3 For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven:
2 a time to be born, and a time to die;
a time to plant, and a time to pluck up what is planted;
3 a time to kill, and a time to heal;
a time to break down, and a time to build up;
4 a time to weep, and a time to laugh;
a time to mourn, and a time to dance;
5 a time to throw away stones, and a time to gather stones together;
a time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing;
6 a time to seek, and a time to lose;
a time to keep, and a time to throw away;
7 a time to tear, and a time to sew;
a time to keep silence, and a time to speak;
8 a time to love, and a time to hate;
a time for war, and a time for peace.
Ecclessiastes 3:1-8
Now we come to some of the most famous verses from Ecclesiastes, The Byrds sang them to fame. After they were set to music in 1962 by Peter Seeger but shot to fame in 1965 when sung by the Byrds. These verses are also commonly shared at funerals as, like the Teacher, we come to grips with the inevitability of death. Seeger wrote the song as a peace ballad because of verse 8.
As we put the verses in the context of the Teacher’s thinking, we could possibly see the circles of life that we pass through. This normalizes our experiences and helps us to look at our lives not as victims but as people walking in the footsteps of those who have gone before. We are experiencing that which is common to life. We draw closer to the grieved in the face of death as we realize our day will come too. We realize war will not last forever but that hopefully peace will result. There is a kind of tension created between some of the poles of our lives that help us gain perspective.
So today, read through the “time” tables of Ecclesiastes. Which time grabs your thinking right now? Just pick one. Sit with it for a moment and ponder what prayers spring from your heart, either praise or supplication, and lay them on the altar for a God who watches over all the times of our lives.
On the Way to Wonder 