The Unfamiliar Familiar Only that shall happen which has happened, only that occur which has occurred; there is nothing new beneath the sun! Ecclesiastes 1:9 JPS Nothing new – “Same old, same old,” we say. Or “What goes around comes around.” Life just repeats itself. But this often leads to cyclical amnesia. Because we are so familiar with the routine, we fail to examine it. Moses Luzatto notes, “I have not written this book to teach the reader anything new. Rather is it my aim to direct his attention to certain well known and generally accepted truths, for the very fact that they are well known and generally accepted is the cause of their being overlooked. Hence, this book, if it is to be of any benefit, has to be read more than once.”[1] We might say precisely the same thing about the Bible. When we reach the point where we are “familiar” with the Bible, we probably need to remember that familiarity leads to unconscious inattention. In my experience, I find myself coming back to familiar verses again and again discovering that I haven’t understood their complexity, their depth and their beauty. Is it true that there is nothing new beneath the sun? The Hebrew we’en kol-hadash tahat hashamesh does not speak of new inventions, new events or new circumstances. The Teacher is reflecting on the weariness of life. In general, whatever occurs has already been part of the human experience. War, pestilence, prosperity, birth, death, obedience and disobedience recycle among human beings. Nothing is fundamentally new. The key word here is hadash, the Hebrew for “new” which is also, and more typically, “renew.” It’s not that life is an endless circle (Disney’s “Circle of Life” is not Hebraic). It’s that life is boring! Remove God from the equation and everything just comes and goes. Even religion. Years ago my wife bought me a card that read “Bored in the U.S.A.” It captured my attitude precisely. Having achieved the American dream of independent wealth, I soon discovered that life offered little that really made a difference. Ferraris in the garage sat idly because the thrill of driving had passed. Vacation homes in the Caribbean were empty because “been there, done that” crept into my psyche. When I could do anything I wanted, there was nothing to do. I walked stride for stride with Koheleth. His words were my thoughts. Then God overturned the apple cart. We lost everything – and in the process, we got back a life worth having. Funny how that works, isn’t it? We spend our lives in pursuit of what we think will give us satisfaction and comfort only to find that real growth occurs in what is painful. I no longer ride the wheel of endless meaninglessness. I’m going somewhere, to a place He will show me when I arrive. I just don’t know where that is but the ride is the best I’ve ever had. The once familiar Scriptures have become utter strangers that I must meet all over again because I am traveling in another world.
Posted on: Sun, 20 Oct 2013 21:47:51 +0000
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