Upper Path Valley Presbyterian Church

Ecclesiastes, selected verses “The Meaning of Life, Part 1”

Rev. Meagan Boozer

When I visited Larry Carlin in CCU on Friday morning, I told him I needed to go home and work on my sermon for today entitled, “The Meaning of Life, Part 1.” “Do you have any quotes I could use?” I asked him. He thought for a while, and he said with tears in his eyes, “You don’t know how much you have until you think you might lose it.” In other words, life means something – something deep, something important – and until we’re in a position that makes us wonder if we’re going to lose our lives, too often we take life for granted. If life didn’t mean anything, then who would care whether we live or die? Life means something.

What is the meaning of life?

Many people ask themselves this question at various points in their lives in the context of the question, “What is the purpose of life?” It’s hard to discern the difference between the words meaning and purpose. It’s easier for us to ask the question and get a clear answer for “What is the purpose of life?” than it is to get an answer to “What is the meaning of life?” Purpose has to do with a goal – and we understand about setting and reaching for a goal.

When I looked in the dictionary for the word, ‘meaning,’ the definition was given: “the thing one intends to convey // something meant or intended.” Let’s consider an example:

What is the meaning of the automobile? An automobile is a road vehicle, usually with four wheels and powered by an internal-combustion engine designed to carry a small number of passengers. The automobile is not intended just to sit around and look good. The automobile is intended to carry passengers as a road vehicle.

What is the meaning of a pew? A pew is usually a wooden bench with a straight back and often a kneeling bench attached to the one in front of it, used by worshipers in a church or synagogue. The pew is intended for use by worshipers when they come for worship. The person who first created the pew intended it to be used in the way we are using our pews.

What is the meaning of the word ‘life’? Websters says: The quality that makes living animals and plants different from dead organisms and inorganic matter. That’s profound. Basically life is the opposite of dead.

But, what is the meaning of life itself? Here are a few responses gathered from various sources:

· To accumulate wealth and increase social status

· To advance natural human evolution, or to contribute to the gene pool of the human race

· To destroy others who harm you, or to practice nonviolence and nonresistance

· To leave a legacy, such as a work of art or a book

· To protect one’s family

· To seek happiness and flourish, experience pleasure, or celebrate

· To survive it, including the pursuit of immortality through scientific means

· To explore, to expand beyond our frontiers

· To express compassion

· To follow the Golden Rule

· To die and become a martyr

· To find true love

· To have fun

· To seek and find beauty

· To simply live until one dies

· One theory comes from a man and his son. This is a word for word quote of their theory: “The meaning of life is one of the greatest mysteries this planet has ever hoped to begin contemplating the impossible solution to. But you see, the answer is really quite simple. You see, we just have to examine the stars. They hold the key to all questions unanswered. Only then can we see that we must destroy gravity by harnessing the power of these glorious stars.”

Please turn with me to the book of Ecclesiastes – a book that deals with the question, “What is the Meaning of Life?”

This book was written as a sermon. It was written by Solomon, the son of King David, who is calling himself a quoheleth in Hebrew. In our Bible, the word is translated Teacher. Quoheleth means a person who addresses an assembly. The corresponding word in the Greek is the word ekklesiastic. This is where the book of Ecclesiastes gets its name.

Some say that this book is nothing more than intellectual wonderings and wanderings. Some say this book should be taken lightly, except for that portion of verses in chapter 3 that most people appreciate, “There is a time for this and a time for that.” But it seems to me to be unthinkable that the Spirit of God, who inspired everything in the Bible, would have 12 chapters of something to be taken lightly. And I surely don’t think the Quoheleth, the Preacher/Teacher, Solomon, was taking what he was writing lightly:

Please take a look at Chapter 12:9-11, “Besides being wise, the Teacher also taught the people knowledge, weighing and studying and arranging many proverbs. The Teacher sought to find pleasing words, and he wrote words of truth plainly. The sayings of the wise are like goads (something to prod people to action), and like nails firmly fixed are the collected sayings that are given by one Shepherd.” Solomon is not bragging here that he is wise. If you remember, back in 1 Kings 3, Solomon asked God for an understanding mind to govern God’s people, and the ability to discern between good and evil. God answered his prayer by saying, “I give you a wise and discerning mind; no one like you has been before you and no one like you shall arise after you.”

This wise teacher is also a clear writer. In the preface, he tells us what the book is going to be about. Then, in the conclusion he repeats what the book has been about, and then he tells the readers how to apply what has been written to life.

