The Meaninglessness of Life

I have to admit that my favorite part of the Bible is the book of Ecclesiastes. It is famous for the passage which forms the song Turn, Turn, Turn, written by Pete Seeger and popularized by the Byrds--"There is a time for every purpose under Heaven."

Yet, many Christians keep the book at arm's length. Some even wonder why it is even in the Bible at all. It is the proverbial red-headed stepchild. A lot of folks don't know what to do with it. It's kept around, because we are loyal to the biblical canon. In other words, we are stuck with it, but we just sort of keep it... over there.

It could have been written today. It's message is extremely modern. Qoheleth is struggling with a sense of existential angst. Everything seems futile. All our hard work seems to amount to nothing.  Generations of people come and go.  He struggles with the purpose of life.

I'd be lying if I said I hadn't struggled with those very same questions.

Case in point: I have known my grandparents. I know something about my great-grandparents (at least some of them), but with the exception of a detail or two, that's as far back as my history goes. I barely know anything about the very people I come from just a few generations before me. Yet, I imagine they had joys and sorrows. I imagine they achieved much and failed a lot, too. Yet, they came and went. It's wrong to say they have no enduring legacy, because I'm here--but the details of their lives have been all but lost.

It's easy to wonder, like Qoheleth does, what's the point of it all?  Do we just eat, drink and be merry and make the most of our short time?  Qoheleth seems to have tried that. Yet, just looking for temporary pleasures doesn't bring him fulfilment, either. It reminds me of another song:  U2's I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For. Nothing seems to satisfy him.

Qoheleth commits himself to hard work. He is as industrious as anyone, having achieved more than most. He gets some satisfaction from a job well done, but that doesn't last. He sees the false pride that is underneath the pursuit of "hard work" (Eccles. 4:4). This is not the prosperity Gospel. He is still empty.

Do we fall into despair? Do we just give up?

It's probably good that Ecclesiastes just sort of hangs there, unresolved. We like everything wrapped up in tidy little boxes, but the spiritual journey is one of struggle. The Bible is not ultimately a book of easy answers but rather of toiling with the deep questions. The Book of Ecclesiastes makes perfect sense in light of that.

The paradox is: You just can't get to the answers without agonizing over the questions for a while.

We do ourselves a tremendous disservice when we attempt to resolve all questions as quickly as possible. Great spiritual masters tell us that God often speaks to us in the spaces between our words and our thoughts.  If we seek easy answers and don't leave space for God, we may be missing a lot--that's true even if we fill that space with God, because all we are doing is filling that space with what we think of as God--our own conceptions and voice--which actually can drown out God's voice.

It is almost as if the writer of Ecclesiastes in desperation reaches some kind of breakthrough. Sometimes you have to be pushed to your utter limits to break into the liminal space necessary for change and growth. The writer realizes that this is indeed a world of dust--and that's okay. We have to trust God in that.

It is an enormous challenge to face this. It is good to realize this, though, as that forces us to grow. It forces our true self to grow through the shell of the false self, so we can live our true nature. But those are some major growing pains and they hurt. It is normal to experience a monumental grieving process, because there is a lot at stake--virtually everything we know gets carried off in the wind like so much dust.

In the Gospels, Jesus is continually calling on us to discern between what is eternal and what is not. Jesus calls us to let go and be not afraid. He tells us that there is reason to hope in this, even if--or maybe especially if--we hang onto hope by the skin of our calloused fingertips with our last bit of strength. He tell us that what is lasting is not of this world--it is of the Kingdom. All worldly pursuits, all riches, even the emotional "riches" of pride--maybe especially so--come from dust and return to dust. At best they are meaningless, at worst they are distractions that keep us from finding true meaning.

You have to realize that this world amounts to nothing more than dust in order to really understand the message of Jesus. We are not supposed to build a permanent home for ourselves here. Jesus made that quite clear.

Everything of this world does perish. Qoheleth is right in discovering this. 

The rest of the story (in the voice of Paul Harvey), however, is that everything of God does not perish.  When it is all said and done, all that remains is faith, hope and love (1 Corinthians 13:13).  That is exactly why it behooves us to let go of everything false to live into this Truth: Give up everything and be with the poor in faith, hope and love. If we were not so attached to our possessions, our wealth and our worldly sense of security, we would probably do this rather easily. It involves us shedding our false self to let the Kingdom within shine. Jesus shows us the Way: He continually ignored worldly titles and statuses and instead encountered anyone and everyone in peace and recognized their dignity. He is in and with the poor. That is where Jesus is and that is where his Church ought to be.

