Every now and then we put aside the old clubs and go and buy a new set of golf clubs. We discard the old ones or give them away or if we are lucky we can trade them in. But everything has a used by date and unfortunately this includes us as well.

There is a strong opinion that with our reading today we have reached the end of the book. The last six verses we will do next week; but they are considered a postscript or an epilogue, something added to the text at a later date.

As we move to the conclusion of this book it is surprising that it ends on such a pessimistic note. But then again death is a painful experience sometimes not only for the one dying, but for those who are left. And for many, death is seen as the final straw. While we tend to ignore or not even talk about death in denial, in ancient cultures it was a much more common experience and dealt with openly. In recent weeks I attended to the death of an 18 year old who died of a brain tumour and the grief was overwhelming, even for me. Is there anything more painful that tears apart our inner self than death?

Our reading hints at the fact that life gets harder the older we get. We get slower, more fragile, our faculties cease to work properly, we are less productive, less flexible and the list goes on. It is not to say that there are moments of joy, but you only have to visit a few nursing homes and see the frustration, confusion and the loneliness to see how quality of life diminishes in old age. What I appreciate about Ecclesiastes is how honest it is to the despair and reality of frustration in life.

Old age reminds us of our mortality and draws us if we are open to the question and possibility of life after death. Our reading begins by encouraging us to remember God in our youth, the source of life.

While our author could not see much beyond this life ending to death, and the purpose of our author has been to highlight this fact and the futility of it all, the book is part of a wider progressive collection of literature that leads us to a new beginning with the New Testament. It is here that Jesus faces the grim reality of death head on and overcomes it with his own death and rising from the grave.

Prayer. Lord we appreciate your Word the bible in how it deals openly and honestly with all the frustrations of life. We are so glad for the full story of life after death that Jesus promises to all who embrace and follow him. Amen.