The words of the Teacher, son of David, king in Jerusalem: - Ecclesiastes 1:1

Today’s Scripture Reading (November 1, 2019): Ecclesiastes 1

His name is Pierre Delecto. If you have been following American politics, you probably already know that Pierre Delecto (what a name) only exists in the world of Social Media. More precisely, Pierre Delecto is a name under which Mitt Romney, an American Senator, and former Governor, made forays into the world of Social Media. But the whole thing is a little weird. Monica Hesse sums up the strange world of Pierre Delecto for “The Washington Post.” “[Pierre Delecto is a] name a man might choose if he was hoping to be seen as sophisticated and worldly, a man worth listening to. [But] Mitt Romney was already a man worth listening to. His weird fake Twitter account didn’t say what he couldn’t. It said what he should have been saying all along” (Monica Hesse, October 22, 2019).  The truth is probably less about what Pierre Delecto could say as it does about what he could hear, without letting on the that meant that Mitt Romney had heard as well.

I understand Pierre Delecto. I think we all wish that we had an altar ego at certain times in our lives. Mine is “David Criss,” but I haven’t opened up his Twitter account; yet. In theory, David could say all of the things that I wish I could say. (And, yes, believe it or not there are times when I do hold back what I really feel.) David has walked with me for over forty years. He is a poet and a philosopher. But it is me who writes his words. (If you’re wondering where the name came from, David is my middle name, and Criss is inspired by the original drummer for the rock band “KISS,” Peter Criss.) Sometimes, especially when I am frustrated, I give David license to speak for me, often in the form of poetry or philosophical musings.

Ecclesiastes is the words of the teacher, the son of David, the king in Jerusalem. Does that mean that Solomon wrote it? Probably, although he never seems to admit it. Ecclesiastes is filled with the philosophical musing that maybe Solomon if he wrote it, wished that he could say, but felt that he couldn’t. David Guzik sums up the book this way: “The Book of Ecclesiastes is one of the most unusual and perhaps most difficult to understand books of the Bible. It has a spirit of hopeless despair; it has no praise or peace; it seems to promote questionable conduct. Yet these words of the Preacher show us the futility and foolishness of a life lived without an eternal perspective.”

These are the words of the preacher. Maybe the frustrated words of a king, written in a moment of personal honesty, revealing his own failings and frustrations. The preacher gives expression to some of Solomon’s most private concerns. And because this book has been passed down through the generations, we get to hear these fears and worries of a mighty man.

Tomorrow’s Scripture Reading: Ecclesiastes 2