“Vanity of vanities. . . . All things are vanity!” This phrase in our first reading from the book of Ecclesiastes is often quoted to voice the fleeting quality of life. Another common phrase comes a few lines later: “Nothing is new under the sun.”
At first read, this text can appear rather depressing. There is nothing new . . . what has been, will be. Why bother? The responsorial psalm for today’s liturgy, however, puts this passage in a different light: God’s time is not like human time. In God’s sight, the psalmist tells us, “a thousand years are as yesterday.” Unlike human time, which is linear, God’s time, also known as kairos time, is never-ending. Like peeling an onion, time passes in a spiral manner, with each moment leading us closer to the center, closer to God.
We are often consumed with the passing of time and with the feeling that there is not enough time to accomplish the many tasks that we face. In truth, the author of Ecclesiastes is correct: All of that is vanity. Our call today is to approach life with an eye to God’s time. In God’s sight, grass grows and then fades; the dawn comes and evening follows. Yet, through it all, God is our refuge and the One who cares for each one of us and all of creation.
Let us reflect upon our place in God’s time and ask God, along with the psalmist: “Teach us to number our days aright, that we may gain wisdom of heart.”
