Have you ever tried catching the wind? Maybe as a kid you might have thought you could grasp it in a jar. But the reality is that no matter how hard we try, we just can’t do it.
In one of our readings from this weekend (Ecclesiastes 1:2, 12-14; 2:18-23) we heard the writer reference much of life as a “vanity of vanities.” Literally, in the Hebrew language, the word that references “vanities” means vapor or mist. The author claims that though we chase after things, experiences, wealth, and even happiness in life, all of these things may be like a “chasing after the wind.” (Quite a depressing image…) But even Jesus says something similar in our Gospel passage, reminding us that there are many things we spend our lives trying to achieve or build up. Not just material possessions, but also time spent on getting “ahead” in life and achieving the our next “accomplishment.”
But are these the things that matter? No. Many of us know it. And yet, it’s all too easy to get caught in a trap of chasing after something that is not all that important.
So what’s actually important? In the words of Aryn Michelle, perhaps “the realest things are things you can’t touch with your hands. The realest things are things you can’t see with your eyes. Maybe the realest things are things like hope and love and peace. The realest things are things you believe.” For each of us, the “realest things” might look different. But love lasts. And work done for love of the Lord lasts. And the Lord is ever-lasting.
So this week, turn yourself to your Lord who is ever-lasting. And in your prayer, ask Jesus to guide you to seek that which is lasting – for your sake, for the sake of your relationship with God, and for the sake of your relationships with others. There may be plenty of things that escape our grasp like vapor in the wind, but grounded in Christ, there is purpose to our lives as we seek that which lasts eternally.