A time to throw stones and a time to gather stones;
A time to embrace and a time to shun embracing.
A time to search and a time to give up as lost;
A time to keep and a time to throw away.
Ecclesiastes 3:5-6

INTRO: It is impossible for a normal, healthy human mind to comprehend the ruthless plotting, preparing, and perpetrating of the random murder of unarmed and unsuspecting men, women and children

[Thursday, July 19, 2012, a gunman entered a movie theater and began shooting patrons who had come to view the screening of a new release]

News reporters are asking investigators, What was killer’s motive?
– it sounds like a specific question, but the actual underlying question is the less specific, Why?
• our minds naturally grope for a reason or meaning to “senseless tragedies”
– but, as always in situations like this, there is no satisfactory answer
• there is no answer that will make us “okay” with it

When we face the hard facts, it’s not difficult to join the Existentialists who have argued that meaning isn’t something the universe contains or provides, but individuals must provide their own meanings
– a few biblical scholars think the Preacher of Ecclesiastes was an Existenialist
• for example, the New International Version does not read “Vanity,” but “Meaningless” (Ecc. 1:1)
– but that’s not at all what the Preacher is saying

The Preacher’s message: It is true that life passes quickly, like steam rising from a cup of tea
– death seems to drain the significance out of any achievement that distinguishes one person above another (2:12-16)
• we do not have enough time or wisdom to make sense out of everything that happens
• but if you cannot find life’s meaning, you’re looking in wrong place Continue reading →

A time to weep and a time to laugh;
A time to mourn and a time to dance. Ecclesiastes 3:4

INTRO: The writer of Ecclesiastes calls himself the “Preacher”

He has a message and it is about life “under the sun”
– this is life defined by a definite number of hours–from the time the sun rises to when it sets

My granddaughter, Addison, is a petite five-year-old
– she has a very tender heart and the epitome of innocence
– a week ago, she was in a conversation with her parents about dinosaurs and their extinction
• a thought occurred to her and she asked them, “Are we going to die?”

The Preacher’s point is that we are going to die — that what we experience “under the sun” is life within limits
– furthermore, he believes that “the day of one’s death is better than the day of one’s birth” (Ecc. 7:1), that it is wiser to live looking at the end of your life than beginning
– therefore

It is better to go to a house of mourning
Than to a house of feasting,
Because that is the end of every man,
And the living takes it to heart (7:2)

This life span allows us the opportunity for all kinds of experiences
– not all are good, not all are bad
– every experience has its own time slot
• when the experience matches the moment, it’s “beautiful” Continue reading →

A time to give birth and a time to die;
A time to plant and a time to uproot what is planted.
A time to kill and a time to heal;
A time to tear down and a time to build up. Ecclesiastes 3:2-3

INTRO: Reading through this poem, we cannot help but feel its rhythm

The genius of the poem is that it makes us feel its message
– to live well is to get in step with the rhythm of life
• when you find your life’s rhythm, things work for you
• if you cannot find the rhythm of your life, things go wrong
– it’s like driving through a city and hitting every red light

Rhythm is a recognizable movement – our brains detect its pattern
– in music, it is timing – it’s all about the beat (metronome)

Rhythm in poetry makes words flow gracefully
– perhaps the most frequently quoted line in the Message Bible is found in Jesus’ invitation (Mt. 11:28-30), “Learn the unforced rhythms of grace”

But rhythm also has another effect: it can put us to sleep
– “highway hypnosis” – we can go through life in a similar state
• the repetition of our days make us less aware

The poem wakes us up to where the rhythm of life takes us Continue reading →

There is an appointed time for everything. And there is a time for every event under heaven– Ecclesiastes 3:1

INTRO: A thought occurred to me recently, that I should keep a record of the wisdom Mom handed down to us kids

For example:

Mom once told my older sister and I, “Everyone has their own light. Sometimes when you’re with friends or at a social gathering, it is your turn for your light to shine. You explain something, tell a story or a joke, that everyone wants to hear. For that moment, you are the center of attention. Other times, it is someone else’s turn for their light to shine. Respect that moment, let them shine and enjoy their light. Do not always try to be the one whose light is shining. Recognize when it is time for someone else to be the center of attention.

The Bible contains books like the one I should right – they are repositories of wisdom

Hear, my son, your father’s instruction
And do not forsake your mother’s teaching. (Pr. 1:8)

Three Old Testament books in particular are classified as “Wisdom Literature”

Proverbs – a collection of wise sayings that provide practical advice
– this is not speculative or theoretical wisdom
– these proverbs assume cause and effect relationships in an ordered universe
• so they can promise rewards for choosing the wise path and trouble for those who make the foolish choice
• example:

In all labor there is profit,
But mere talk leads only to poverty. (Pr. 14:23) Continue reading →

Surely goodness and lovingkindness will follow me all the days of my life,
And I will dwell in the house of the LORD forever. Psalm 23:6

