DAY 263

TURN—TURN—TURN

Ecclesiastes 1, 2 & 3 and 2 Corinthians 11:16-33

Here is the general process I use for typing my blog. I read the readings in the morning. I tend to let them percolate during the day, and if I have time or a question I dig into a commentary. I then try to write my blog the evening before it is due to post.

So I just sat down to type my blog. My day today was about a 14-15 hour day. I have had a lot of these in a row. The Cathedral has a staffing shortage and someone is out ill which just magnifies the situation. My day ended with a funeral. It was a difficult one, and in general it went well.

What am I thinking about all this work? Is it all vanity? That is what the Scripture seems to say tonight. “The Preacher” as he is called, seems to say we spend our life running on a treadmill; we get nowhere. Now, is he saying we don’t achieve anything, or that all we achieve does not ultimately satisfy? He seems to say “that which you chase, that which you desire…all of it will disappoint…well almost all of it.”

Wisdom, if you think gaining it will bring great satisfaction and peace…it won’t. He says the same about self-indulgence and toil.

We then get to that well known part of Ecclesiastes that Peter Seeger wrote as a song in the 1950’s and the musical group “The Byrds” made into a song in 1962. Here is a link to a video on it: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W4ga_M5Zdn4

The song is inviting us to “turn” to a new season, a season of peace. The Scriptures are saying that there are seasons. I am not sure you and I can “turn the season.” Maybe we can turn our attitude, maybe with God’s Holy Spirit we can “turn back” to God. And maybe, just maybe, the point of the Book of Ecclesiastes is that turning and focusing on God is the only thing that gives lasting peace and satisfaction. (We haven’t read the entire book yet, but we should expect it to be consistent with the rest of the Bible).

Today is one of those days when if we were to run off in a direction based only on what we read today, we might quit our jobs, we might sleep really late in the morning…or more. But wait…we need to keep reading…don’t quit you day-job yet.