2025-08-03 Pentecost 8

Scripture Readings

Grace, mercy and peace be to you from God our Father and our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. Amen!

We just got back from our epic road trip to British Columbia where all six of us spent entirely far too long in our mini-van. So I can relate all too well with our reading from Ecclesiastes this morning: “Vanity of vanities, says the Preacher, vanity of vanities! All is vanity” (Ecc. 1:2). Heavy on the van part! Get it?! Van-ity?! We saw so much of God’s creation from the shuswaps all the way to Tofino on the west side of Vancouver Island. Absolutely gorgeous scenery as far as the eye can see. The ocean, snow capped mountains, lakes, forests, whales from the ferry, waterfalls, truly world-class views by any standard. We even saw Goats on the Roof in Coombs just outside of Parksville! What more could you ask for?? Truly it is a beautiful place to visit.

As we drove around the various places, we also got to see the enormous houses that were built on ocean front property. Unbelievable views. High up on a cliff, with front walls made of glass to immerse you in the glory of God’s creation 24/7 - I couldn’t help but wonder how many kidneys I would have to sell to afford one of these ocean front mansions?! Absolutely stunning. Likewise in the Okanagan valley, overlooking the lake and orchards and vineyards. It’s truly a sight to behold. It’s a good thing that we have the words of the preacher to bring us some perspective on earthly luxury: “I have seen everything that is done under the sun, and behold, all is vanity and a striving after wind” (Ecc. 1:14).

Contrary to popular belief, vanity doesn’t have to deal with mini-vans at all. The Hebrew word Hebel means ‘vapour’ or ‘breath’ or ‘mist.’ These are fleeting things, insubstantial things, transitory things. They are here one minute, gone the next. The emphasis here from the Preacher is futility, emptiness, or meaninglessness - particularly when describing human endeavours, pleasures, or achievements pursued “under the sun,” that is, apart from God. He expresses the ephemeral nature of life’s pursuits, in his case wisdom (1:14, 2:11), pleasure (2:1), toil (2:19-21), and wealth (2:26) when viewed without an eternal perspective. These are transient and ultimately unsatisfying without God’s purpose.

This is a really good reminder for us when it comes to earthly things like wealth and property and such. None of it, in and of itself will ever make a person happy. That’s the image that is marketed to us though in advertisements and TV and the like. Buy this lottery ticket and “just imagine the freedom!” Remember that? All your wildest dreams will come true as you do back flips in cash! They don’t tell you that a full third, if not more, of lottery winners are bankrupt or worse off after winning. New cars and new wardrobes and fancy homes and even ones with ocean front vistas aren’t going to do the trick because they are all temporal things.

In Ecclesiastes’ day and culture of ancient Near Eastern thought, permanence was valued over the fleeting. This is why he emphasizes the fragility of human efforts and luxuries the way he does. Instead he calls his hearers then and us today to elevate our thinking to eternal things, embracing humility and dependence on God. If we hear his words carefully, he isn’t denying the value of life’s activities and even earthly ambitions. He’s not saying if you make more than $150,000 grand a year you’re a bad person. Instead he is really painting the picture of the impermanence of earthly things and their inability to provide ultimate fulfillment. He repeats this word for vanity some 38 times in his book, further calling us to a heavenly perspective. Life’s pursuits are fleeting and lack lasting value without Divine meaning and context. Without this critical element “all is vanity and a striving after wind” (Ecc. 1:14). Finally in chapter 12 he writes “The end of the matter; all has been heard. Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the whole duty of man” (12:13).

The other thing that BC has is myriads and myriads of traffic. When you have world class views and a nice climate, not only does everybody want to live there but you also get a zillion tourists who want to come to visit. This adds up to cars and cars and more cars all trying to get different places. We hit Vancouver and the traffic was gridlocked. 3 lanes across, bumper to bumper vehicles all going about 30km per hour for hours on end. And this is all day, every day. This in and of itself is bad enough, but you also have the guy who is driving like a maniac, trying to bag and weave his sports car through the traffic, thinking that he’s going to somehow get through that gridlock faster than everyone else. You catch up to that guy at the next light. He’s literally just racing to the next red light like a psycho! This is the absolute textbook definition of vanity and striving after wind! It’s just another reminder of the transient nature of our world. All the stuff we fret about and freak out about - does it actually matter? Will it matter in 3 days? A decade? A hundred years from now?

Instead, the Preacher asks us to consider the question about what does matter? This is the eternal, lasting and non-fleeting parts of life. This doesn’t reside in the material but rather in the spiritual realm. We hear our Lord Jesus teaching about this in the Gospel

reading: “Take care, and be on your guard against all covetousness, for one’s life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions” (LK 12:15). So where does ones’ life consist then? It consists in spiritual blessings. Namely, the forgiveness, life and salvation we have only by faith in Jesus Christ. Through our Lord’s cross and resurrection we have everything we actually need. Eternal life in a heavenly mansion with all of our brothers and sisters in Christ. This is the supreme blessing from God that never fades away. This is what fills our hearts with hope and light when life is dark and full of toil. And this heavenly blessing of sins forgiven fills us with virtues that spill over and bless our neighbours in this life. We dedicate our earthly lives to the Gospel, preaching and proclaiming this eternal message of spiritual freedom in Jesus for all who believe. And, using God’s gifts to ease the earthly suffering of others.

This becomes our focus as Christians, rather than simply amassing earthly stuff. What are we actually going to do with all the junk that we collect over our lifetime?? We can’t take it with us. Ecclesiastes weighs in on this one too when he writes “I hated all my toil in which I toil under the sun, seeing that I must leave it to the man who will come after me” (2:18). Somebody else will have all your stuff, all your money, and all the things you fret and toil after - “This also is vanity.”

The Preacher wraps up his thoughts in the text today with “There is nothing better for a person than that he should eat and drink and find enjoyment in his toil” (2:24). Enjoy the earthly blessings that God gives us in this life. Have your ice cream cone. Eat your chicken with the skin on. Enjoy the ocean front views. But remember that all of earthly life is going to be toil and struggle. No matter how modern technology makes improvements for us and even gives longer life on earth, one day it’s all going to end. All the luxuries that we strive after, all the vanity we chase, the pursuit of all the things we think will make us happy - it’s all just toil that someone else will enjoy. Instead, keep your heart and mind focused on the eternal. Center and ground yourself on the rock solid promises of God that never fade or wear out. “Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth” (Col. 3:2). Set your minds on Christ and His great love for this world, now and forever more. Amen!