Memorial of Saint Pio of Pietrelcina, priest (better known as Padre Pio)

Below the spillway at MSF

Vanity of vanities, says Qoheleth,

vanity of vanities! All things are vanity!

The inclusion of Ecclesiastes in the Bible demonstrates the remarkable open-mindedness of our Jewish/Christian tradition. The book refutes the hopefulness and optimism of our faith, and yet we read it. It reflects a cynicism that always lurks at the edge of our awareness, testing our faith, inviting us to just let it go.

Ideologues know only one way to think, they have no patience with disagreement or doubt. They’ve always been among us, sometimes courageously demonstrating their faith even to the point of death; sometimes embarrassing themselves and us with boneheaded nonsense.

In the Book of Job they are represented by the three sages who came to comfort him but could not abide his challenging God’s justice. In many ways the Book of Job is a companion text to Ecclesiastes.

Both books remind us that our reasoning, as beautiful as it is, cannot penetrate all the ineffable mysteries of life. There are some things that don’t make sense, and whatever we say about them is nonsense. Very often we must sit before these mysteries and be silent. Job’s friends were doing fine until they opened their mouths.

As a chaplain in the Veterans’ Hospital I practice this silence. I cannot answer the Veteran who wants to know, “Why is this happening to me?” Even if he has cirrhosis of the liver after a lifetime of heavy drinking, I do not know why he is dying. Lots of people abuse alcohol, only some of them get cirrhosis. Not all smokers get COPD. Obesity doesn’t always lead to diabetes.

For that matter, virtuous living doesn’t always lead to earthly happiness. Children of the devout sometimes spurn their parents’ religion. Non-smokers get lung cancer and non-drinkers get cirrhosis. Go figure!

We should use our minds to unlock nature’s secrets, as they say; but we should use our lips to keep us silent before the unknowable. If we really need an explanation for everything, God will provide it in God’s own time. In the meanwhile we sometimes nod our heads in silent agreement with the cynic Qoheleth,

Vanity of vanities, says Qoheleth,
vanity of vanities! All things are vanity!