"Vanity of vanities!": 18th Sunday of Ordinary Time

           “Vanity of vanities, says Qoheleth, vanity of vanities!  All things are vanity!”

            Qoheleth is a mysterious figure.  He may be a literary device used to speak the narrative of Ecclesiastes.  He may be a real person, possibly Solomon.  Yet one feature is clear about this mysterious figure—he would win the Debbie-downer award for the Bible with his continuous moan: “All things are vanity!”

            Qoheleth sought peace, joy and contentment in every human way possible.  He gained wisdom, only to realize the wise man and the fool both die.  He acquired riches in abundance, only to realize they would eventually pass on to someone else.  He looked to nature, travels and human pleasure but all left him empty. 

We, too, often do the same.  Whether it is shopping, alcohol, sports, entertainment or riches we seek to be fulfilled here on earth.  Like Qoheleth we can only answer “Vanity of vanities!” to this earthly quest.

            The problem with Qoheleth’s search is that he looks for answers in the wrong place—the world.  St. Paul shows us where to look for answers in our life: “Brothers and sisters: If you were raised with Christ, seek what is above…put to death, then, the parts of you that are earthly.”  Jesus says the same in the Gospel.  He exhorts us to store up treasure, not on earth, but in heaven.  We must be rich in what matters to God.

            I have witnessed many poor people doing this well—people I visited in Ghana, Venezuela and in our own country.  Through these travels I have discovered a general axiom—the poorer the people, the more joy.  People living in poverty can only count on God and are not bombarded with distractions.  In our society (which, by the way, is hated in most of the world for our greed and use of much of the world’s resources) we must struggle to look above and see God.  We must be disciplined in putting our trust in the true Treasure and not in our own.  It is vain to do otherwise.

            “Vanity of vanities says Qoheleth.”  Don’t be like the Debbie-downer by losing hope in worldly quests.  This week look for meaning in life from above.