For Everything a Season – June 2, 2024
Ecclesiastes 3:1-8, New Testament
June 2, 2024
A few weeks ago, we were thinking about the Ascension – that time Jesus was taken up into heaven. And just before that happened, the disciples were still asking if that was now the time he was going to start the revolution and “restore the kingdom to Israel!” Do you remember that? And do you remember how Jesus answered them? “It is not for you to know the times and seasons the Father has fixed by his own authority.” Does that all sound familiar? Good!
Well, since then, I’ve been thinking about the times and seasons of our lives. We’re about to change from the season of Spring to the season of Summer – although many people consider Memorial Day to be the beginning of Summer. You’ve been listening to me long enough to know how I feel about that.
You know I’m interested in “astronomical things.” And Summer, astronomically, begins at the Summer Solstice, that time when the tilt of the earth is greatest and the length of the daylight is the longest. That’s usually June 21st. I’m glad to hear lately, that the news people getting on board with that. They’re now clarifying it, and saying that Memorial Day is the “Unofficial” beginning of the Summer season. And of course, the sobering part of the start of Summer is that after that date, the days start getting shorter again!
So, having said all that, I hope, like me, you’re being very much aware of the changes in the world around us. The seasons come and go, especially in this part of the world. There are life cycles in everything around us. And our lives are built around those natural cycles.
There are also times and seasons in our personal lives. Throughout the year we celebrate important milestones – birthdays, anniversaries, Christmas, Easter. We humans are like that. We have seasonal things we do. We have our vacations, our spring cleaning, and winter trips – perhaps to warmer weather!
And there are major turning points in our lives, events we celebrate or commemorate. Weddings, graduations, births, deaths. Many things “change our lives” during our time here on Earth.
Solomon recognized all of that in our scripture for today. Scholars believe it was Solomon who wrote the book of Ecclesiastes. And he was considered to be one of the wisest people that ever lived. I don’t know how we measure that, but he certainly demonstrated a lot of wisdom.
And by the way. There’s a difference between Wisdom and intelligence. Intelligence is being smart and knowing a lot of things. Wisdom is knowing what to do with what you know and integrating it into life in sensible ways. In the Old Testament, wisdom was valued above intelligence. There is a whole genre of writing in the Old Testament called “Wisdom Literature.” The book of Ecclesiastes is a part of that, along with other books like Proverbs.
And I would share with you the observation that there are people in this world who are intelligent or smart, but who are not very wise. Did you ever know anyone like that? They have a lot of knowledge, but not a lot of “horse sense?” And there are many people who are more concerned with intelligence than they are wisdom. Unfortunately, our world has come to value intelligence over wisdom.
Well, here we have Solomon. And one of the things Solomon recognized in this book is probably the most recognized of all his writings, that “For everything there is a season.” Those who remember the 1960’s will no doubt remember the popular song “Turn, Turn, Turn,” which was based on that passage. (The band attempted that today!)
As I said, we humans recognize the seasons of our lives. And sometimes we don’t like some of them! Solomon recognized that there are good and bad seasons. Look at his words. There’s a time to be born and a time to die, a time to laugh and a time to weep, a time to dance and a time to mourn. We all have all of them. But sometimes when the bad seasons come, we try to act like they’re not happening. I have to admit myself that the “season” of growing old is not so fun sometimes. Why do I ache when I do things that didn’t use to make me ache? Why is my hair all grey? (I blame that on my barber!) And who is this guy Arthur who keeps vising me more and more frequently? You know who I’m talking about, Arthur-itis!
Of course we honor and value major seasons and milestones in our lives. We think about that today as we honor our graduates! We’ll be going to graduation again this year – this week. It’s great to represent our graduating class in the parade of alumni. And this year the class of 1974 will be well represented. We lead the graduates to the stadium carrying the banners of our years – as far back as the 1930’s! And then the graduates walk in between our lines in their caps and gowns, and big smiles. And I can’t help but remember what that time was like when that “season” happened for us. And I get choked up every time! Because it’s big!
So, you graduates, this is a big time, for all of you! And it’s big for your families. And we’re all very proud of you! And I encourage you to think about the season of your life that’s about to end and the new one that’s beginning. There’ll be so many new things. Some good and some bad. Think about old Solomon. And as all that happens, and we celebrate this milestone with you, I encourage all of us to think about those seasons of our lives.
And as we do. I encourage you to think of the words of James. He was always the practical guy. (And some theologians didn’t like him because of it!) He wrote the words we heard in our first song. “You say, ‘tomorrow you will do this or that.’ But you don’t know about tomorrow. You are a mist that appears for a little time and then vanishes.” Or, as Casting Crowns sang it, “I am a flower quickly fading, here today and gone tomorrow, a vapor in the wind.” And the wonderful response to that. “Still you hear me when I’m calling, you catch me when I’m falling. You’ve told me who I am. I am yours.”
James puts it in perspective in his own way. He tells us what we ought to say. “we don’t know about tomorrow. But we should say, ‘If the Lord wills, we will do this or that.’” In other words, our lives are in his hands. And that’s a good place to start each day. That’s a good perspective to keep!
So, I encourage all of you to keep that perspective as you think about the times and seasons of your lives. We don’t know what’s ahead. Seasons change. Times change. And I can’t say that every season will be good. But I can say that God is always good. And yes, he hears us when we’re calling. He catches us when we’re falling. He tells us who we are. We are his!
Prayer
Eternal God, we thank you that you are with us always, through all the times and seasons of our lives. Help us to be aware of your presence, even in the hard times. Help us to know you are good, no matter what the seasons bring. Help us to keep you in the forefront of our thoughts each day and each season of our lives. For we pray in our Savior’s name, Amen.