There
is an appointed time for everything,and a time for everything under the heavens.
A time to be born, and a time to die;
a time to plant, and a time to uproot the plant.
A time to kill, and a time to heal;
a time to tear down, and a time to build.
A time to weep, and a time to laugh;
a time to mourn, and a time to dance.
A time to scatter stones, and a time to gather them;
a time to embrace, and a time to be far from embraces.
A time to seek, and a time to lose;
a time to keep, and a time to cast away.
A time to rend, and a time to sew;
a time to be silent, and a time to speak.
A time to love, and a time to hate;
a time of war, and a time of peace.
Ecclesiastes
3:1-11
Today’s
reading continues the theme from yesterday: life is not about accomplishing, producing,
or completing anything. So often faith
is characterized as something that requires some action, or a certain kind of
behavior, and that we’ll be rewarded for it or at least have the pleasure of
knowing we earned being well regarded by God.
That just isn’t borne out by Scripture which far more often acknowledges
that we can’t accomplish anything permanent but that we have value - divine value - anyway.
