Bonfire of the Vanities...

 

“Bonfire of the Vanities”

 

Ecclesiastes 1:2, 12-14; 2:18-23
1:2 Vanity of vanities, says the Teacher, vanity of vanities! All is vanity.

1:12 I, the Teacher, when king over Israel in Jerusalem,

1:13 applied my mind to seek and to search out by wisdom all that is done under heaven; it is an unhappy business that God has given to human beings to be busy with.

1:14 I saw all the deeds that are done under the sun; and see, all is vanity and a chasing after wind.

2:18 I hated all my toil in which I had toiled under the sun, seeing that I must leave it to those who come after me

2:19 --and who knows whether they will be wise or foolish? Yet they will be master of all for which I toiled and used my wisdom under the sun. This also is vanity.

2:20 So I turned and gave my heart up to despair concerning all the toil of my labors under the sun,

2:21 because sometimes one who has toiled with wisdom and knowledge and skill must leave all to be enjoyed by another who did not toil for it. This also is vanity and a great evil.

2:22 What do mortals get from all the toil and strain with which they toil under the sun?

2:23 For all their days are full of pain, and their work is a vexation; even at night their minds do not rest. This also is vanity.

 

Tom Wolfe’s novel, Bonfire of the Vanities, is a drama about ambition, racism, social class, politics, and greed in 1980s New York City. The book’s title was taken from an actual historical “bonfire of the vanities” that happened in Italy in 1497, when a priest, Girolamo Savonarola, ordered the burning of objects that the church had declared sinful, such as cosmetics, mirrors, books, and works of art. It’s amazing how much drama emanates from religion, and often, specifically, from the church. It often seems that the church over-reacts or under-reacts to goings-on in the world, but rarely does it rightly react. And in terms of internal affairs, it either punts or persecutes, with little regard for the lousy witness these produce for on-lookers in the wider society. Isn’t it interesting that what Savonarola decided was “sinful,” are the very things that bring a great deal of meaning to life? Cosmetics and mirrors help us put our “best face forward” as we journey out into the world, and books and art give form to things deep inside us, and expand our worldview. The idea that faith should be restricted to biblical limits (which, honestly, are really defined by our interpretation of what those are), exclusively spiritual or “heavenly” pursuits, and activities that someone has decided “glorify God,” robs us of our uniqueness and creativity—things which the Creator “designed” and gifted to us. So, what is the Ecclesiastes author trying to tell us in this passage?

 

First of all, the author—at least according to most commentators—is a “preacher” (Koheleth), so the wisdom we get from this piece of wisdom literature has strong moral overtones. And yet, the author is rather practical in her or his overall assessment of the futility of shallow living, which may be defined as pursuing vain, “surface” satisfaction in material things, personal appearance (of our selves or others), or power for power’s sake—“chasing after wind,” in the author’s words. Former President Jimmy Carter, in one of his recent books, writes:

 

“Human identity is no longer defined by what one does, but by what one owns. But we’ve discovered that owning things and consuming things does not satisfy our longing for meaning. We’ve learned that piling up material goods cannot fill the emptiness of lives which have no confidence or purpose.”

 

If I’m to interpret it right, Ecclesiastes says in this passage that these futile goals may give way to depression and anxiety, two things that certainly mark the century in which we live! We grow anxious when we put undo importance on our jobs, or more particularly how “successful” we are in them, such that it “keeps us up at night.” I confess to spending the entire COVID nightmare in high anxiety, as I felt the weight of trying to guide a large, vital church through the pandemic. I often lie awake well into the night thinking up ways we could still “be the church” and meet needs while severely restricted in one of its primary tasks of “meeting together.” I both thanked God and cursed God for the availability of the Zoom platform! It DID make leadership conversations possible, but was a poor substitute for person-to-person caring and fellowship. And it sometimes facilitated EIGHT OR TEN meetings a day, something that probably would have NEVER happened in the “real” world, and these “popcorn” meetings generated too much information, lengthy “to do lists,” and even more anxiety for pastors and leaders. As a pastor, I know I was not at all alone during the COVID crisis, but it often felt like it. 

 

All that said, however, it was a real crisis, and not just a matter of how my hair looked or whether I may be worried about what the car I drive says about me. These are the matters Koheleth is engaging. Obviously, there may be a fine line between what is important and what is not, in life, but this line is a moveable target, often affected by timing. Assessing where it divides the two is an on-going challenge, and is, at least partly, what today’s scripture is addressing. Anxiety arising from dealing with important things may bring a heightened sense of passion and wisdom to the problem, while anxiety over things that fall below the threshold of importance is usually just unhealthy, and may even negatively affect our ability to discern the difference, going forward. Even when we are anxiously ruminating over the issues of importance, there comes a time when our mental deliberation becomes obsessive, and we must find a way to stop and rest. On many of those COVID nights, as I lie awake contemplating the steps I might need to take the next “waking” day, I would draw wisdom from one of my favorite baseball movies, “For the Love of the Game.” I would literally invoke the focusing line of pitcher Billy Chapel (Kevin Costner) on the pitcher’s mound: “Clear the mechanism.” I would tell myself this, and begin quieting my racing brain. I visualized the cacophonous background going silent, and the anxiety-provoking thoughts “march out” of my mind, one by one. It worked. Soon, I would be asleep. Imagine now how foolish and “vain” it is to waste good thinking on things that really don’t matter—or shouldn’t. This is what Ecclesiastes is about.