In Chapter 1:2, “Vanity of vanities, says the Teacher, vanity of vanities! All is vanity.” The NIV translates it, “'Meaningless, meaningless,' says the Preacher, 'utterly meaningless. Everything is meaningless.'" The word vanity means: “something that is considered futile, worthless, or empty of significance.”

When this man says vanity of vanities right here at the beginning, he wants to put that into exclamation points and underline it and put it in italics. “Pay attention to this,” he is saying.

A great many people have read those words of this preacher and have dismissed them as non-Christian thought. Some students of the Scripture, and even some scholars are fond of saying that the book of Ecclesiastes is never referred to the New Testament, thereby dismissing what Solomon writes here. I'm not sure that's true. In Romans 8:20 Paul says, "The whole creation is subject to vanity." Paul is not just talking about the hills and the rocks and the rivers and the trees. He's talking about all creation, which all of us are a part - there is at least one place in which this ancient preacher and the apostle Paul agree. Life is vain. Life is futile. Life is meaningless.

The conclusion of the book is found in 12:13. " The end of the matter; all has been heard. Fear God, and keep his commandments; for that is the whole duty of everyone. For God will bring every deed into judgment, including every secret thing, whether good or evil.” I can quickly compare this to a passage like 2 Corinthians 5:10 which says, "We shall all stand before the judgment seat of Christ. We shall all give an account of the things done in the body."

The preface of the book is Life is vain. Life is futile. Life is meaningless. The conclusion of the book is Fear God. Keep his commandments. Those are like the two pieces of bread on a sandwich.

But on the inside of this sandwich is a recurring theme that mustn’t be missed. It comes again and again like the refrain of a hymn. For instance, beginning in 2:24, " There is nothing better for mortals than to eat and drink, and find enjoyment in their toil. This also, I saw, is from the hand of God.” Or 3:12, " 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. Or 3:22, “So I saw that there is nothing better than that all should enjoy their work, for that is their lot; who can bring them to see what will be after them?” Or 5:18, “This is what I have seen to be good: it is fitting to eat and drink and find enjoyment in all the toil with which one toils under the sun the few days of the life God gives us; for this is our lot.” Or 8:15, “So I commend enjoyment, for there is nothing better for people under the sun than to eat, and drink, and enjoy themselves, for this will go with them in their toil through the days of life that God gives them under the sun.” And finally 9:7, “Go, eat your bread with enjoyment, and drink your wine with a merry heart; for God has long ago approved what you do.”

The basic idea of the book: Life is vain. Life is futile. Life is meaningless.

The conclusion of the book: Fear God. Keep his commandments.

In between like the recurring refrain of a hymn: Eat, drink, and be merry.

How do you put it together? Is he really saying, “meaningless, meaningless, life is utterly meaningless!” and meaning what we think he means? Does he intend to answer our question, “What is the meaning of life?” with this answer: “Life has no meaning. It is meaningless.”

Here’s what is crucial to understand: When the wisest human being who ever lived says that life is futile, and vain, and meaningless, he is not saying that life is not worth living. He means that try as we will, you and I can never figure it all out. This preacher is looking for the key that will unlock the mystery of life. He discovers that God is the keeper of that key and he never gives it to men and women. Try as we will we will never figure it all out.

To back up what I’m suggesting, look at 3:11, “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.”

Look at 7:14, “In the day of prosperity be joyful, and in the day of adversity consider; God has made the one as well as the other, so that mortals may not find out anything that will come after them.”

I think when Solomon speaks his infamous phrase, “Vanity of vanities, all is vanity,” he’s saying, “I just can’t figure this out. Just when I think I ‘get’ it, that’s when something happens that really rocks my boat.”

Do you get it?

Do you understand why bad things happen to good people?

Do you understand why some bad people are healed from diseases, and some good people aren’t?

Do you understand why God lets the rich get richer and poor poorer?

Do you understand why God allows there to be such a thing as abortion, or genocides, or whole nations of people who are dying of famine or aids?

What is the meaning of life?

My challenge for you this week is to read this whole book of Ecclesiastes before you come back next Sunday. (It’s only 12 short chapters.) We’re going to return to this question by returning, of course, to the Scriptures, and ultimately returning to the Creator of life. We could have asked the creator of the automobile, or the creator of the pew, “What was your intention with these things?” And so, we can ask the Creator of life: “Creator God, what was your intention when you gave life?” Surely that is a question God wants to answer. Amen.

(Let’s all join together in worship next Sunday at 11:00 a.m. to receive God’s message, “The Meaning of Life, Part 2.”)

Upper Path Valley Presbyterian Church

09-03-06