Sermons

What does your name say about you? All our names have a certain "meaning" that we may or may not know. Some names have lots of history behind them or family tradition. But, have you ever thought about how your name's meaning changes as you live your life? For example, you may have never heard of a little Albanian girl named Agnes Gonxha Bojaxhiu, but, your mind probably fills with all sorts of thoughts, images, and memories when you hear the name "Mother Teresa." The meaning of her name certainly changed over the course of her life - for the good!. In Ecclesiastes 7, Koheleth is asking us to consider this same kind of change. What kind of life forms a good name, one that is "better than precious ointment," one that will allow us to say with Koheleth that "the day of death than the day of one's birth"? How are our "names" formed? What role do the hard times play? These are some of the questions Koheleth helps us to answer as we explore Ecclesiates 7.

If you had a one-on-one chat with the President of the United States, what would you say? Would you try to be friendly and nonchalant, like you were hanging out with a pal you hadn't seen in a long time? Would you be formal and maybe bring a notecard with a very carefully worded question? As we consider approaching God, the Almighty Creator of the Universe, in public worship and personal devotion, would we respond any differently than with the President? God is our friend, the One who sticks closer than a brother or sister, who is closer than our own breath, but God is God. Koheleth helps us navigate this tension between friendship and reverence as we approach God. Do we sometimes talk too much? Have we learned to listen to God and wait on the Spirit? These are the questions Koheleth helps us address in Ecclesiastes 5.

In chapter 4 of Ecclesiastes, Koheleth once again presents us with the truth of the world that we would rather ignore: oppression. The oppressive sin Koheleth sees is nearly debilitating; caught up in his emotions, he even says that it would have been better to not have been born! What do we do in the face of oppression and injustice? Where does this injustice begin? Koheleth points us, once again, in a direction we'd like to avoid: back to ourselves. He reminds us of our envy, our striving after our own gain, which can destroy our relationships and, ultimately, lead to injustice. How do we stand in the face of oppression in the world and in the face of our inner struggles with sin? Will we be people of hope?

The seasons come and the seasons go; everything in life just seems to come at us, to happen to us without our permission. What does this tell us about wisdom? Our seasons can teach us. They can stretch us and they can leave us with uncertainty. Sometimes our seasons are painful. Life comes and life goes, so what are we to do? In Ecclesiastes 3, Koheleth tells us that God has "set eternity in our hearts," even though it seems like nothing in life lasts; it comes and it goes. Let's listen close to what God is teaching us about wisdom in the midst of our seasons.