Eleventh Sunday after Pentecost

Eleventh Sunday after Pentecost
August 8, 2010

Ecclesiastes 1:2; 2:18-26
Everything Is Meaningless

"Meaningless! Meaningless!"
says the Teacher.
"Utterly meaningless!
Everything is meaningless." (Ecclesiastes 1:2)

Dear children, why do you breathe hard on a cold winter day? To see your breath.

Dear grown-ups, why did you stop... breathing hard on a cold winter day? Because it doesn't last. You see the vapor for a moment and then it's gone. To the young, seeing your breath is an amusing distraction; to grown-ups, seeing your breath means that your car seat is cold.

The idea behind the Hebrew word “meaningless” is a vanishing vapor. So King Solomon—the author of Ecclesiastes—is saying that everything under the sun is like your breath on a cold winter day. It won't last. He says that best you can do is eat and drink and work. A man can do nothing better than to eat and drink and find satisfaction in his work. (Ecclesiastes 2:24)

Food can make you happy, but it doesn't last. You'll eat ten of thousands of meals in your life. You'll remember a few of these meals because they're a holiday tradition—mom's turkey on Thanksgiving. You'll remember a few more because they're special—anniversaries at fancy restaurants, birthday parties at the petting zoo. But when you're hungry again, the memories of turkey and cake won't fill your tummy. Those memories will only increase your feelings of emptiness.

Work can make you happy, if you are blessed to find a career that matches your gifts. But even when you find a job you like, you'll have to retire one day. You'll be too old to work. And the world will view you as useless. Carlos Helu, who runs the Mexican company Telecom and is worth over $53 billion, will have to step down from his position and someone else will take control of his economic empire. His former subordinates won't jump when he calls; the new management will listen politely when he calls them with a suggestion, but after he hangs up, they will ignore his advice. Mr. Helu may share Solomon's sentiment, “I hated all the things I had toiled for under the sun, because I must leave them to the one who comes after me.” (Ecclesiastes 2:18)

Retirement can make you happy. Maybe you never liked any of your jobs and are happy to quit the rat race. You can visit your grand kids or travel to Europe. But then your body wears out and stops you from traveling. And when you are stuck at home or a nursing home, no one travels to visit you. Those who are paid to care for you treat you like a burden. And the sense of emptiness increases.

A man can do nothing better than to eat and drink and find satisfaction in his work or as Jesus put it, “Take life easy; eat, drink and be merry.” (Luke 12:19)

Solomon, the third king of Israel, understood better than most that every earthly thing—everything under the sun—was meaningless. He was rich and powerful and famous. He could have any woman he desired and he did. He literally had it all. But it was all meaningless. It didn't last.

We aren't rich like Solomon, but we are rich. We have plenty to eat. Even if we don't have jobs, we still have a lot of stuff. While these many things can be amusing distractions, they won't bring lasting happiness.

Everything under the sun is meaningless because it doesn't last.

Once Jesus told someone that what He offers lasts because He doesn't offer things that are under the sun, “Everyone who drinks this [well] water will be thirsty again, but whoever drinks the water I give him will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life.” (John 4:13-14)

The water that Jesus offers is Himself. And He lasts. Everything Jesus offers means something because it brings us joy that lasts. And when our lives have meaning, everything under the sun changes.

Our food is a constant reminder of God's goodness. Our table grace will be filled with joy because the food on our table is from our Savior.

Our work becomes an opportunity to work diligently, even when our bosses aren't looking, because we aren't working for ourselves, but to provide for our families' needs and ultimately, to bring honor to our Lord with our faithfulness.

Our retirement won't be empty, because we will be that much closer to the day when our Savior calls us home to joyful delight of heaven. And while the world views us as drains on society, you know that you are a special member of Jesus' family. And while we're waiting to join Him, we wait with quiet expectation and we bring a selfless attitude and Christian words to those around us: family members, paid care takers, other residents in the nursing home.

For us in Christ, even the things under the sun have meaning, because He has given us forgiveness and joy that lasts! Christ's cross isn't a breath on a cold winter day; it is an ocean of love that refreshes us forever. And now we live for Him as Solomon says near the end of Ecclesiastes: “Go, eat your food with gladness, and drink your wine with a joyful heart, for it is now that God favors what you do.” (Ecclesiastes 9:7)

Amen.