Sermon July 31 2016 On Ecclesiastes
St. Matthew’s Lutheran Church, Spruce Grove
Rev. Aaron N. Schnell
Page 1 of 9
FIRST READING: Ecclesiastes 1:2, 12-14; 2:18-23
The teacher of wisdom who wrote Ecclesiastes sees that working for mere accumulation of
wealth turns life into an empty game, a “vanity of vanities.” Nevertheless, he asserts in the next
verse, it is good to find enjoyment in one’s work because such enjoyment is a gift from God.
2Vanity of vanities, says the Teacher,
vanity of vanities! All is vanity.
12I,
the Teacher, when king over Israel in Jerusalem, 13applied my mind to seek and to search out
by wisdom all that is done under heaven; it is an unhappy business that God has given to human
beings to be busy with. 14I saw all the deeds that are done under the sun; and see, all is vanity
and a chasing after wind.
2:18I hated all my toil in which I had toiled under the sun, seeing that I must leave it to those
who come after me 19—and who knows whether they will be wise or foolish? Yet they will be
master of all for which I toiled and used my wisdom under the sun. This also is vanity. 20So I
turned and gave my heart up to despair concerning all the toil of my labors under the sun,
21because sometimes one who has toiled with wisdom and knowledge and skill must leave all to
be enjoyed by another who did not toil for it. This also is vanity and a great evil. 22What do
mortals get from all the toil and strain with which they toil under the sun? 23For all their days are
full of pain, and their work is a vexation; even at night their minds do not rest. This also is vanity.
GOSPEL: Luke 12:13-21
The gospel is announced.
The holy gospel according to Luke.
Glory to you, O Lord.
In God’s reign, the “rich will be sent away empty.” Jesus uses a parable to warn against
identifying the worth of one’s life with the value of one’s possessions rather than one’s
relationship with God.
13Someone
in the crowd said to [Jesus,] “Teacher, tell my brother to divide the family inheritance
with me.” 14But he said to him, “Friend, who set me to be a judge or arbitrator over you?” 15And
he said to them, “Take care! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; for one’s life does not
consist in the abundance of possessions.” 16Then he told them a parable: “The land of a rich man
produced abundantly. 17And he thought to himself, ‘What should I do, for I have no place to
store my crops?’ 18Then he said, ‘I will do this: I will pull down my barns and build larger ones,
and there I will store all my grain and my goods. 19And I will say to my soul, Soul, you have
ample goods laid up for many years; relax, eat, drink, be merry.’ 20But God said to him, ‘You
fool! This very night your life is being demanded of you. And the things you have prepared,
whose will they be?’ 21So it is with those who store up treasures for themselves but are not rich
toward God.”
The gospel concludes:
The gospel of the Lord.
Praise to you, O Christ.
Sermon July 31 2016 On Ecclesiastes
St. Matthew’s Lutheran Church, Spruce Grove
Rev. Aaron N. Schnell
Page 2 of 9
Vanity of vanities, says the teacher,
Vanity of vanities! All is vanity.
Ecclesiastes, also known by the Hebrew name of the
teacher/preacher, Quoheleth,
doesn’t appear often in our lectionary;
only once every 3 years,
except for an assigned reading on New Years Day.
The book of Ecclesiastes is best known
for the ancient poem turned rock song
Turn, Turn, Turn written by Pete Seger.
But the book of Ecclesiastes cannot be best summed
by the words from the Byrds’ song:
For everything there is a season
and a time to every matter under heaven:
A time to be born, a time to die… and so on.
The main argument of the book of Ecclesiastes is that
no matter what we chase after in life,
we all end up in the same place.
All is vanity.
The word “Vanity” appears in this short book 38 times.
Too bad the word that we have translated as vanity
is so difficult to translate.
Sermon July 31 2016 On Ecclesiastes
St. Matthew’s Lutheran Church, Spruce Grove
Rev. Aaron N. Schnell
Page 3 of 9
The literal translation from the Hebrew word “Hebel”
is vapour or mist or even smoke.
So the word we hear in English as vanity
is supposed to mean
something of little substance that quickly disappears.
Hebel, vanity,
is often translated as meaninglessness or emptiness the opposite of substantial.
I had an Old Testament professor in seminary
who had a different take.
Christine Mitchell, professor of Hebrew Scriptures
at St. Andrew’s United College
believed a a better translation for hebel/vanity is “absurd.”
All is absurd.
Ecclesiastes is also known for the phrase
“Chasing after wind”,
such as in chapter 1:14
“I saw all the deeds that are done under the sun;
and see, all is vanity and a chasing after wind.”
“Chasing after wind” might conjure images of
a dog running after a car,
or even better,
losing an important piece of paper on a windy day,
and trying to catch it.
Sermon July 31 2016 On Ecclesiastes
St. Matthew’s Lutheran Church, Spruce Grove
Rev. Aaron N. Schnell
Page 4 of 9
Professor Mitchell understood “Chasing after the wind”
to mean vexation, frustration, worry,
but best translated as “Really, really annoying.”
So, arguably, The argument of Ecclesiastes, in a nutshell:
I saw all the deeds that are done under the sun,
and see, all is absurd and really, really annoying.
