Labels

A Time to Be Far From Embraces: An Insight from Ecclesiastes/Qoheleth

 

Today's First Reading (9/25/2020) is taken from Ecclesiastes chapter 3, the famous Poem on Time

A Time to Kill?

It is the best-known passage in Ecclesiastes (or Qoheleth). The verses that say "A time to kill and a time to heal.... a time for war and a time for peace" are often quoted by a President.  To justify his war on drugs?

The text is a poem and not a commandment nor a law. It is not saying: "You kill so that you will heal." It is descriptive rather than prescriptive. It describes our common human experience of sorrows and joys; of anxieties and consolations.

When our loved one is killed, we mourn; when someone is healed, like a friend who just recently recovered from Covid-19 infection, we rejoice (and for some, offer a thanksgiving Mass).

A Time to Be Far From Embraces

In fact, the text is "prophetic" when it speaks of "a time far from embraces." This is that time, our new normal. We suspend to embrace our loved ones to arrest the spread of the deadly COVID-19. And that brings us a lot of anxieties. We hope and pray that soon it will be "a time to embrace."

The Book Ecclesiastes, written around 300 B.C., is like a royal testament,, a literary genre well known in ancient Egypt. A king or any figure of authority reflects on his/her life as a legacy for the benefit and instruction of those who someday perhaps would fill similar roles of authority and leadership.

For this book, the author is clothed as King Solomon. From his Poem on Time, he shares with us his insight that human beings are not in control of time. It is God who is in charge.

This piece of wisdom is ancient, yet it is equally true today. In spite of the advancement of technology and knowledge, we are not in control of time, as the experience of COVID-19 tells us. Who then holds time?

Fear God

Towards the end of the book, Ecclesiastes tells us what human beings can do in the face of the ephemerality of time: "Fear God. Keep his commandments. That is the end of the matter."

Homily on the Poem on Time

Here's my short homily on the Poem on Time at this morning's Eucharist:

Topic
Fr. Randy is the current Parish Priest and Rector of the Sacred Heart Parish Shrine in Quezon City, Philippines. He is also the Director of the Biblical Apostolate of the Diocese of Cubao and the coordinator for the Biblical Apostolate of the SVD Philippine Central Province. He teaches Biblical courses at the Divine Word Seminary, Tagaytay City. He holds a doctorate from the Ateneo de Manila University (PhD, 2015) and from the Loyola School of Theology (STD, 2014); Licentiate in Sacred Scripture (SSL, 1999) from the Pontifical Biblical Institute in Rome); an M.A. in Pastoral Ministry from the Divine Word Seminary  (1995). He served as president of the Catholic Biblical Association of the Philippines (CBAP), chairperson of the Tagaytay Religious Association (TRA), Dean of Studies (Divine Word Seminary), and editor of the academic journal  Diwa: Studies in Philosophy and Theology. He founded the Certificate in Theological Studies (CTS) at the Divine Word Seminary and the SVD Tagaytay Alternative Learning System (SVD-ALS), an educational program for the out-of-school youth. Visit also his YouTube channel https://www.youtube.com/c/biblicalapostolateph

Comments

  1. AnonymousDecember 2, 2022 at 10:07 PM

    Once you’ve done that, you simply open your account, and also can make|you might make} your first deposit. Now, this web site mostly had US gamers in thoughts while 우리카지노 designing this web site. Men’s Journal just isn't endorsing the websites or merchandise set forth beneath. For e-wallets withdrawals, you can to|you possibly can} anticipate your winnings within three days.

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment