Death becomes you

As you enter this life, I pray you’ll depart: with a wrinkled face and a brand new heart

That’s a lyric from U2′s ‘Love and Peace or else’ off the album ‘How to dismantle an atomic bomb’.

I mentioned in a previous post that I thought Paul the Apostle was influenced greatly by the book of Ecclesiastes.

Compare 1 Timothy 6:7

For we brought nothing into the world, and we can take nothing out of it.

to Ecclesiastes 5:15

Naked a man comes from his mother’s womb,
and as he comes, so he departs.
He takes nothing from his labor
that he can carry in his hand.

See what I mean?

Death is a theme in Ecclesiastes, which is why I and others believe it is likely written at the end of Solomon’s life as he is coming to terms with his humanity.

Solomon looks at death a couple of main ways. The first (in the verses above) is that death is the great equalizer. As I mentioned in a previous post I love the t-shirt that says “He who dies with the most toys – still dies.”

At another point (Ecclesiastes 7:2) Solomon encourages us to see our lives from the point of view of death:

It is better to go to a house of mourning
than to go to a house of feasting,
for death is the destiny of every man;
the living should take this to heart.

I watched “Packed to the Rafters” the other night and the episode featured the death of a lady who nobody really knew much about. The grandfather related some philosophy about the “final death”, which is what happens the last time somebody speaks your name or remembers you existed.

Fortunately we believe in a happier future than a “final death”, however in earthly terms it is true that there will be a point where nobody remembers you. It’s an interesting thing to come to terms with.

Do you know who your Great Grandparents were? How about your Great Great Grandparents? As we discussed this in class it became apparent that for those in the room, memory was limited to about five generations.

I think part of the reason Solomon encourages us to face our mortality is that having an accurate picture of our place in the universe enables us to make more informed choices about how we spend the time we do have.

If I really understand that my time is precious, my guess is that I would spend less time wasting it.

Ecclesiastes is a call to treasure every moment you have, and to be looking for the purpose in every moment.

“Everything is beautiful in it’s time” Solomon says. Perhaps knowing time is limited will help me treasure the beauty of the moments I am given.

“So I commend the enjoyment of life, because nothing is better for a man under the sun than to eat and drink and be glad. Then joy will accompany him in his work all the days of the life God has given him under the sun.” (Ecclesiastes 8:15)

I am really looking forward to having a couple of weeks holiday starting on Tuesday. I know though, that the challenge for me when I think it is my time to relax is to want to escape out of this moment into a movie, a book or a computer game.

As I look back on the holidays that have truly been restorative for me, they were the ones where I lived, not escaped.

This coming holiday is precious because it provides the opportunity to pull out of the business of life and remember that busyness is not what life is meant to be about.

It is sad when someone dies, but one day that will be me. My guess is when people remember me they wont be celebrating the times I escaped life, but the times I lived life to the full.

Somehow a real knowledge of my mortality helps me want to life my life more fully.

I think that is what Solomon was getting at.