Living Attentively
- davidwperk
- Jun 12, 2024
- 6 min read
Devotional Reflection, Wednesday, June 12, 2024
Proper 5, the week of the third Sunday after Pentecost
The Rev. David W. Perkins, Th.D.
Key phrases for reflection from today’s reading:
11 Again I saw that under the sun the race is not to the swift, nor the battle to the strong, nor bread to the wise, nor riches to the intelligent, nor favour to the skillful; but time and chance happen to them all. 12For no one can anticipate the time of disaster. Like fish taken in a cruel net, and like birds caught in a snare, so mortals are snared at a time of calamity, when it suddenly falls upon them.
. . . .
17The quiet words of the wise are more to be heeded
than the shouting of a ruler among fools.
You will find the full text of today’s Old Testament reading at the end of this reflection.
Daily Office Lectionary Readings (BCP, 971)
AM Psalm 72; PM Psalm 119:73-96
Eccles. 9:11-18; Gal. 5:1-15; Matt. 16:1-12
Today we celebrate the Feast of Enmegahbowh (See below.)
David’s Reflections
Jürgen Moltmann has said, “To live attentively means to be open for surprises and for what is new in every moment. It means experiencing life full of expectation, dis-covering anew the reality we encounter, and laying ourselves trustfully open to whatever happens to us." * The writer of Ecclesiastes feels like someone living attentively, repeatedly drawing attention to life’s unpredictability, to the risks and reversals and frustrations of daily experience. Much of what he observed made little or no sense to him, and he believed that God’s wisdom required of us openness to life’s unpredictability and it’s vaporous nature.
Today’s reading reminds us that, when life’s unpredictable crises surprise us, our natural abilities and our economic, intellectual, and personal endowments will prove inadequate to spare us or to deliver us. Responding adequately will depend on none of these.
In his oft pessimistic musings, the writer repeatedly falls back on that hidden divine wisdom that we only discover by faithful persistence and constancy.
In the wisdom literature of Hebrew Scripture, God’s wisdom underlies and undergirds the created order, the capacity to think and choose rightly. (Ecclesiastes, Proverbs, Job, and portions of the Psalms and the prophetic literature).
We live in a culture that trumpets immediate fulfillment of longing and freedom from suffering and deprivation. The message of this Wisdom writer, while relevant and congruent with our struggles, may not be heart-warming and welcome in an immediate fulfillment cultural setting.
Repeated readings of Ecclesiastes have convinced me that the writer may have lived with a rather distant and halting personal relationship with God. The total witness of Scripture takes us farther than his insights alone, yet a careful reading of his reflections can lead us to connect with his frustrations about life and the cloak of futility that mortality throws over everything.
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Robert Alter captures something of Qohelet’s view of life’s ephemeral nature in his translation. He translates uniquely the recurring phrases that form the mantra of this work. Where the King James renders “vanity,” he translates “mere breath.” He says that Hebrew word pair refers to the breath we exhale, which lacks the life-giving quality of fresh air. And, “vexation of spirit” in the KJV he renders “herding the wind.” +
Alter summarizes very well Qohelet’s view of life,
In a few passages Qohelet offers entirely pragmatic counsel of a sort one might expect to find in Proverbs. For the most part, however, his observations are properly philosophic, inviting us to contemplate the cyclical nature of reality and of human experience, the fleeting duration of all that we cherish, the brevity of life, and the inexorability of death, which levels all things.#
I take comfort today in knowing that when life becomes chaotic and the divine order and peace that I expect to enshroud me vanish, maintaining emotional honesty and trust become all the more vital. And, I take comfort in Moltmann’s counsel to live attentively and to keep ourselves open to whatever might happen to us. It also encourages us to know that the resources of God and Christian community will sustain us and return us to a place less chaotic and unpredictable.
