“Who’s the Greatest?” - Ecclesiastes #17
Ecclesiastes 4:13-16
13 Better a poor and wise youth
Than an old and foolish king who
will be admonished no more.
14 For he comes out of prison to be king,
Although he was born poor in his
kingdom.
15 I saw all the living who walk under the sun;
They were with the second youth
who stands in his place.
16 There was no
end of all the people over whom he was made king;
Yet those who come afterward
will not rejoice in him.
Surely this also is vanity
and grasping for the wind.
Tony Danza portrays a veteran pitcher in a cheesy movie from my childhood, “Angels in the Outfield.” His career is ending abruptly, and people are remembering how great he once was. As he’s signing autographs, a star-struck boy gets his attention, exclaiming “You used to be Mel Clark!” He dejectedly replies, “Yeah, I used to be.” In Ecclesiastes, Solomon proclaims he “was king over Israel” (Ecc. 1:12). Of course, he was still the king, just like Mel Clark was still pitching; but there was clearly something missing. Greatness and fame were in the rear-view mirror. That’s the background of this passage.
Scrooge, as well, gets quite a glance at his fleeting riches and power from the grim reaper-like Ghost of Christmases Yet to Come. Even though he doesn’t recognize this until the end of the dream, he’s noticing the joy his death brings to others. House servants who steal and sell his stuff, customers who relax at the notion of having more time to pay their debts, and businessmen relieved of never having to see the jerk again (unless there’s a good lunch at his funeral). The dream pans to the Cratchit’s, grieving the recent death of Tiny Tim, with his older brother, Peter, reading the Scripture passage “He took a child, and set him in the midst of them.”
Ebenezer hears Peter and tries to remember the rest of the passage. It’s found in Mark 9:36, but in the context of the disciples disputing who would be considered the greatest in Heaven. Focusing on the child, Jesus declares, “Whoever receives one of these little children in My name receives Me; and whoever receives Me, receives not Me but Him who sent Me” (Mark 9:37). By the end of the dream, Scrooge sees the truth of his demise and how his choices in life had led him there. He yearns for a second chance at keeping Christmas well.
Of course, what he
does with Christmas ultimately doesn’t matter, but what he does with “one of
these little children” has eternal significance. May all of this remind us of
the need not only to love our neighbor, but also to focus on receiving the
gospel of Jesus Christ into our celebrations, our daily lives, and our hearts.
In Christ Alone,
Dan
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