Ec 1:1-11

3 July 2005

“Qoheleth, the Patriot”

            This is the first of a three-part series on the book of Ecclesiastes.  I’ve never heard anyone suggest to new converts that they begin their reading of the Bible with this book.  I guess I can understand why.  Ecclesiastes is a strange little book.  Some rabbis of old fought hard to keep it from even being considered part of scripture.

            If you’ve read the book, you can probably figure out why that was so.  Even today’s reading from chapter 1 gives some good clues.  Ecclesiastes says things that the rest of the Bible does not say!  Already, in the second verse of the book, we hear this:  “Vanity of vanities…All is vanity.”  That sets the theme for the entire thing.  All is vanity!  Everything is meaningless!  It’s no use!  What in the world is that doing in the Bible?  That doesn’t sound like something one of God’s people would say!

            Hold on to that thought.  We’ll see more examples as we go on as to why folks throughout the centuries have been puzzled about the book of Ecclesiastes.

            In the original Hebrew, our narrator is anonymous.  He’s simply referred to as tl,h,qo (qoheleth), which comes from the word for “assembly” or “congregation” (lh;q;, qahal).  So, “Qoheleth” would be the “convener of the assembly” or “one who calls together the congregation.”  “Ecclesiastes” comes from the Greek translation of that word.  When Martin Luther did his landmark German translation of the Bible, he used the German word for “Preacher” (Der Prediger).[1]  Some English Bibles call our narrator “the Preacher”; the NRSV calls him “the Teacher.”  But I’ll simply follow the Hebrew and refer to our nameless speaker as Qoheleth.

            You may have already figured that out from my sermon title.  Something else you may have figured out is that my sermon title is influenced by the fact that tomorrow is Independence Day.  Still, I think calling Qoheleth “the patriot” is more than mere timing.  A case can be made for his love of country, even though he never directly addresses it.  In fact, there is no mention of the law of Moses or the name of God, “Yahweh,” things that might endear him to his fellow Jews.  That’s partly why some of the rabbis said that this book doesn’t belong in the Bible.

            Even though our author calls himself “the son of David, king in Jerusalem,” it’s clear from the vocabulary he uses that he lives hundreds of years after Solomon.  But like others who wrote what’s known as wisdom literature, he pays his respects to the king noted for his great wisdom.  Posing as Solomon isn’t an intent to deceive; it’s a sign of tribute.  Okay, let’s move on!

            All is vanity!  To those who believe faith is like the syrupy sweet stuff you find in greeting cards, this might come like a bucket of ice water thrown in the face—along with the bucket!  This is some stern, bitter language.  The translations “vanity,” “futility,” “meaningless”…none of them quite capture the sense of deep disappointment that Qoheleth expresses.  Those words don’t have enough bite.  What might be necessary is something like:  “Everything is b. s.”  (But without my sugar-coating!)

            In fact, Methodist professor Elsa Tamez has said of Ecclesiastes that it is for “times of profound disillusionment.”[2]  For some of us, these days would fit into that category!

Just look at our scripture reading.  Look at the list of frustration that Qoheleth goes through.  Generations come and go, the sun rises and sets, the winds blow, the streams flow—but nothing really changes.  “All things are wearisome,” he proclaims, “more than one can express; the eye is not satisfied with seeing, or the ear filled with hearing” (v. 8).

            Don’t forget; this is just the opening chapter of the book!  There’s a lot more where that came from!  Maybe we can be excused for dismissing this as the ranting of Qoheleth the curmudgeon.  But maybe you’ll point out:  Pastor James, your sermon title isn’t “Qoheleth, the Curmudgeon.”  It’s “Qoheleth, the Patriot.”  I’m very glad you mentioned that!

            To understand how Qoheleth can be a patriot, we need to look at the world in his day.  And that isn’t very easy, since there is some disagreement as to when the book was written.  The most likely timeframe is from the 5th century B. C., when the Persians rule the Middle East, to the 3rd century, after the Greeks have swept them from power.

In either case, the Jews are but a small part of a big empire, be it Persian or Greek.  They’re a little flea on a big ol’ hound dog!  And in either case, Qoheleth has witnessed the arrogance of a superpower.  Each in their own way, the Persians, then the Greeks, have dominated the Jews.  They’ve imposed their own cultural values on them.

So when Qoheleth observes, as he does in verse 9, that “there is nothing new under the sun,” that flies in the face of the political propaganda—the party line the government calls everyone to toe.  The nations who have invaded the Jews have promised them all kinds of innovations, what they see as modernization.  To the leaders who say that “everything has changed” and that “we live in a brand new world,” Qoheleth says, “I don’t think so; we’ve seen this before!”

Our author wants to rouse his fellow Jews from their slumber.  In verse 11, he warns, “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.” Qoheleth says that, over and over, we fail to learn the lessons of history.

Dr. Tamez reflects on how “generations come and go without remembering their own history.  Such collective amnesia,” she says, “means the death of a people.”[3]  If we have the attention span of a gnat, we become very easy to manipulate.  If all our attention is focused on our tiny little worlds, we do a disservice to ourselves, to our neighbor, to the earth, to future generations, and ultimately, to God.

            Being a good citizen, especially the citizen of a democracy, requires effort.  It takes discipline.  On the other hand, to live in a dictatorship requires very little effort.  We need only ignore our responsibility to others—especially to the poorest and weakest—and to the planet.  Without discipline, even spiritual discipline, democracy slips through our fingers like sand.  And that’s true of our democracy, as well.

            I recently read an article by the great Jewish writer Abraham Heschel.[4]  It was published in February 1944.  During World War 2, he speaks of that lack of spiritual discipline that permits dictatorship and war to thrive.  Heschel’s words remain relevant for us today, and they were presented in that context.

“Let [terrorism] not serve as an alibi for our conscience.  [Heschel’s original wording was “Let Fascism…”]  We have failed to fight for right, for justice, for goodness; as a result we must fight against wrong, against injustice, against evil.  We have failed to offer sacrifices on the altar of peace; now we must offer sacrifices on the altar of war.”

He goes on, “A tale is told of a band of inexperienced mountain climbers.  Without guides, they struck recklessly into the wilderness.  Suddenly a rocky ledge gave way beneath their feet and they tumbled headlong into a dismal pit.  In the darkness of the pit they recovered from their shock, only to find themselves set upon by a swarm of angry snakes.  Every crevice became alive with fanged, hissing things.

For each snake the desperate men slew, ten more seemed to lash out in its place.  Strangely enough, one man seemed to stand aside from the fight.  When the indignant voices of his struggling companions reproached him for not fighting, he called back:  If we remain here, we shall be dead before the snakes.  I am searching for a way of escape from the pit for all of us.”

            We can become so focused on the agenda that’s been handed us—or that we’ve chosen for ourselves—that we forget to stop, lift up our heads, look around, and explore other possibilities.  But that’s just what Qoheleth’s verbal bucket of ice water in the face calls us to do!

            “Let future generations not loathe us,” Heschel says, “for having failed to preserve what prophets and saints, martyrs and scholars have created in thousands of years.  The [terrorists] have shown that they are great in evil.  [Again, his word was “Fascists.”]  Let us reveal that we can be as great in goodness.  We will survive if we are as fine and sacrificial in our homes and offices, in our Congress and clubs as our soldiers are on the fields of battle.”

            There are so many, good and evil alike, who yearn for the end of days.  Doom and gloom is in the air!  To all, Qoheleth says, “All is vanity!  We have seen this before!  Everything will be forgotten, but God—only God—will be remembered!”  So let us work for the coming reign of God, because that is the only way right, justice, and goodness will thrive!

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