Saturday 24 September 2022
Ecclesiastes 11:9 – 12:8. In every age, O Lord, you have been our refuge – Psalm 89(90):3-6, 12-14, 17. Luke 9:43-45.
Be like little children
The Ecclesiastes passage tells us to relish the youthful pleasures of the world – but relish them as gifts from God. The passage then poeticises old age when energy is diminished, hearing fails, and sight is dimmed. But it is not a message that we should, when young, recklessly indulge, for the author asks us to keep in mind, even in youth, that we must choose wisely what we do – our actions will face final judgment. There is a difference between enjoyment with respect for God, and self-centred consumption. In the psalm, we also find time as the theme, but it’s God’s time. Human beings are dust and will be swept away; God is presented as the timeless refuge for our immortal souls. Often popularly represented as an aged man, God may be the only true eternal youth. Perhaps that’s why he encouraged us to be like little children.
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