Our reading this week encourages us to make the most of life and enjoy it because once we die there is nothing left. In the Old Testament apart from a few exceptions, death was seen as the end of life. In the New Testament, with Jesus rising from the dead, the emphasis changes to life that is eternal and so we are encouraged to build up our treasures in heaven and look forward to and celebrate where life will be everlasting.

So life for us now is more of a balance of the Old Testament and the New, but it is always the life of Jesus that shows us the way. It is good to enjoy life with God, eating and drinking, and enjoying life with our spouse. Some of these occasions for celebrations include new birth, birthdays, marriage, anniversaries, mothers and father’s day, graduations, national holidays, Christmas and Easter and so on. These are part of living and are capture the ideals of life for us. They express life the fullness of life in this world.

The life that Jesus came to show us though encourages us in a new direction. Jesus came to show us a new way of life where he is King and we follow him. Jesus was accused of being a party goer by the religious leaders of his day and for mixing with the outcasts of society. He also attended a wedding changing water into wine. So Jesus was able to enjoy life in a way that our writer of Ecclesiastes speaks.

But the pessimism and short-sightedness of our author about life has been transformed by Jesus. The reality of the Old Testament was that when life was good and prosperous people tended to forget about God who blessed them with these good things. And so prosperity and enjoying life while good in themselves; became the means of many turning away from God. And so in Jesus’ teaching he often asked people with lots of riches and possessions to give away their possessions and money and come follow him and have riches in heaven. Many did not like these words.

In the end it comes down to what we value and treasure, what is in our hearts. If Jesus and his way of life is what we value, then we will easily give away everything we have to embrace his gift of life. Rather than life being about working eating and drinking, it becomes more about serving, loving and sharing.

How great it is to win a golf tournament and celebrate our victory with food and wine, but it is far greater to go to church and break bread and drink from the cup of the one who gave his life to secure ours.

Prayer, Lord God, help me to enjoy all the gifts in life that you give me, especially Jesus.  Amen.