Sep
Thursday, 25 September – Why Bother Working?
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Ecclesiastes 1:2-11
Vanity of vanities, Qoheleth says. Vanity of vanities. Vanity of vanities. All is vanity! For all his toil, his toil under the sun, what does man gain by it?
A generation goes, a generation comes, yet the earth stands firm for ever. The sun rises, the sun sets; then to its place it speeds and there it rises. Southward goes the wind, then turns to the north; it turns and turns again; back then to its circling goes the wind. Into the sea all the rivers go, and yet the sea is never filled, and still to their goal the rivers go. All things are wearisome. No man can say that eyes have not had enough of seeing, ears their fill of hearing. What was will be again; what has been done will be done again; and there is nothing new under the sun. Take anything of which it may be said, ‘Look now, this is new.’ Already, long before our time, it existed. Only no memory remains of earlier times, just as in times to come next year itself will not be remembered.
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Luke 9:1-6
Herod the tetrarch had heard about all that was going on; and he was puzzled, because some people were saying that John had risen from the dead, others that Elijah had reappeared, still others that one of the ancient prophets had come back to life. But Herod said, ‘John? I beheaded him. So who is this I hear such reports about?’ And he was anxious to see him.
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For all his toil, his toil under the sun, what does man gain from it?
I was discussing with some of contemporaries whom, like me, had just graduated from the university on the topic of the meaning of life. I was very disturbed by the remark that the whole notion of work-life balance is a myth and that it should be all work and no life. It reached a point where I interjected in a curt manner reminding them that eventually, nobody would remember them for what they have done in this short life of theirs.
This could have been the message of the first reading which seeks to jolt us into our senses on the seemingly futile life that we lead. In fact, it is this passage that has played an influential role in my outlook in life. It has not made me a fatalist but it does make me more circumspect in my life decisions. There is an absence of the constant desire to work hard but rather to question the purpose for carrying out a particular task and how it is in line with God’s will.
Some may interpret this to be an indication that one should not work at all but this is certainly not true. What we should remember is that we must subordinate the purpose of our work to the will of God and enable His will to be done in our life.
(Today’s sharing by Nicholas Chia)
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Prayer: Jesus, we pray for the submission of our total life to you.
Thanksgiving: We give thanks for the work that we do.
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Upcoming Readings:
Friday, 26 September - Ecclesiastes 3:1-11, Luke 9:18-22
Saturday, 27 September – Ecclesiastes 11:9-12:8, Luke 9:43-45
Sunday, 28 September -Ezekiel 18:25-28, Philippians 2:1-11, Matthew 21:28-32; Twenty-Sixth Sunday in Ordinary Time
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