20 August 2023
MISSION OF PEACE “A time to love and a time to hate; a time for war and a time for peace.” (Ecclesiastes 3:8) The poetic nature of Ecclesiastes 3 could easily deceive us into ignoring the severity of some of the topics listed. A time to kill and a time to heal. Wait, what? A time for war and a time for peace? Hang on a minute! Some serious reflection is needed here: a time to kill and a time for war? How could anyone ever suggest that there is a time for war? Surely it is ideal to live in a world where there is no time for these horrific ordeals, but Qohelet – the author of this book – prescribes this series of difficult dichotomies in poetic form. This is quite ironic and perhaps deliberate. So what does Qohelet mean by this? Ecclesiastes is, among other designations, a book of ironies. It speaks to the contradictions that life continues to dish up/out and offers commentary on the uselessness, meaninglessness, vanity, and ambiguity of it all. Qohelet’s tone, therefore, is one of scepticism and doubt. In this light, we need to reconsider the words of Qohelet in Chapter 3 in the light of his own scepticism. The spirit behind Chapter 3 reflects an acknowledgement that life is cyclical. Nature itself follows this pattern. The sun rises, and the sun sets. Intriguingly, in my Samoan culture, nature’s patterns are observed wittingly as nature discerns wisdom for Samoans. One particular pattern is that of cyclones where Samoans say, “E sosoo maninoa ma afa, e sosoo foi afa ma maninoa.” (After the calm, there comes a storm, but after the storm, there comes calm). The interesting thing in this proverb is that
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sundays with cwm 2023