Mourning or Feasting?
We have been discussing, at least in a minor way, the subject of death for awhile now, and rather than fight it, I thought I'd quote this passage of Scripture for reflection:
A good name is better than precious ointment, and the day of death, than the day of birth.
It is better to go to the house of mourning than to go to the house of feasting; for this is the end of everyone, and the living will lay it to heart.
Sorrow is better than laughter, for by sadness of countenance the heart is made glad.
The heart of the wise is in the house of mourning; but the heart of fools is in the house of mirth.
(Ecclesiastes 7:1-4)
I'm not trying to be morbid or anything, but death has been on my mind lately due to the death of my grandfather recently. Rather than trying to pontificate at length about this proverb, I'd rather ask a question and see what everyone thinks. What is the writer getting at here? Is there something we can learn for life by contemplating our death? If so, what?
A good name is better than precious ointment, and the day of death, than the day of birth.
It is better to go to the house of mourning than to go to the house of feasting; for this is the end of everyone, and the living will lay it to heart.
Sorrow is better than laughter, for by sadness of countenance the heart is made glad.
The heart of the wise is in the house of mourning; but the heart of fools is in the house of mirth.
(Ecclesiastes 7:1-4)
I'm not trying to be morbid or anything, but death has been on my mind lately due to the death of my grandfather recently. Rather than trying to pontificate at length about this proverb, I'd rather ask a question and see what everyone thinks. What is the writer getting at here? Is there something we can learn for life by contemplating our death? If so, what?
posted by Duane | 9:59 PM
3 Comments:
I'm a big fan of the pastoral writings of Eugene Peterson. In "Working the Angles," he writes:
"...There were times, in fact, when pastoral work was defined as preparing people for a good death. When the Promethean spirit blurred or eliminated an awareness of mortality, the pastor's task was to bring it back into focus. The meditated consideration of death is important because it teaches wisdom: how to live as a human, not as a god; how to live into and up to human limits but not beyond them. 'So teach us to number our days that we may get a heart of wisdom,' cried the psalmist (Ps. 90:12)... But the old phrase 'preparing for a good death' has been expurgated from pastoral work. We have let ourselves be co-opted in the struggle against limits, committed to raising the standard of living: bigger machines, cheaper chicken."
And so on and so forth...
In other words, Peterson claims that there is MUCH to learn for life by coming to terms with our impending death. I think his bottom line involves learning who is GOD, and who is not. In that lesson, we can't have it all, do it all, be it all. By considering death, we are forced to find our place in an even bigger picture.
Just a couple of rambling thoughts...
"It is better to go to the house of mourning than to go to the house of feasting; for this is the end of everyone, and the living will lay it to heart."
(Sorry, it published before I was ready)
Duane, you asked for comments on the reason behind this passage. For me, the key is the line above, especially the phrase "and the living will lay it to heart." We think of our own death, the death of loved ones and preparing ourselves and others for death, but what does this contemplation of death really mean? I would like to think that it is the knowing that death is inescapable and our response to that fact that we need to lay upon our hearts.
It has become a cliche that we should contemplate the lives of those who have "passed on" and learn from them to be good and not be bad. I don't really think that is what the writer is getting at.
There are so many different layers in which we lay death to our hearts. We mourn the loss of someone we knew and loved, we feel compassion for those who are mourning, we contemplate the possible death of ourselves or our loved ones, we might even mourn the eternal destiny of the one who has died. In all these contemplations and reflections we become drawn closer to God and to each other. Perhaps the writer is saying that there is deeper fellowship and community in mourning than there is in feasting. I certainly feel a deeper bond with those with whom I have mourned.
I wonder if Paul was contemplating this passage when he wrote about weeping with those who weep and also "to live is Christ and to die is gain?"
Post a Comment
<< Home