A Few Thoughts on Last Evening's Discussion

Below: Ecclesiastes (the "Preacher"), by Gustave Doré.

Last night twenty of us met to discuss "Ecclesiastes," one of the more challenging texts our group has tackled, despite its relative brevity. Some of us came prepared to delve more deeply into the context of Ecclesiastes with King James, Jerusalem, and Jewish Publication Society editions of the Bible.

My overriding question was: What is the Preacher's prescription for a meaningful life? He is, after all, so given to making grim pronouncements about the brevity of life, the worthlessness of material possessions and worldly fame, the tiring effects of the pursuit of wisdom. All this, in short, is what the Preacher calls the "vanity of vanities," a phrase that perfectly encapsulates what one participant referred to as the cyclical, churning, nature of the Preacher's seemingly endless ruminations. Vanity, to steal a line from Carly Simon, is just s-o-o vain.

The Preacher's Rx (as I came to see it during the course of our 90-minute discussion) : A peaceful resignation to the unfairness of human life, and a consequent re-dedication to your life's work. As the Preacher says (in chapter 9, verse 10) with his inimitable literary flair: "Whatsoever thy hand findeth to do, do it with thy might; for there is no work, nor device, nor knowledge, nor wisdom in the grave, whither thou goest."