Qoheleth, the Cynic

Homily for Thursday of the 25th Week in Ordinary Time

Etched into the memory of the world are those opening lines of Ecclesiastes or Qoheleth. The name is really nothing more than a title. It simply means: “the preacher.” If one sits down and reads the entire book from cover to cover, we realize that this is no liturgical preacher and no ordained minister. He is a cynic, a questioner, a tongue-in-cheek jokester, an affluent teacher, so prosperous as to have too much and to call it all nothing more than a puff of wind.

Because he is a cynic, Qoheleth forces us to pray by taking a long, hard look at life. We are to contemplate life and all that it is and realize that it is very boring unless we take steps toward true wisdom which can only happen if we listen to God’s Word and obey God’s commandments. Fear the Lord and keep his commandments. This is the only way to escape the doom and gloom of the world’s concerns. This may not seem to be a very exalted spirituality, yet it is no small accomplishment to shake loose the complacence of the world and to begin the work of conversion.

The Gospel presents us with the sad picture Herod the Tetrarch. For him religion was a curiosity, a temporary pill to soothe his conscience, a clever way of winning allegiance. It is tragic to think that his desire to see Jesus was fulfilled when Pilate made friends with Herod by sending him the captive Jesus. The Gospel relates later that Herod was extremely pleased to see Jesus. It is still true that religion can be used for politics and pleasure, the saddest ways to relieve boredom. True religion, on the other hand, will focus our attention on the truths that are embodied in God’s commandments.

Fr. Lawrence Jagdfeld, O.F.M., Administrator