INTRO: Today we come to the end of our exploration of this lovely poem

And it is exactly at this point we must consider a potential criticism
– someone could say, “That’s just poetic fantasy, it’s not the real world”
– there is certainly the danger that we treat this last verse as a mere platitude
(we treat a lot of verses as platitudes)

A platitude is an empty saying we quote rather than think deeply before we speak
– the worst time to use platitudes is in the face of tragedy or death
• they do nothing to provide a person with comfort, insight, or help
“Everything happens for a reason” — “everything”? Is there always a good reason?
“Time heals all wounds” — time itself is not curative and some wounds worsen over time
– many platitudes contain only a half-truth and for that reason are flawed:
“What doesn’t kill me makes me stronger” — but could also make me bitter, turn to crime, or eat a carton of ice cream
“The truth will set you free” is a statement that is greatly weakened if we forget its context (Jn. 8:31-32)

The problem with treating scripture as platitude is that we don’t take platitudes seriously Continue reading →

You have anointed my head with oil;
My cup overflows. Psalm 23:5b

INTRO: Yesterday Barb and I watched “The Book of Eli” (I won’t recommend it, though, due to its graphic violence)

It is about a man with a mission after the world was destroyed by nuclear war
– the earth is scorched and still bakes in relentless sunlight that washes out all color
• even clouds look hot, like smoke rising from a smoldering planet
– humankind has regressed to primitive barbarism

A young woman asks Eli what life was like before the war (which would be, of course, this time that we live in) and he says:

“People had more than they needed. We had no idea what was precious and what wasn’t. We threw away things people kill each other for now.”

One of the consequences of living in a consumer culture is that we lose the ability to discern what is precious
– we don’t realize the effect that culture has on us – we live in culture like fish live in water
• its atmosphere is filled with invisible chemicals and some of them are toxic
– the effect of being constantly bombarded by advertisements is discontent
• we are driven to desperation, as if we were starving

It is far too easy to become fixated on what we don’t have
– when that happens, we lose the ability to enjoy what we do have

The two lines of our psalm are more than a reminder – they make a strong impression on us Continue reading →

You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies . . . Psalm 23:5a

INTRO: Have you noticed that some people don’t like poetry?

Perhaps a teacher spoiled poetry for them
– they told to find the meaning of a poem and then told what they found was wrong
– the fact is, poets want to open doors and windows and multiple meanings are possible

I think, most people who don’t like poetry tend to be those who think too literally
“If the poet wants to say he finds pleasure in simple things, why not just say, ‘I find pleasure in simple things’? Why use a long poem to say it?”
– the literally minded are like Christians who are suspicious of art unless it is specifically religious or has a caption that explains its spiritual meaning
• they’ve got at least one thing right: art can be dangerous

A number of Bible scholars insist that David changes metaphors in verse 5
– he no longer refers to a shepherd, but to the host of banquet
• they remind us that “sheep do not sit at tables or drink from cups”
– that’s true, but why should start taking the poem so literally now?
• or if we’re going to be that literal, shouldn’t we expect more? If David told us at the start “The LORD is my shepherd,” why not tell us now, “The LORD is my host”?
– sheep do eat — the table and cup are simply more metaphors Continue reading →

Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me. Psalm 23:4b

INTRO: Before we settle into our scripture, let’s take an aerial view of the psalm

The poet is developing an analogy – God as shepherd
– his goal is to express gratitude for all of God’s goodness and to shed light on his relationship with God
– his first point is that his needs are met, “I shall not want”
• for instance, he is able to graze peacefully in green pastures and quench his thirst by quiet waters
• in these environments his soul is restored
– invigorated, he is prepared to move on, following the shepherd along “paths of righteousness” and into “the valley of the shadow of death”
• that’s where we found ourselves last week

Our interest in this poem is the insight it gives us to the spiritual experience of the believer
– in contemplative prayer, God brings us to these places, does these things for us, and secures our relationship with him Continue reading →

Continue reading →

He guides me in the paths of righteousness for His name’s sake. Psalm 23:3b

INTRO: Seeing that today is Mother’s Day, let me begin with a question for you

How did your mother comfort you when hurt, afraid, or upset?

After WWII, a British psychologist worked with children (British children and Jewish orphans) who had been displaced by the war
– John Bowlby discovered that those who had been deprived of nurturing during infancy demonstrated obvious emotional and interpersonal deficits
– much of his research entailed observing the dynamics of mother-child interactions, especially during the first two years of the child’s life
– he concluded that infants needed an “attachment figure” – normally the role a mother plays
– when a child receives nurture from its mother, it forms a “secure base” for exploring life that lasts through adulthood

Example: Observing small children who were upset, he noticed the intensity of the child’s emotion determined what it would take to soothe him or her
-if the child were mildly upset: it was calmed by its mother’s acknowledgment with a look and word
– if the child were very upset: it was calmed if the mother added meaningful touch
– if the child were intensely upset: it would require prolonged cuddling to calm down Continue reading →