Our religious structures can be a barrier for this true spiritual journey, too. When we think our church is the only "right" one, when our doctrines are the "best," then we can actually stop listening to God and listen only the echo chamber of our own conclusions. Make no mistake--God can speak to us through religious doctrines and structures, but when they become a false idol then the religious tradition that could have pointed us to God now stands in the way. 
 

Vanity of vanities, says the Teacher,
    vanity of vanities! All is vanity.
What do people gain from all the toil
    at which they toil under the sun?

A generation goes, and a generation comes,
    but the earth remains forever.
The sun rises and the sun goes down,
    and hurries to the place where it rises.

The wind blows to the south,
    and goes around to the north;
round and round goes the wind,
    and on its circuits the wind returns.

All streams run to the sea,
    but the sea is not full;
to the place where the streams flow,
    there they continue to flow.

All things are wearisome;
    more than one can express;
the eye is not satisfied with seeing,
    or the ear filled with hearing. 

What has been is what will be,

     and what has been done is what will be done;
    there is nothing new under the sun.

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

Ecclesiastes 1:1-11 (NRSV)

God Is Keeping Us Busy With Joy

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. Likewise all to whom God gives wealth and possessions and whom he enables to enjoy them, and to accept their lot and find enjoyment in their toil—this is the gift of God.  For they will scarcely brood over the days of their lives, because God keeps them occupied with the joy of their hearts.

-- Ecclesiastes 5:18-20 NRSV
 

It was a blessing that I began the day of the Rutledge Ecumenical Social at Sunday School at Rutledge Baptist Church. We studied the passage from Ecclesiastes above: Qoheleth is struggling on the brink of despair. He seems to fall into utter hopelessness only to spring back just enough to hang on to a little glimmer of hope. He sees people toiling and oppressed with little relief in sight. He is saddened about his short, fleeting life and all his accomplishments which he fears amount to only so much dust.

His story is very modern--like someone experiencing clinical depression and struggling to have any faith in God at all. Yet, Qoheleth finds a way to escape all that despair—as the above passage shows, it is possible find joy in the gifts God has given and to simply trust in God in that joy. He shows us how to navigate the dark, scary times of life when we do not know all the answers and when we flounder to find meaning. He offers a guiding light for some of the most difficult parts of the journey.

Baptist congregation member Sharon made this connection between the Ecclesiastes reading and the three church, three congregation ecumenical social that afternoon: “We can have joy together in our mutual love for the Lord,” she said. “We are celebrating that even though we go to different churches, we come together to laugh and for fellowship because we love the Lord, so we are all brothers and sisters.”

That same joy that Qoheleth ultimately finds is the same joy that three Christian congregations in the eastern Tennessee community of Rutledge have found: God is simply keeping them too busy with joy to be preoccupied with anything negative.
 

L-R: Patty, Fr. Steve, Pastor Chan and Chelsea

 

The Rutledge Ecumenical Social is the latest in a long line of activities between three distinct churches in rural eastern Tennessee: Rutledge United Methodist Church, Rutledge Baptist Church, and St. John Paul II Mission Catholic parish.

 

"We have prayed together, served the needy together, but we have yet to party together," said Catholic pastor Fr. Steve Pawelk on his Facebook wall.

 

Methodist Pastor Ryan Davenport described their process: "Fr. Steve, Pastor "Chan" (Chandler Vinson) and I meet once a month for lunch and for prayer. During those prayer meetings, we think of different ecumenical ministries."

 

Indeed, the three congregations have twice hosted three-day ecumenical revivals. They operate a year-round food pantry for the hungry, which features a turkey giveaway in November. This past summer, they hosted a joint Vacation Bible School. "We have just not sat down and broken bread together," continued Davenport.

 

That is exactly what the three congregations did this past weekend. The initial idea this time came from the Baptist congregation. Having graciously hosted the Vacation Bible School, the adults enjoyed themselves so much they looked for a way to continue the partnership. "The pastors texted each other to pitch the idea," recounted Chan. "The answers came back in less than 5-10 minutes--we were all like, 'we need to do this!'"

 

They picked a neutral location in the center of town. Tasks were divided up and flyers went up around town. On the day of the event, hot dogs were put on the grill and potluck dishes rounded out the meal with a mix of general American picnic fare and a robust selection of Mexican, Filipino and Southern dishes. The fiddler of the Old Time music band Possum Crossing belongs to the JPII congregation and brought his band.

 

Highlights of the event included a corn hole tournament and spontaneous dancing to accompany the music. The latter featured Fr. Steve, Pastor Chan, as well as some parishioners. One man raised the question whether dancing was itself a sin, which prompted a good-natured theological discussion--the only theological concern raised that day.

A serious game of corn hole.



Possum Crossing keeping the crowd toe tappin' to Old Time music.

Fr. Steve dances with Peggy. Photo by Chander Vinson.

