Besides being wise, the Teacher also taught the people knowledge, weighing and studying and arranging many proverbs. The Teacher sought to find pleasing words, and he wrote words of truth plainly.
The sayings of the wise are like goads, and like nails firmly fixed are the collected sayings that are given by one shepherd. Of anything beyond these, my child, beware. Of making many books there is no end, and much study is a weariness of the flesh. The end of the matter; all has been heard. Fear God, and keep his commandments; for that is the whole duty of everyone. For God will bring every deed into judgement, including every secret thing, whether good or evil. Ecclesiastes 12:9-14 Last week, with some cool weather and no chance of rain for the night, my family decided to head to a spot near Flatside pinnacle in the Ouachita mountains to camp. Somewhere after our tires left the pavement and we began our path along dirt roads and low water bridges, we lost cell phone coverage. And so began a 24 hour period in which we had no access to news. After we’d returned and I’d checked my favorite sites I discovered that I’d missed nothing. If we’d been gone for a week instead of a day, that reality would have been essentially the same. I say this because this time of pandemic has driven many of us to seek more and more news. I’ve found my normally digital minimalist self, drawn down many a rabbit hole, saved only by the timers I’ve installed on my computer to save me from myself. The draw of news is strong because we are in need of knowledge and understanding, and ours is a culture that often mistakes information for both. This of course is not a new problem. The “Teacher,” of Ecclesiastes notes that beyond wisdom, there is still much that is said, many books published, and wearing study to be engaged. But such words are fruitless. They do not contain what we really need which is a guide to how to live in this moment. Wisdom in the biblical sense is practical in this way. It isn’t abstract knowledge or disconnected information. Biblical wisdom is close to what the Greeks called phronesis: practical reason, reason that guides how we live. In my reading of the news I recently came across a helpful antidote to it. Mark Lilla, a philosopher at Columbia University, wrote a piece in the New York Times about the problem with so much prognosticating about the future of our life with COVID and beyond. At base, he said, “We should ask only what we want to happen, and how to make it happen, given the constraints of the moment.” We simply don’t know what will come, but we do have some idea of the consequences of what we might do now. So worry less about the future and more about the actions of the presence that will determine it. This doesn’t alleviate the reality of our uncertain time. “A dose of humility would do us good in the present moment,” writes Lilla. “It might also help reconcile us to the radical uncertainty in which we are always living.” I think the “Teacher” of Ecclesiastes would agree. He says in effect, you don’t need to read more or study more or keep up with the news to know what you should do. Those things may be helpful to a point, but don’t let it distract you from the call of all our lives: keep God’s commandments, live in cautious reverence before the divine, stay humble and remember that we are finite creatures who cannot know the future whether we consult Tarot cards or today’s pundits. Prayer for Today God of all wisdom our future remains always in your hands. Protect us from our prognostications and help us to be satisfied with the humble path of following your pattern for life’s fullness, Jesus Christ, your son, our savior. Amen. Spiritual Practice for Today The news can be tempting, but we often put too much value in what it says. Today, whenever you are tempted to look at the news of the moment or the predictions of the pundits, turn instead to real guidance you need for how to live. One of the best statements of this can be found in Romans chapter 12. Print off a copy of the passage or open your bible to it and place it by your computer, television, or wherever you consume news. At the end of the day, reflect on what difference this practice made for how you feel. Comments are closed.
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About this series
COVID19 created an unprecedented situation for all of us. These reflections, originally written for the people of Christ Episcopal Church, were meant to help people of faith learn how to navigate this time and find the threads of God's goodness in the midst of the pandemic. The series has ended but the Pandemic has not. I hope they continue to offer help and hope to all that read them. |