1-11-2016

Good Morning All!!   

Ecclesiastes 6:9; “Better is the sight of the eyes than the wandering of the appetite: this also is vanity and a striving after wind.”

      In Greek mythology, Sisyphus was condemned to push a rock up a hill.  Just as he would reach the top, the rock would roll down the hill and he would have to start all over again.  It was the Greek’s way of explaining or at least addressing the idea of the futility of life.  Most of our life is spent on menial tasks that seem to never get done.  Some of the tasks are just mundane, like washing dishes or going to work every day.  Yet sometimes this really refers to the restlessness that we get when our passions of life are without direction.  The person who hungers and ends up a glutton or the person who is looking for happiness and ends up never staying with any job or relationship is an example.  They end up wandering through life never finding anything, going in circles, never finding rest.

     This is what Solomon was speaking of in our verse.  In fact all of the Book of Ecclesiastes is about this.  He understood what was going on.  The early church fathers understood as well.  They tended to view the passions of life, the things that make us human, are divided and misguided.  This event occurred when Adam and Eve sinned.  They went from having all their desires, their passions focused on God and the good gifts that he gave them.  Sin, in essence, divided and misguided their passions.  So what started out as love for each other turned into a selfish and nonproductive passion.

    This is what Jesus came to resolve for us.  By taking on our humanity, he took on and conquered our sin infected passions.   When Jesus experienced fear, as in the Garden of Gethsemane, he could have despaired in cowardice but he didn’t he was courageous because he trusted the Father’s grace.    When he experienced anger, as in the Temple, he could have sought out vengeance but rather he sought out justice and eventually mercy.  When he was rejected, as in his home town, he continued in truth rather than run and hide.

    So we can see that Jesus, by experiencing our entire life, overcame the misdirection of our passions.  He overcame our fears, doubts, our anger and selfishness, even our loneliness and our feelings of rejection.  He overcame them and then gave to us the power and direction to accomplish the same in our life.  When we fear, we can take heart and hope in God’s promises.  When we feel anger or even hatred, we do not have to turn to the base evil of revenge but rather seek out mercy because we have experienced mercy at God’s hand.  When we wonder about tomorrow, even worry about what lies ahead; we can remember that our future is safe and secure in God’s loving hands.

Father, send your Spirit that I may live as your child.  Guard my heart and control my sinful passions.  Lead me in the paths of your righteousness.  Show me your ways that I may always serve you.  In the precious name of Jesus we pray, amen.

God’s Peace,

Pastor Bret