So, today, we can resolve to live attentively. Qohelet offset us a model of someone who lived very attentively. Reflect on the chaos that might dominate the present moment or such a moment in the past. We consider alternative strategies to those that have failed in the past. We can remain open to God’s presence in the moment, and look for God’s hand reaching out to us through the storm. And, unlike Qohelet, we have the wisdom of Jesus and the power and hope of resurrection to ward off those moments when life’s ephemeral, temporary, chaotic ethos feel overwhelming.
* Jürgen Moltmann, Experiences in Theology: Ways and Forms of Christian Theology, trans. Margaret Kohl (Minneapolis: Fortress, 2000), pp. 336-37.
Robert Alter, The Hebrew Bible: Volume 3: The Writing: A Translation With Commentary. (New York: W. W. Norton, 2019), pp. 675-676.
# Alter, p. 674.
Collect of the Day, Proper 5, the Sunday after Pentecost
O God, from whom all good proceeds: Grant that by your inspiration we may think those things that are right, and by your merciful guiding may do them; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen. (BCP, 229)
Today we celebrate the Feast of Enmegahbowh, priest and missionary (died 12 June 1902 CE).
Collect of the Feast of Enmegahbowh
Almighty God, who led your pilgrim people of old by fire and cloud: Grant that the ministers of your church, following the example of your servant Enmegahbowh, may lead your people with fiery zeal and gentle humility; through Jesus Christ, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.
A Collect for Grace
Lord God, almighty and everlasting Father, you have brought us in safety to this new day: Preserve us with your mighty power, that we may not fall into sin, nor be overcome by adversity; and in all we do, direct us to the fulfilling of your purpose; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. (BCP, 100)
For the Nation
Lord God Almighty, you have made all the peoples of the earth for your glory, to serve you in freedom and in peace: Give to the people of our country a zeal for justice and the strength of forbearance, that we may use our liberty in accordance with your gracious will; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen. (BCP,258)
In the Order of Worship for Evening
Almighty, everlasting God, let our prayer in your sight be as incense, the lifting up of our hands as the evening sacrifice. Give us grace to behold you, present in your Word and Sacraments, and to recognize you in the lives of those around us. Stir up in us the flame of that love which burned in the heart of your Son as he bore his passion, and let it burn in us to eternal life and to the ages of ages. Amen. (BCP, 113)
A Collect for Mission
Merciful God, creator of all the peoples of the earth and lover of souls: Have compassion on all who do not know you as you are revealed in your Son Jesus Christ; let your Gospel be preached with grace and power to those who have not heard it; turn the hearts of those who resist it; and bring home to your fold those who have gone astray; that there may be one flock under one shepherd, Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. (BCP, 280)
Daily Office Old Testament Reading, Ecclesiastes 9:11-18
11 Again I saw that under the sun the race is not to the swift, nor the battle to the strong, nor bread to the wise, nor riches to the intelligent, nor favour to the skillful; but time and chance happen to them all. 12For no one can anticipate the time of disaster. Like fish taken in a cruel net, and like birds caught in a snare, so mortals are snared at a time of calamity, when it suddenly falls upon them.
13 I have also seen this example of wisdom under the sun, and it seemed important to me. 14There was a little city with few people in it. A great king came against it and besieged it, building great siege-works against it. 15Now there was found in it a poor, wise man, and he by his wisdom delivered the city. Yet no one remembered that poor man. 16So I said, ‘Wisdom is better than might; yet the poor man’s wisdom is despised, and his words are not heeded.’
17The quiet words of the wise are more to be heeded
than the shouting of a ruler among fools.
18Wisdom is better than weapons of war,
but one bungler destroys much good
Daily Offices in the Book of Common Prayer
Morning Prayer, Rite 2, page 75, The Book of Common Prayer
Noonday Prayer, page 103, Book of Common Prayer
Order of Worship for Evening (Vespers), p 109, Book of Common Prayer
Evening Prayer, Rite 2, page 115, Book of Common Prayer
Compline (Night Prayer), page 127, Book of Common Prayer
Daily Devotionals, page 136, Book of Common Prayer
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