each example in one’s own life. They also each, individually, contain the message of this chapter: that we are bound by time in this life and all that we experience is bound alongside us. We do not determine the beginning or end of any of these cycles. There is a time to plant and a time to harvest, and knowing them allows us to act appropriately. We do not set the time to plant by deciding to plow the field; we plow the field when it is time. When these lines are read together, the message is overwhelmingly applied to the reader’s entire life. But rather than attempting to resign the reader to powerlessness, this poem is meant to offer relief and agency. By knowing what is outside one’s control, time and energy can be spent acting within one’s realm of influence. The times of prosperity and peace can truly be enjoyed when they are received as a gift, and the times of darkness and mourning can be endured when one knows that they will come to an end.

Verse eleven contains another oft-quoted line from this chapter, but the second sentence is just as important as the first. As humans, we can only see and trust the first sentence because we have eternity in our hearts. In order to be patient and trust God, that eternal perspective must be present. Once this is truly understood, joy and good works can be embraced as the best things in life and one can work, eat, and drink in true comfort and joy.

Ash Wednesday was just days ago, and the end of chapter three contains the appropriate response to the somber day. Solomon’s two questions here both have the same answer: Christ. Not being able to see what is after death and seeing the similarities between our deaths and those of the beasts are or have been sources of doubt for almost every Christian. Under the sun, we do not have answers and must live in faith. Ash Wednesday reminds us of our mortality, but it does so in order to point us to God. And yet again, the result of this faith in eternal life is to rejoice now! This world, its struggles, its joys, and us in it are temporary apart from Christ, and we await eternity unburdened.

How have you responded to uncomfortable reminders in the past? How did Ash Wednesday prepare you for this Lenten season, and what are you keeping in mind each day within it? What simple, temporary joys can be seen more clearly and embraced more fully during this time of sober reflection? In this solemn time, keep your eyes raised to Christ and remember the peace that has been granted to us.

I invite you to open a Bible to Ecclesiastes and to read the second chapter on your own, taking a moment to reflect on the text in silence.

The second chapter of Ecclesiastes has three sections, each of which speaks to the vanity of an approach to life. Pleasure and wealth, wisdom, and toil are each revealed to be temporary. While they are not completely worthless, none of them provide eternal fulfillment and to seek permanence in any of them is fruitless.

The author claims to have indulged in every pleasure and attained unsurpassable wealth, but in so doing found nothing of value. Wine, while preventing temporary joy, is perhaps the most obviously unsustainable avenue. It is a direct example of a hedonistic philosophy that seeks happiness directly in the moment, with disregard for the future at its most extreme form. But Solomon quickly moves to building magnificent places and seeking vast entertainment. His glory and seemingly unlimited wealth proved no better because one does not become fulfilled by being entertained. In its most simple distillation, this section warns the reader that wealth and entertainment are not permanently meaningful, even though one can enjoy them temporarily.

Solomon then moves to wisdom and folly. While wisdom is better than folly, it does not protect one from death. Neither the wise nor the foolish endure forever, even in history’s memory. But wisdom is not to be discarded, and foolishness it not to be celebrated. This section makes an important point as we move forward through the book of Ecclesiastes, which is that impermanence in itself does not make something evil. As long as its temporary nature is remembered, and one’s ultimate goal lies in God, that which is vanity can be good.

The third section in chapter two explores the temporary possession of wealth through the separation of one from their wealth through death. While gold does not rot, it must be passed down to an heir. The first section warned against placing ultimate value in wealth because it cannot provide permanent meaning during one’s life, and this section makes the parallel but inversed claim. The results of one’s hard work will remain in the world after the passing of the one who earned it, and there is no predicting the wisdom of its inheritor. The value passed on may be wasted and destroyed, thereby rendering the toil a waste. Solomon responds to this sad reality by exhorting the reader to enjoy their toil and its results while they can. This is to be done not in the spirit of hedonism warned against above, but with the knowledge that temporary gifts can and should be enjoyed as temporary while one is alive. God has gifted the possibility of enjoyment, especially in the simplicity of eating and drinking, to us as a comfort as we live under the sun.

This week, watch and see how you are caught in temporal priorities. What gives you purpose in your work, and are you working towards something that will ultimately lead to fulfillment? As you eat and drink, remember that the simple joys of life are wonderful gifts that come and go with the rest of life’s turmoil.

I invite you to open a Bible to Ecclesiastes and to read the first chapter on your own, taking a moment to reflect on the text in silence.

Ecclesiastes 1 introduces two important pieces of context for the rest of the book: the author and the distinction “under the sun”. While the actual authorship of the book is debated in academic circles, tradition has attributed it to King Solomon. It is useful to read the book with him in mind, as he represents the worldly peak of wisdom, wealth, and sensuality. The claims of vanity made throughout the book are made by someone that has truly exhausted each road, preventing the reader from responding with the argument that the author just needed a little more to be satisfied. When the author describes something as vanity, the reader can rest knowing that ultimately, regardless of the amount or quality, it is vanity. “Under the sun” is a phrase used throughout the book to reference everything that is of this world as opposed to being from God. Human will, work, the wind, etc. are impermanent and in themselves as temporary as vapor. Much of the book is spent discussing the various things under the sun that people attempt to derive meaning from, but the intent in revealing them as hollow is not to strip the reader’s life of motivation or joy; it is to remove the stumbling blocks preventing us from seeing the more loving, more perfect, and more complete meaning that is in God.

Within this poetic language, verse 8 is perhaps the most easily understood in the modern context because so many people experience it directly every day. Whether it’s YouTube, TikTok, news sites, or cable TV, the common sentiment around modern media consumption is that it takes too much of our time. It is almost impossible to moderate oneself, however, because the entertainment on the phone is more immediate than on a walk outside in the park. “One more video” keeps eyes and ears bound to the internet and thus away from more meaningful pursuits. This concept is applied to everything under the sun.

Returning to the opening of the author’s words, he begins with “Vanity of vanities”. This type of duplication is often present in Hebrew as emphasis and for the communication of magnitude. The Vanity of vanities is the most vain of the things that are already vain. The ultimate vanity, according to Ecclesiastes, is to attempt to find meaning in this world without God. This seemingly gloomy book works in alignment with the rest of scripture by chiefly arguing against this world so that the reader is led to God, most scripture points to God more directly.

As you work through this week, look for moments of distraction or mindless entertainment and examine their value. Not all time spent online is wasted, so practice discernment between time spent in relaxation and time lost in vanity. As we live under the sun, we can keep watch for gifts from above.