Seasons of life, Death, and Eternity
September 28, 2024 - Saturday of the Twenty-Fifth Week in Ordinary Time
Eccl 11:9—12:8
We end our journey with the wise Qohelet today with a poignant passage that addresses the fleeting nature of youth, the inevitability of aging, and the finality of death. He contrasts the joys of life in youth with the sobering reality of aging and mortality. He advises young people to rejoice in their youthful years and live wisely because what comes next is old age, with its limited energy and health issues. "Remember your Creator in the days of your youth, before the evil days come and the years approach of which you will say, I have no pleasure in them" (Eccl. 12:1).
We can meditate on the seasons of life by observing each day, from the rising to the setting of the sun. The day begins with dawn, then comes morning, noon, afternoon, and evening. Similarly, we can meditate on the seasons of life by reflecting on the seasons of the year: spring, summer, autumn, and winter. A Chinese saying states, "Life is like spring flowers and autumn leaves; it inevitably experiences both flourishing and decline." Rabindranath Tagore transformed this saying into an invitation: "Let life be beautiful like summer flowers and death like autumn leaves."
Human life begins at the moment of conception, and we grow in age, maturity, and experience. As we observe little children, we are surprised at the level of energy they possess. The greatness of youth is evident during the Olympics. We admire the incredible expressions of strength and energy required to participate in different sporting events and achieve the best scores. But then comes middle age, and we begin to realize that what we once could do, we are no longer able to do. This process continues as we grow old.
Qohelet reminds us of the famous words spoken by God to Adam after our ancestor transgressed God's command: "You are dust, and to dust you shall return" (Gen. 3:19; Eccl. 12:7). The wise man, however, adds something not mentioned in the Book of Genesis, namely that "the spirit returns to God who gave it" (Eccl. 12:7). The author alludes to the creation story, which narrates the formation of the first human being "of dust from the ground" and the breathing of "the breath of life" into his nostrils (Gen. 2:7). In Christian theology, we speak of the separation of soul and body at the moment of death. It is precisely death that makes Qohelet pessimistic about human life. Since all must die, all our efforts on earth seem futile: "Vanity of vanities, says the Preacher; all is vanity" (Eccl. 12:8).
The wisdom of Qohelet needs the enlightenment of the Gospel to change our understanding of death. Although physical death is inevitable, it does not mean the end of everything. When Qohelet says that "man goes to his lasting home" (Eccl. 12:5), he refers to the realm of death. But from a Christian perspective, our eternal home is in the realm of the living, in the heavenly Jerusalem. Moreover, the Church teaches that our toil and efforts do not perish with death either. In Gaudium et Spes, we read: "all the good fruits of our nature and enterprise, we will find them again, but freed of stain, burnished, and transfigured, when Christ hands over to the Father: 'a kingdom eternal and universal, a kingdom of truth and life, of holiness and grace, of justice, love, and peace'" (GS 39).