Ecclesiastes,
Chapter 12, Verse 5-7
5 When
one is afraid of heights, and perils
in the street; When the almond tree blooms, and the locust grows sluggish and
the caper berry is without effect, Because mortals go to their lasting home,
and mourners go about the streets; 6 Before the silver cord is
snapped and the golden bowl is broken, And the pitcher is shattered at the
spring, and the pulley is broken at the well, 7
And the dust returns to the earth as it once was, and the life breath returns
to God who gave it.
This chapter of
Ecclesiastes is a tribute to life and is a poem on old age and death. The
poem’s mysterious imagery has often been interpreted symbolically. Above all it
seeks to evoke an atmosphere as well as an attitude toward death and old age.
The poet references to the human body—“guardians”: the arms; “strong men”: the
legs; “women who grind”: the teeth; “those who look”: the eyes; “the doors”:
the lips; “daughters of song”: the voice; “the almond tree blooms”: resembling
the white hair of old age; “the locust…sluggish”: the stiffness in movement of
the aged; “the caper berry”: a stimulant for appetite. The golden bowl
suspended by the silver cord is a symbol of life; the snapping of the cord and
the breaking of the bowl, a symbol of death. The pitcher…the
pulley: another pair of metaphors for life and its ending. Death is
portrayed in terms of the description of creation in the body corrupts in the
grave, and the life breath (“spirit”), or gift of life, returns to God who had
breathed upon what he had formed.[1]
By God’s grace
we all hope to finish well. The poet gives us his plan on how to finish well.
1.
Don’t
lose sight of the big picture (entire situation), especially when you are
young.
2.
Do
what is right before it is too late to correct yourself.
3.
Use
your words like tools to shepherd and add value to others.
4.
Don’t
try to master everthing in life, just what is important.
5.
Trust
and obey God, because He is the ultimate judge.
“We are an Easter people, and
‘Alleluia’ is our song!”
These words are
attributed to St. John Paul II during an address at
a black parish in Harlem in 1979, and again before leading the
congregation in the Angelus at a Mass in
Adelaide, Australia, in 1986. However, the Pope was paraphrasing a
quote from St. Augustine of Hippo, some 1,500 years before: “We are a
resurrection people, and our song is ‘Alleluia’.” If you don’t hear or read
these words again this Easter, you probably will next year. If nothing else
separates the post-Vatican II Catholic from the traditionalist, it’s the trope
of “the resurrection people”. I’m not trying to import what’s been called the
“hermeneutic of rupture”, the belief that the Second Vatican Council changed
the DNA of the Catholic Church or the substance of Catholic dogma. However,
it’s not an exaggeration to say that the Council created, or at least promoted,
a different style — a different perspective from which to view our doctrine and
expound it. And the “resurrection people” trope is a key to that difference. Error
usually begins with the emphasis of one doctrine, or a collection of related doctrines,
over the rest. For instance, had Martin Luther truly understood what St. Paul
meant by works, he might have ended his days still an Augustinian priest
in communion with the Church. Far be it from me to suggest that either Ss. John
Paul or Augustine were in error by saying “we are a resurrection people”; for
both men were well-versed in the evangelium. However, the saying can be
easily misunderstood. For it would be just as true, if not more, to say we are
the “people of the crucifixion”.
For our goal is to
follow him where he leads us for Christ is stronger than life or death!
Daily Devotions
Comments
Post a Comment