That’s life according Ecclesiastes:
We all live, one way or another,
and we all die, one way or another.
Purposelessness.
Meaninglessness.
Emptiness.
It is hard to find meaning in life;
God has a plan,
but we as humans can’t figure it out.
Life is like chasing after the wind:
life is absurd and really, really annoying.
This is the word of the Lord
and we all respond “Thanks be to God?”
I know I feel like this sometimes,
I feel this hopelessness.
Sermon July 31 2016 On Ecclesiastes
St. Matthew’s Lutheran Church, Spruce Grove
Rev. Aaron N. Schnell
Page 5 of 9
I like to stay in shape,
I like to jog and lift weights,
but you know,
no matter how many times I lift it,
200 pounds is always 200 pounds.
No matter how fast I run,
5 KM is always 5 KM.
I can't change that.
And no matter how good of shape I get in,
in the end,
I will die just like everyone else.
We all find ourselves in our own places of hopelessness:
Perhaps when our bodies
don't work as well as they should,
or when we receive a diagnosis we don't like,
or when a loved one dies too young,
when a family member lets us down,
when the credit card bill arrives Hopelessness is all around us.
Vanity of vanities, all is vanity.
Sometimes the book of Ecclesiastes
makes perfect pessimistic sense.
Sermon July 31 2016 On Ecclesiastes
St. Matthew’s Lutheran Church, Spruce Grove
Rev. Aaron N. Schnell
Page 6 of 9
But let’s not get stuck on this hopelessness, however.
Sure, Vanity, absurdity
might appear in the book 38 times,
but vanity is not the end word for Ecclesiastes.
What we heard today is not the whole story.
Quoheleth, the teacher/preacher,
one of the authors of this book
is expressing something profound:
Humanity, you and I,
we cannot find meaning on our own.
You can search our pleasure,
but that will blow away like smoke.
You can search for success,
and that will blow away like smoke.
You can even strive for wisdom,
and even that will blow away like smoke.
All of that is of little substance.
Perhaps the greatest message Ecclesiastes offers us
is that even wisdom cannot bring us closer to God.
The search for wisdom itself can become like a false god,
just as the search for wealth can become a false god,
just as the search for pleasure and success
can become a false god.
Now, maybe this doesn’t sound like good news yet.
But it is.
Sermon July 31 2016 On Ecclesiastes
St. Matthew’s Lutheran Church, Spruce Grove
Rev. Aaron N. Schnell
Page 7 of 9
There was a song made popular in 1972 by Carly Simon:
“You’re So Vain
(You probably think this song is about you)”
It’s a great song.
What the teacher, Ecclesiastes is saying
is that when it comes to meaning and purpose
in the song of life,
even if you might think this song is about you,
it is not about you.
Maybe that’s not good news for you.
maybe you want to be the one who can
create meaning and purpose and worth in your life.
Maybe it’s a hard message to hear that
your work,
your pleasure,
your wealth,
your success,
your wisdom is Vanity absurd smoke that will blow away,
and maybe you really are so vain
that you probably think this sermon is about you (I’m sorry I couldn't resist).
This sermon isn’t really about us,
just like Ecclesiastes isn’t really about
the vanity of life.
Its about our God.
Sermon July 31 2016 On Ecclesiastes
St. Matthew’s Lutheran Church, Spruce Grove
Rev. Aaron N. Schnell
Page 8 of 9
God is creator.
God has been, is now, and will continue to be
at work in the world.
The story of life is not a story about us
and our accomplishments,
but a story about God and about God’s work.
Ecclesiastes says that we cannot know
God’s plan for certain
but what we do know, what the Teacher teaches us,
is that God’s creation is good.
God made this life lovable,
God gave us life so it can be enjoyed; so enjoy life.
Eat, drink, and be merry!
Meaning and purpose in life are not yours to create,
so don’t bother creating your own
meaning and purpose, because it will vanish.
That kind of stuff:
Wealth, wisdom, pleasure, success they’re all vapour, mist, absurd.
Meaning and purpose in life is God’s to give.
God’s meaning and purpose don’t vanish.
Some 300-400 years after Ecclesiastes was written,
Jesus of Nazareth came on the scene,
bringing something new: new life.
Jesus gives our lives meaning and purpose in baptism.
Sermon July 31 2016 On Ecclesiastes
St. Matthew’s Lutheran Church, Spruce Grove
Rev. Aaron N. Schnell
Page 9 of 9
We don’t bring about meaning and purpose for ourselves:
God does.
Now that is good news! That is Gospel!
In a world where we can toil and toil,
in a world where there is nothing new under the sun,
in a world where all is vanity and chasing after wind,
in a world where all is absurd
and really, really annoying,
in a world where we all,
rich and poor alike, will die;
God gives us another way - Jesus.
In Christ, there is more than just
vapour and absurdity in this life.
In Christ, God gives us purpose,
God gives our lives meaning.
So when we find ourselves
in places of hopelessness and despair,
when it seems like all is absurd and vapour,
May we remember that God has something greater for us,
That by God’s grace our lives do matter:
May we search for those ways that
God is at work in the world,
even if they are sometimes hard to see,
And may we all take a lesson from Ecclesiastes
and enjoy this life that we are given in Christ:
enjoy living the life that really is life. Amen!