Today’s Scripture Reading (May 18, 2018): Genesis 7
Nineteenth-century philosopher Arthur Schopenhauer argued that “The
first forty years of life give us the text; the next thirty supply the
commentary on it.” For the first forty years, we live and experience life. But as we get older, our experiences turn into
remembrances, and we are left with the task of explaining or giving meaning to
what it is that we chose to do. But maybe one question that we need to
ask, even in the mind of Schopenhauer, is this - is this a hard and fast rule? As soon as I
turn forty-one, does my life suddenly move from experience to explanation?
The answer is of course not. Schopenhauer’s greatest
work, “The World as Will and Representation” actually turns 200 years old this
year. And in the past two hundred years, much has changed. For one thing, we
seem to live longer. Two weeks ago my Grandmother turned 103. It was an
extraordinary accomplishment, but she is the second of grandparents to live
beyond the century mark. And if we include my wife’s grandparents, we can add
one more grandparent who surpassed the century mark. The youngest grandparent
to die was in his seventies, and he died as the result of an accidental fall.
We live longer. So maybe we should change the numbers in Schopenhauer’s
equation.
But to change the numbers in Schopenhauer’s equation
would indicate that we missed Schopenhauer’s point. This was not about a certain finite number. When Schopenhauer spoke
the words, the meaning was that the first portion of our lives is text, the next portion is explanation. For some of us, the text extends
well beyond the age of forty; for others, we start the task of explanation
while we are still in our thirties, and sometimes in our twenties. Numbers are
like that. In philosophy, or in any explanation of life, numbers are never
intended to be taken literally. Taking
numbers literally is a task best left to
mathematicians.
So, during the time of Noah, it rained for forty days and nights. Does that mean that
there were exactly forty days of rain?
Maybe, but not necessarily. Forty is a fairly common number in the Bible. And
it usually indicates a time of upheaval and change. The world that emerges
after the forty is vastly different from the one that existed before. So, the
spies went into Canaan to scout out the land for forty days, and Israel spent forty years in the desert
before entering the land that had been promised
to them. The time spent indicates a significant change. When Jesus started his
ministry, he spent forty days in the desert. His forty days in the desert
indicated that there was a change. At Cana,
he argued with his mother that his time had not yet come. But the forty days
indicate that now his time had come, and the forty days usher in this long-awaited time of the Messiah.
The rain fell for forty days and forty nights. The
world before this time was vastly different than the one that existed before.
Whether or not it was actually forty days
is not really important, just as Schopenhauer’s
forty years isn’t really the point. The
point that we cannot miss is that this was a time of huge upheaval and, as a
result of this upheaval, the world will never be the same again.
Tomorrow’s Scripture Reading: Genesis 8
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