Saturday, March 8
Read: Psalm 91:1-2, 9-16; Ecclesiastes 3:1-8; John 12:27-36
In a 2002 documentary entitle Comedian, Jerry Seinfeld talks with a comedian who isn’t happy with his career, including the ups and downs of the stand-up business. After going back and forth with his friend a bit, Seinfeld finally says, “THIS IS BEAUTIFUL!” The unevenness. The nights you kill and the nights you flop. The days on the road performing and the days at home writing. All of it is beautiful.
As a teenager, I remember reading Ecclesiastes 3 for the first time. I listened to a lot of ‘60s music. So, when I realized that The Byrds song, “Turn, Turn, Turn,” referenced Scripture, I had to read it for myself. I remember finding the passage almost depressing. War is as likely as peace. Death is as likely as life. Weeping is as likely as laughing. Is this all life amounts to?
Read in context, however, we get a slightly different perspective on Ecclesiastes 3. In the previous chapter, the writer alludes to the presence of God. It is this God who is able to give “wisdom and knowledge and joy” (Ecc. 2:8).
So, we’re left with two pieces of truth that are important for any Lenten journey. We are not in control of so much that affects our lives. AND God is present and good.
God is present and good in a time to plant. God is present and good in a time to pluck up what is planted.
God is present and good in a time to break down. God is present and good in a time to build up.
God is present and good in a time to mourn. God is present and good in a time to dance.
In the words of Jerry Seinfeld, “THIS IS BEAUTIFUL!”
Your life is beautiful. And all of it matters. Yes, the big things matter. Every birthday, graduation, wedding day, and baptism matter. But even the most mundane things matter. Every morning drive to work or school. Every second waiting at the Department of Motor Vehicles. Every moment trying to return the online order that wasn’t exactly right.
All of them are opportunities to see the goodness of God.
Prayer: O God, who is ever present and good, give to us wisdom to replace our fear, that we may walk every day in faith that this good life you have given us beautiful. Amen.
The Reverend Dr. Brian Miller is Vice President for External and Church Relations at Huntingdon College and an ordained elder in the Alabama-West Florida Conference of the United Methodist Church.
