January 10, 2012
Dear St. Paul’s Family,
Last September, I learned of the death of Mary Carter, a former parishioner in Tampa and a member of Hyde Park United Methodist Church. She was a grand and gracious 80-year old Southern gem from South Carolina and a member of the church’s altar guild, a group of women with whom I had the privilege of serving. Mary’s special role was to be caretaker of the church’s collection of oil-based votive candles, which she purchased in memory of her mother. Every Good Friday and All Saints’ Sunday, Mary’s candles were on proud display, glorifying God and inspiring people in worship. I loved working with her.
But Mary and I shared another connection: a love for the book of Ecclesiastes. After I casually mentioned my affinity for the book during one of my chapel sermons, she came to visit me in my office a few days later. We talked about how the book is often misperceived as hopelessly nihilistic, rather than a realistic, relevant, and authentic portrayal of the complexities of the human condition. We agreed that, in each other, we had found a rare comrade in our mutual admiration for a book in the Bible that is so widely disregarded.
A few months later, Mary returned to my office, this time with a present in hand. She wanted to talk about Ecclesiastes again, and wanted to know if I had ever heard of a collection of poems called the Rubaiyat of Omar Kayyam. I pled my ignorance, then she gave me the gift. “This,” she said, “is one of my favorite books. And it’s just like Ecclesiastes.” I opened the beautifully bound, antiquarian copy she had spent months locating for me, and I read it immediately.
Kayyam was an eleventh-century Persian astrologer, who made a modest living paid by the government to philosophize about the nature of the universe and the meaning of life. He was a scientist by trade, but a poet at heart. The 101 quatrains – or brief poems – that constitute the Rubaiyat are his most famous work, and read at times like they were written by the Teacher of Ecclesiastes himself. Kayyam reflects on his own pursuit of happiness and meaning, turning to wisdom, love, and wine in order to make sense of the world. Read the comparisons for yourself:
Ecclesiastes 1:10-11:
“Is there a thing of which it is said, ‘See, this is new’? It has already been, in the ages before us. The people of long ago are not remembered, nor will there be any remembrance of people yet to come by those who come after them.”
Rubaiyat XXVI:
Why, all the Saints and Sages who discuss’d
Of the Two Worlds so wisely – they are thrust
Like foolish Prophets forth; their Words to scorn
Are scatter’d, and their Mouths are stopt with Dust.
Ecclesiastes 2:1-3: “I said to myself, ‘Come now, I will make a test of pleasure; enjoy yourself.’ But again, this also was vanity. I said of laughter, ‘It is mad,’ and of pleasure, ‘What use is it?’ I searched with my mind how to cheer my body with wine – my ind still guiding me with wisdom – and how to lay hold on folly, until I might see what was goof for mortals to do under heaven during the few days of their life.”
Rubaiyat XXXIX:
How long, how long, in infinite Pursuit
Of This and That endeavour and dispute?
Better be merry with the fruitful Grape
Than sadden after none, or bitter, Fruit.
Ecclesiastes 3:11-13: “God has made everything suitable for its time; moreover he has put a sense of past and future into their minds, yet they cannot find out what God has done from the beginning to the end. I know that there is nothing better for them than to be happy and enjoy themselves as long as they live; moreover, it is God’s gift that all should eat and drink and take pleasure in all their toil.”
Rubaiyat XXXVII:
Ah, fill the Cup: - what boots it to repeat
How Time is slipping underneath our Feet:
Unborn TO-MORROW and dead YESTERDAY,
Why fret about them if TO-DAY be sweet!
Ecclesiastes 3:19-20: “For the fate of humans and the fate of animals is the same; as one dies, so dies the other. They all have the same breath, and humans have no advantage over the animals; for all is vanity. All go to one place; all are from the dust, and all turn to dust again.”
Rubaiyat XXIV:
Ah, make the most of what we yet may spend,
Before we too into the Dust descend;
Dust into Dust, and under Dust to lie,
Sans Wine, sans Song, sans Singer, and – sans End!
Of course, neither Ecclesiastes or the Rubaiyat resolve their quests with anything remotely close to Christian hope. To wedge that inference into either text would be a disservice to their respective Hebrew and Muslim perspectives. But what both books do model is a kind of open, frank assessment of our human condition. Ecclesiastes invites us to acknowledge the shadow side to our faith: any part of us that is uncertain about things that everyone else seems to be so sure about.
The Teacher of Ecclesiastes challenges us to engage spiritual matters beyond mere memorization, beyond pious platitudes, beyond rote religious formulas. He serves as our immersion journalist, digging deeply into issues of life and death, hope and despair, promise and pain. What results is a narrative that creates space and freedom for you to face your own skepticism, and perhaps even your cynicism. And it might even suggest to you that the only way to find ultimate meaning and purpose in God is to stretch yourself to the limits of your own humanity.
For all of these reasons, Ecclesiastes is my favorite book in the Old Testament.
I’m grateful for having known people like Mary Carter. Her desire to explore the complexities life with courage and authenticity gave her a strength that equaled her love and grace. Her surprising gift to me was more than a lovely copy of an obscure, thousand-year old book. It was the encouragement to live life in the face of death, for to do otherwise is to ignore the former and be held captive by the latter. Last September, when I learned that her time had come to leave the trappings of this earth, I knew she was ready.
This sermon series on Ecclesiastes is one that I have always wanted to preach. I hope that you’ll join us as we dig deep into the riches of this book, unafraid to ask our toughest questions, and be open to the complex beauty beholden in its answers.
Ecclesiastes: The Bible’s Dose of Reality
Are You Smarter Than a Fifth Grader? The Pursuit of Wisdom
Ecclesiastes 1
January 8
Hoarders: The Folly of Self-Indulgence
Ecclesiastes 2
January 15
The Real World: Ups and Downs of Living
Ecclesiastes 3
January 22
Big Brother: The Value of Community
Ecclesiastes 4-5
January 29
Survivor: When the Chips are Stacked Against You
Ecclesiastes 7-8
February 5
Amazing Race: Expecting the Unexpected
Ecclesiastes 9-10
February 12
Extreme Makeover: Living a Transformed Life
Ecclesiastes 12
February 19
Grace and Peace,
Magrey
The Rev. Magrey R. deVega
St. Paul's United Methodist Church
531 W. Main St.
Cherokee, IA 51012
Ph: 712-225-3955
Email: mdevega@sp-umc.org
CHRISTMAS EVE SERMON ONLINE
For those interested, an audio recording of “A St. Paul’s Home Companion” is available on mdevega.blogspot.com. It is the sermon from Christmas Eve, in the style of Garrison Keillor’s “Guy Noir” sketch from his popular radio program “A Prairie Home Companion.” Enjoy!
THANK YOU, ST. PAUL’S!
What a remarkable finish to an amazing year of generosity and faithfulness. Your efforts toward our first-ever Salvation Army bell ringing brought in over $3,500 dollars, 90 percent of which will stay right here in Cherokee County to help people in need. You also gave over $1,500 to Heifer International, Church World Service, and Stan Sitzmann’s Needy Children Program. You have given over 2,000 pairs of shoes to Soles4Souls, and donated coats and other outerwear to our new clothing ministry (to the point where donations are no longer needed at this time!). To top it all off, we have gained an amazing fifty new members in 2011, many of which are by profession of faith, paid all our apportionments in full, and paid all of our expenses for 2011! What a tremendous year! Thank you, St. Paul’s, and let’s look forward to another great year ahead!
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