Readiness and opportunity

There are three participants in Ecclesiastes: the author (who never speaks), the "teacher", and us (the ones reading or listening). The teacher shares wisdom, such as: “When thou vowest a vow unto God, defer not to pay it…” (Eccl. 5:4).

Defer not. Don’t procrastinate. Pay it. Do it. What then is the remedy for procrastination? Early Christian Science worker Alfred Farlow puts it succinctly: If the Churches do not consider themselves ready, the remedy is not to defer the lecture, but to get ready for it (Christian Science Sentinel, March 9, 1899).

Wow! Get ready for it. Nehemiah seems to have done just that, despite the opposition. He put in the work required. He expressed his inherent God-qualities, like astuteness, leadership, meekness, quiet planning, wisdom, team-work, courage, timeliness, inspiration, vigilance, and humility. What blessings resulted! 

Nehemiah's example reminds us of another verse from the Bible: “Thrust in thy sickle, and reap: for the time is come for thee to reap; for the harvest of the earth is ripe” (Rev. 14:15). We are assured by Mary Baker Eddy's words in the Christian Science textbook, Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures: “Whatever it is your duty to do, you can do without harm to yourself” (SH 385:17–18).

Eddy made just one reference to procrastination. She wrote: “Tireless Being, patient of man's procrastination, affords him fresh opportunities every hour…” (Christian Healing 19:18–19).

Thank you, wise ones.

Julie Swannell

Church in China (video clip)

Friends

How much do we love the Bible?

Madelon Maupin from Bible Roads brought this video clip to my attention. I have listened to it over and over. Church in China 

Julie Swannell

Checking out a Bible Commentary

This morning I have consulted Dummelow (A Commentary on the Holy Bible*). His Introduction to the book of Ecclesiastes is valuable.

Dummelow points out that in Ecclesiastes God is portrayed only as the Judge, with no reference to His tenderness and readiness to succour and sustain. He says: “The book thus shows the low-water mark of the religious thoughts of God-fearing Jews in pre-Christian times” (p. 391).  And: “The book thus emphasises in a way not found in the rest of the OT (Old Testament), the lack of a clear vision of a future life which had not yet been brought to light by Christ” (ibid). 

Finally, Dummelow's Introduction’s last word: “The outcome of the whole book is summed up [in] 12:8-14” (p. 392) -- the last verses of the whole book. It is suggested that this “epilogue” could have been added by an editor. Eccl. 12:13 seems to have been beloved by Mary Baker Eddy. 

The KJV has: 

“Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God, and keep his commandments: for this is the whole duty of man.” 

Science and Health attends to it on the last page of the chapter Science of Being (page 340). Here it is translated as: 

“Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: love God and keep His commandments: for this is the whole of man in His image and likeness.” 

Joyce Voysey

* Ed. BibleSupport.com explains that Dummelow's Bible Commentary was "compiled by 40 Bible Scholars and edited by Dummelow". The reviewer commends the book's "completeness and conciseness" as well as its combination of "the highest religious reverence with exact scientific rigor".  Christian Science Society Redcliffe has one copy of this book for sale, as well as a copy for use in the study area.

Am I toiling?

The introduction to the book of Ecclesiastes in the New Revised Standard Version has some interesting facts. I see that it is comparatively new – only 200 or 300 years before Christ. This was reasoned because there are some Persian loan-words which require a date well after Israel’s release from exile in 539 before Christ.

The book was not written by Solomon. The Dead Sea Scrolls contained some fragments of the book. The writer takes the first person to address us. It contains a variety of wisdom forms – proverbs, parables, admonitions.

I note that Mary Baker Eddy only quotes from Ecclesiastes twice (Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures 291: 20; 340: 4). She has set down how material life is indeed “vanity,” which is the key word in the book. Vanity – meaningless, absurd, emptiness, useless. I see that the literal meaning of “vanity” is “breath” or “breeze.”

Where the author of Ecclesiastes leaves material life as vanity, Christian Science says (my phrasing): “Yes, indeed, but that is not the creation God made. He saw His creation, and it was very good (Gen 1: 31). I like this line that came to thought recently: Divine Science demonstrates the rules of goodness. And of course, the scientific statement of being (S&H 468: 8-15) has the final word.

Is the author (Teacher) referring to Genesis, where he is told that man is not made to till the earth (see Gen. 3: 17, 19, 23), when he laments the vanity of “toiling under the sun” (Ecc.1:3 NRSV)?

We read of the repetition or cycles of nature in the wind and water. Just so is the nature of the human existence – much repetition of duties.

In searching on https://jsh.christianscience.com/console for some thoughts on tilling the soil, I found a testimony from Ben Martin from Sydney, Australia. (Ben has provided many Christian Science churches with organ recordings of the most of the hymns in the 1932 Christian Science Hymnal.) Ben speaks of working as a piano teacher, piano-tuner/technician with days lasting from 8am till 11pm with no time for family or recreation. His testimony also attests to the help received from a Christian Science nurse. (See testimony Infected Ear Healed, Benjamin M. Martin – April 18, 2016 Christian Science Sentinel).

Ecclesiastes 1 verse 14 NRSV has a new expression of vanity – “chasing after wind.” [Ed. KJV translates this passage as “vexation of spirit”.]

Ah! The next little poem, “What is crooked cannot be made straight,/and what is lacking cannot be counted” (Ecc. 1:15 NRSV). It is like he is defying what Isaiah had promised and which he must surely have read, for it was written around 740-700bc, well before his date of 300-200BC, i.e. “Every valley shall be exalted, and every mountain and hill shall be made low: and the crooked shall be made straight, and the rough places plain” (Isaiah 40:4 KJV).

[Ed. “My yoke is easy, and my burden is light” (Matthew 11:30).] 

Joyce Voysey

Wisdom from 2300 years ago

The book of Ecclesiastes is snuck in between Proverbs and Song of Solomon. The author is unknown. The literary method used to convey the author's message is that of a Preacher or wise teacher. Perhaps we could imagine sitting down to listen to an elder statesman or woman as we read this book, which was probably compiled somewhere around 300BC. One commentator (J. R. Dummelow) suggests the writing "bears distinct traces of the Greek culture established throughout the civilised world after the break up of the Empire of Alexander the Great (died 323BC).- see page 391 One Volume Bible Commentary.

In January 20, 1895, the newspaper Jackson Patriot, (Jackson, Michigan) published an article entitled "Christian Science". The article quotes from Ecclesiastes (chapter 1 verse 9):

            No new doctrine is proclaimed, but there is the fresh development of a Principle that was put into practice by the Founder of Christianity nineteen hundred years ago, though practised in other countries at an earlier date. “The thing that hath been, it is that which shall be; and that which is done is that which shall be done: and there is no new thing under the sun.” See Pulpit and Press by Mary Baker Eddy, page 52:26.

Whatever seems new is but a fresh manifestation of what has always been. Truth doesn’t change. Ecclesiastes reminds us of this.

Julie Swannell