I’m slowly reading through The Book of Love, by Richard Beck. (Slowly because there are several books I’m working on, and these chapters are packed with things to think about.) His premise is that the Bible is a book of Love, and can and should be read as such. Then he’s looking at specific sections.
I was surprised to be especially struck by the chapter about Ecclesiastes.
I always think of Ecclesiastes as a depressing book. It’s got something of a refrain – “Vanity! Vanity! All is vanity!” The New International Version begins with:
“Meaningless! Meaningless!”
says the Teacher.
“Utterly meaningless!
Everything is meaningless.”
But Richard Beck says that the word being translated here means mist, vapor, or breath.
As should be obvious, vapor and breath aren’t inherently vain or futile. That life passes like a mist doesn’t make it meaningless…. Translations of hebel in Ecclesiastes should be more straightforwardly descriptive: “Vaporous, vaporous. Everything is vaporous.” The Voice translation gets close: “Life is fleeting, like a passing mist.” Deploying words like “vanity” or “meaningless” is less a translation than an evaluation, assertions that, since life is fleeting, it must be vain, meaningless and futile. But this isn’t necessarily the case. The book of Ecclesiastes is, in fact, a profound meditation on how to embrace the brevity of life. Given the vaporous nature of human existence, our strivings can feel like chasing the wind. But our days can also be full of gratitude and joy. As the Psalmist prayed, “Teach us to number our days, that we may gain a heart of wisdom.” Time is precious, and that presents us with a choice.
And that made me want to write a Wisdom psalm.
I’ve currently got a book on submission with my agent (It’s still so awesome to be able to say “my agent”!) called Praying with the Psalmists about ten types of Psalms in the Bible, and how you can use the patterns to pray your own. I’ve summarized the tips at prayingwiththepsalmists.com – and I’m trying to write new example psalms once a month or so.
And I think I’ll put the rest of my explanation for why this resonated in the psalm.
Vaporous
Blessed are those who notice the moment
and find joys in the small things of life.Lord God, I’m always so busy;
I make to-do lists and plans,
I love routines – post a review every day!
Go to church Sunday morning,
to gaming group Sunday afternoon.
Meet with my small group every Monday night;
play games with my kids on Tuesday night.
Choir rehearsal is Wednesday night;
get some reading done between work and rehearsal.
Thursday night is for grocery shopping;
Friday for paying bills,
and Saturday for doing laundry
and one of a rotation of deeper housecleaning chores.
Don’t forget having a daily quiet time!
And go to work every weekday,
and read all those books I checked out
and write reviews
and then post all those reviews.So who has time for anything else?
Father, I love all my activities.
They bring me joy.
But I also want to have time for people
and to be there for friends
who were there for me when I was going through tough times.And I want to remember
that my goals were entirely made up by me.
I’m not disappointing You if I don’t get them done –
in fact, you might be sad for me
if getting them done becomes so serious for me
that I forget to take joy in the journey.So thank you, Heavenly Mother,
that I took time to call my friend this weekend,
and I drove three hours in the rain,
rewarded by a friend’s smile,
and with a fun book festival
I would have completely missed
if I’d stayed home to get stuff done.Recently, I’ve heard of so many deaths!
And the numbers of my own birthdays keep getting higher.
Truly, life is a vapor –
Thank you for letting me experience it
for however many years you’ve granted me.It’s all about balance.
I don’t want to stop getting things done.
But I also don’t want to forget
to find Joy in the doing.
And to remember that it’s not about being perfect
and that if I set the goals,
I can also change them.You have said the amazing thing
that You delight in me.
May I find delight myself
in this beautiful, vaporous life You’ve granted me.