 

Perhaps most noteworthy was what was not present. There was no noticeable awkwardness or coldness. A bystander such as myself would have had a hard time distinguishing which members belonged to which congregations, since people mixed so well. The few problems were not theological in nature. Rather, they revolved around the predictable logistical details of hosting an event--the normal hustle and bustle of getting the grill set up and working, directing the buffet line and organizing the clean-up. Baptist church secretary Chelsea and congregation member Patty held the nuts and bolts of this event together seamlessly.

"When we first started working together, I expected at least some backlash from the congregation," confessed Pastor Chan. "There was none. Our churches have ended up loving each other. It has been shockingly easy." 

"It is clear that Fr. Steve, Ryan and Chan really enjoy each other’s company," affirmed Patty. That spirit clearly radiates to their congregations, and perhaps it even ripples outward to the larger community.

"Working together [with he other pastors] is always really easy," affirms Pastor Chan.

Non-Competitive Relationships

A key to the success of this three-congregation, three-denomination partnership is the almost total lack of competition between them.

 

"Competitiveness is a huge hindrance to the mission of God," explained Pastor Ryan. "If we are so worried about how many people are on our rolls, if all we care about is just who we gain or who this building gains, and we are not for the greater good of the community of eradicating drugs, bringing people to Christ and loving 'the least, the last and the lost', then we are not doing our job."

Indeed, even churches that belong to the same denomination rarely get together for common activities in that region. Congregations huddle up and keep to themselves. That makes this three-church partnership a unique witness that participants hope will become more common in time: "I wish that this approach to the faith would be contagious and spread like wildfire everywhere," hoped Pastor Ryan.

"Partnership with the Baptists and Catholics makes the Kingdom of God come more to life. It’s a beautiful thing not to say: 'You’re over there, we’re over here, let’s keep it that way,'" said Pastor Ryan. "That’s not what the Bible ever teaches. What we are trying to do is be faithful to the Bible’s concept of unity.

Impact

I have visited these three congregations before and it is always such a wonderful, joyful witness. It is fascinating to ponder what impact this robust partnership can and will have in the larger community.

"I have seen greater friendliness on the streets--at the grocery store and bank,” said Fr. Steve. "There is a greater sense of community. We are constantly building relationships." He said that the congregations originally met as strangers, but through ecumenical events and joint ministry work there are now many lasting friendships that have formed.

"Denominational distinctions are on the outs," predicted Ryan. He used the lunch table where he was seated to illustrate this point. Along with Baptists, Methodists and Catholics were people with a background in the Quaker and Episcopal traditions, for example. Yet, they now worship together, study the Bible together and serve the community together. "There is a slew of different flavors of Christianity at this one table." 



"May I have this dance?"

Patty shared a compatible point: "I was brought up Catholic, but I am non-denominational now." Her church membership is not based on denomination but rather the draw of a particular pastor and the connection and acceptance of a congregation--"That's what drives my train now," she explained.

 

The overall sentiment is that in the larger community there has been too much focus on differences and not enough on similarities. "When I was growing up as the daughter of a Baptist deacon, there were very definite divisions between denominations," recounted Baptist member Peggy. "We forgot to focus on the fact that we all believe in God and worship God.”

 

Peggy told the story of her neighbor of 35 years who is a Catholic: “We decided St. Peter’s not going to ask us which denomination we belong to--he is going to ask us: 'Have you been a good and faithful servant?'"

 

She finds the technical differences between denominations tedious: "It is all very confusing to me, which is why you just have to take it on faith."

 

The spirituality of that statement is profound in light of the Ecclesiastes reading above, and it is a fitting way to understand the quest for Christian unity. Most groups do not get along as well as these congregations. Sometimes the obstacles between Christian denominations are so strong that it can be all too easy to fall into despair—the theological differences, history of hurt, misconceptions and prejudices can all pile on top of each other to create a multi-layered mess of epic proportions. We can be left not knowing what we could possibly do about it, wondering how these obstacles could ever be overcome.

 

Still, we can move forward in faith, at ease because we do not need to know all the answers but instead can trust in God's gift of joy, like Qoheleth.

 

"Some people around town are in such a shock that we do all these things," cited Sharon. They say, ‘You do something with that church?’ They lower their voice when they say that. But we all love the Lord, that’s our foundation… to me, it is a joyful thing to celebrate."

 

Sharon noticed a signal from the grill master and interrupted what she was saying to announce: "Hot dogs are ready!! Enough about all that," she playfully exclaimed and quickly left behind the talk of differences and negativity to go back to the party.

 

Indeed: God is keeping this group too busy with joy to dwell on differences.




L-R: Fr. Steve, Pastor Ryan and Pastor Chan.

 

A polka lesson.