Yesterday’s Newspaper Headlines

Applying the insights of the book of Ecclesiastes

09/24/2022

ECCL 11:9—12:8 Remember your Creator in the days of your youth, before the evil days come And the years approach of which you will say, I have no pleasure in them; Before the sun is darkened, and the light, and the moon, and the stars, while the clouds return after the rain; When one waits for the chirp of a bird, but all the daughters of song are suppressed; And one fears heights, and perils in the street; Because man goes to his lasting home, and mourners go about the streets; Before the silver cord is snapped and the golden bowl is broken, And the pitcher is shattered at the spring, and the broken pulley falls into the well, And the dust returns to the earth as it once was, and the life breath returns to God who gave it. Vanity of vanities, says Qoheleth, all things are vanity!

One of the most fascinating but also frightening books of the Bible has to be Ecclesiastes, our first reading today. Its basic message is captured by a famous phrase used both at the beginning and at the end of the book. We read: “Vanity of vanities, all things are vanity.” In other words, this books goes to great lengths to teach us that everything we cling to so tightly end up but dust and ashes.

For example, the dream home we spend so much time and treasure to build eventually ends up in someone else’s hands. The company we shed blood and tears to create sooner or later is led by other CEO’s or sold in a hostile or friendly takeover. Even the books we write or the lives we lead become as interesting as yesterday’s newspaper headlines. This, I believe, is the point of Ecclesiastes: and it is summed up by the phrase “vanity of vanities.”

Now that is a frightening prospect, and even a little depressing, but it is also fascinating, I contend, because it can lead to faith. Only when we are convinced we eventually lose everything on earth will we seek the One we can never lose, namely, God. Let me give you three examples of how to apply the insights of Ecclesiastes to our modern Christian life.

The first application is something I said last Thursday at Trinity when all the students gathered at the flag pole. Once a year we recognize the symbolic significance of the American flag, and the nation for which it stands. We read about the history of this tradition, we say the Pledge of Allegiance, and the band plays patriotic songs. In my brief closing remarks I quoted Hb 13:14, which says: “Here we have no lasting city, but we await the city which is to come.”

In other words, as great as the United States of America is, and however much we love it, out true home is the heavenly city, the Kingdom of God. Our deepest allegiance should be directed there, not here. That is something Ecclesiastes would say about America: “Vanity of vanities; all things are vanity.” That is, even America will one day exist only in history books, and be yesterday’s newspaper headlines.

The second application is an article that Fr. Andrew Hart sent me a few days ago. It was written by Bishop Erik Varden, a 48 year-old bishop, who is also a monk of the Order of Cistercians of the Strict Observance, or OCSO for short. He wrote a letter to the general chapter meeting of Cistercians addressing the main challenges the order faces, among which was declining vocations. To remedy that he argued: “A monastery is not an end in itself. It is called to be a sign of God’s transcendent beauty and truth in love. ‘Look up, not down,' reads the shortest of the sayings of the Desert Fathers. It is a word for the present moment.”

In other words, a monastery’s purpose is the same as the sayings of Ecclesiastes: to teach the world how all things are a “vanity of vanities.” And when we learn that lesson we begin to “Look up, not down.” Why? Because whatever is down, whatever is on earth, eventually ends up as yesterday’s newspaper headlines (at best). And that is also the heartbeat of every religious vocation: Look up, not down.

And the third application is what I watched on television yesterday: the last tennis match of Roger Federer, my favorite tennis player. It was actually a doubles match he played alongside his long-time rival, Rafael Nadal. That dynamic duo of tennis ended up losing the match, but Roger Federer’s comments in the interview afterwards could have been him quoting Ecclesiastes.

Federer said, with tears running down his face: “It’s been an incredible day. I said to the guys [on the Laver Cup team from Europe]; I’m happy, not sad. It feels like a celebration to me. It was exactly as I hoped for.” Federer’s words are an apt summary of the wisdom of the book of Ecclesiastes. He acknowledged that life on earth, and even worldly accomplishments, are good things, and even give glory to God.

But his words also underscored that all things must end, that is, they are a "vanity". And that, too, is good, even better, because it means we await “a new heavens and a new earth” (Rv 21:1). “Meanwhile,” as C. S. Lewis wrote, “the cross comes before the crown, and tomorrow is a Monday morning.” And Monday morning, Roger Federer’s glorious career will be yesterday’s newspaper headlines.

Praised be Jesus Christ!