 

If not anxiety, then depression is an enemy let in the door by undue vanity. The text suggests that regular life evaluation that is mostly concerned about one’s “impact” on the world, or the legacy one may leave, will often lead to depression, as these are never going to be as great as that left by countless others, nor is it ever insignificant, particularly if we follow the path mapped by our experiences and work, as well as God’s lead. A sober view of one’s contribution leads to better mental health, as well as may provide “course correction” guidance for the life remaining. Troubling over it, or making false comparisons around it, usually lead to disappointment and its resulting circumstantial depression. [Any time I touched on this during my sermons, I would be quick to distinguish between clinicaldepression and that provoked by an event or circumstances, as it is never helpful to insinuate that persons who suffer from the former can “fix” it by repressing it. Hear that now, any of you reading this who have a clinical diagnosis!]

 

Maybe you never thought about these negative outcomes around the subject of vanity? The author of today’s text understands that. The “all is vanity” line is not jocular, but is there to remind us that God’s greatness and “bigger picture” renders even our serious concerns less significant, though they be “huge” to us. Remember the “timing” issue I raised earlier—If we address our important concerns in a timely and reasonable fashion, we can deal with them, solve them to the extent they are solvable, and move on. If we fixate on them, they become a vanity, and unduly troubling. If we ignore or repress important issues, it may soothe for the moment, but problems usually grow rather than shrink when shelved. Avoiding them thus also becomes vanity. And if we stress over what are really non-issues, this is the very definition of vanity. So “Vanity, vanity, all is vanity” is a way of saying timing is everything, and our response to what we assess as important has the power to keep vanity in check. 

 

About the word “vanity,” one bible commentator writes:

 

“The word translated as ‘vanity’ (hebel) is notoriously difficult to render in English, in part because it a tensive symbol that simultaneously signifies multiple meanings. One author proposes ‘vapor’ because vapor is at once insubstantial, transient, and sometimes foul or poisonous. Throughout the book, the Teacher asserts that all things in life are ephemeral and vaporous. Consequently, much of human activity is futile and pointless.”

 

Again, this goes to holding our individual, human efforts up against the Divine plan, activity, and will. As Judeo-Christians, we believe that God does not view humans at all as “insignificant,” but we are to understand from Koheleth that our days on this earth are limited, and their impact, variable. I say “variable,” as on one hand, they may be negligible, but on the other, they may be essential in the greater scheme of things. Koheleth suggests that we may be picking up where another left off, and someone will “take the baton” from us when exit the stage. It is a relay race we run. Not all of us will cross the finish line. To update Paul, “running the race set before us” may mean we only run a leg of it, and may not feel the joy of breaking the tape. Does it matter, if we are faithful in our race? It is vanity to think less of our race if we don’t get to see the finish. Let me share my personal example of this.

 

I am proud of my 36 years in ministry, as I did my best to remain faithful, and I never had a period during those years of service when I “coasted,” not in the least. But my last appointment as lead pastor at St. Paul’s was indeed a “leg” of a relay race! I “took the handoff” from a lead pastor who had a 22-year legacy of growing a church into an important contributor to the life of the communities it served, and touching the lives of countless children and youth over those years. I felt my job was to help our leadership team and the congregation “update” our mission and vision to keep us forward-looking and planning, and then give the baton to a future leader who had the potential to be another “long-termer,” unlike me, who knew my tenure would be seven years, at the most. I was comfortable in this “interim” role, and took it very seriously, desiring fervently to not lose any of the lead the previous pastor had handed over to me, and to make sure the handoff to my successor would be as smooth as possible. Then the pandemic hit. Being fortunate to have a wonderful team around me, and a seriously-engaged congregation, we worked synergistically to successfully navigate COVID, keep our stellar children and youth programming alive, and maintain healthy funding for the church’s future, post-COVID. You have no idea how blessed it felt to be “running the race” between a Ron Hoellein and an Amy Wagner. My “leg” of the race was essential, but not all that significant, in the bigger scope of things. I am proud of my work, but not to the level of vanity. Had I expected a larger role in such a significant church, and suffered the disappointment that the timing could not allow, that, too, would have been vanity. As it is, I got a blessed satisfaction out of the experience, and think I made a difference. I hope THAT is not vanity!

 

Let me try to summarize, in closing. Koheleth is trying to tell us to have a sober view of who we are and what we are about. He or she is saying that anything BUT a sober, honest view may lead to vanity, which may lead to a degree of futility that provokes anxiety or gives way to depression. There is a much greater “race” occurring in the Realm of the Divine. We have a significant part of it, but it may not be the “glory” lap. If we follow God’s call and guidance in life, personal desperation may be avoided if not outright defeated. A fulfilling degree of pride in one’s faithfulness and resulting accomplishments is our reward, and that is not vanity! The caution is when we transfix ourselves on some unreasonable, overly-inflated “future,” and then suffer when we don’t deliver on it. As they say, “Remember, Moses never saw the promised land.” And to loosely quote a song lyric of my era, “Don’t be so vain you think the whole song is about you!” Amen.