Dear Family at Christ Community,

       In Ecclesiastes 8:14-17, the Gatherer comes to a joyful conclusion on how to wisely deal with life’s unsolvable paradoxes. He repeats yet again in verse 14 the paradoxical reality of the righteous suffering according to the deeds of the wicked, and the wicked prospering from deeds of the righteous. Please consider how this unsolvable paradox finds its ultimate resolution in Jesus. Paul declares in Romans 5:6-8 that Jesus the sinless and righteous died for the ungodly and sinful. He continues in verses 9-11 that the wicked prosper from the sacrificial deeds of the Righteous One. The very enemies of God are gifted eternal life through no deserving actions of their own but through the death and resurrection of Christ alone!

       We will celebrate this joyous gift as we take communion this Sunday! We, the wicked, are welcomed to the Lord’s Table to be reminded of our reconciliation with God the Father in Christ. The broken bread helps to nourish us in the reality that Jesus satisfied the wrath of God for our sins. The lavish cup serves to fill us with the joy of life more abundant in the resurrection of Christ who conquered death on our behalf. This is a work of God that surpasses the totality of our understanding and illudes human wisdom as Paul alludes in Romans 5:7. William D. Barrick describes this beautiful truth in Ecclesiastes: The Philippians of the Old Testament:

Human wisdom cannot save anyone either from their inability to control their circumstances or from their inherited sinful nature. Only God’s wisdom meets this task. God displays this wisdom in a person—the person of the Messiah Himself. The ultimate answer to (the Gatherer’s) question comes in the person and work of Jesus Christ. Ecclesiastes removes all claims to the salvific value of human wisdom. This book prepares the human heart for the greater message of redemption. No one can turn to the Redeemer until he or she first recognizes their own inability to do anything for themselves.

       Please take time to give thanks for this great exchange: Christ’s righteousness for our wickedness, Jesus’s death for our eternal life! Come to the feast hopeful and expectant!

In Christ,
Cameron