Know Him, Not Me

A Reflection on the First Reading for August 4th, 2019:
Eighteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time

​Ecclesiastes 1.2; 2.21-23

Vanity of vanities, says the Teacher,
vanity of vanities! All is vanity. 
Sometimes one who has toiled with wisdom and knowledge and skill
must leave all to be enjoyed by another
who did not toil for it.
This also is vanity and a great evil. 
What does a person get from all their toil and strain,
their toil under the sun?
For their days are full of pain,
and their work is a vexation;
even at night their mind does not rest.
This also is vanity.

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van·i·ty
/ˈvanədē/
 
Noun

1.     excessive pride in or admiration of one's own appearance or achievements.
2.     the quality of being worthless or futile. (Google Dictionary)
 

It’s the second part of this definition of vanity that intrigues me and is the one that, it seems to me, permeates the book of Ecclesiastes overall. Vanity, excessive pride in or admiration of one's own appearance or achievements is essentially worthless or futile. Ecclesiastes is one of my favourite books of the Bible, especially when I am going through a wilderness period, and especially in the first year of my coming to Christ; at the same time as my career in television and radio was on the rise. Local television and radio stations in the 70s were the only source of local news, community events, sports and weather. The personalities and reporters on TV were celebrities. Heady stuff for a young woman in her 20s from northern New Brunswick! I felt invincible and on my way to bigger things. I had it all with more to come. But it felt empty. That lead me to ask the big question, “Is this all there is?”
 
Enter Jesus. “I am the Way, the Truth and the Life”. (John 14:6)
 
Now I had to delve into Scripture, and Ecclesiastes helped keep me rooted in Christ. We have to read the whole book. Familiar words… “To everything there is a season” (Ecclesiastes 3:1), “there is nothing new under the sun” (Ecclesiastes 1:9) , “all is vanity” (Ecclesiastes 1:2) – “a chasing after the wind.” (Ecclesiastes 1:14)
 
Puts everything in perspective doesn’t it?  It certainly did for me. If I made a list of all my accomplishments it is likely it would be a long one, more than most, far less than some; nothing monumental or of lasting significance – except for Christ in me. And there it is; if I were to gloat and brag about, be vain about all these accomplishments, it would be an act of futility for everything comes to dust.

"[I]f I were to gloat and brag about, be vain about all these accomplishments, it would be an act of futility for everything comes to dust."

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In reflecting on this passage, I needed to read the entire book again and as God so often does, He spoke directly into the current circumstances in my life. The last line of Ecclesiastes reads, “The end of the matter, all has been heard. Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is whole duty of man.” Other translations offer it this way, “the chief end of mankind is to know God and make him known.” (Ecclesiastes 12:13)
 
To be ambitious for money and fame and make that our goal is to dishonour God and what He has placed in each of us. If we simply do the thing we love and do it well, even achieve greatness, not expecting anything in return but to put out what God has put in, that is all that is needed. But let’s take it one step further, because so many achievements have been made in science, medicine, technology, by people who believe in nothing beyond themselves. Greatness, real and true greatness is to, with humility, know God and make Him known. ​


Judy Savoy

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