The Ekklesia Postulate

I've been camping out in Ecclesiastes lately; what brought me there was the words of Jesus in Matthew 16:18 when He said, “I will build My Church”. The Greek word for Church is Ekklesia, which means assembly & in my spirit I connected it w/ the Book of Ecclesiastes, which the Preacher addresses to the assembly.

After making this connection, the words of Solomon really jumped out at me, especially the part about “eat, drink & be merry” in other words, there's no greater joy than just simply enjoying life (& of course the One who gives you life); which Solomon did to the hilt. I'm sure Jesus enjoyed life too, yes He was on a mission & focused on His life's purpose but that didn't stop Him from enjoying [virtually] every facet of the human experience.

Jesus was a happy person, aside from the momentary anger at the temple, weeping over Jerusalem & the occasional frustration w/ His beloved inner circle of knuckleheads, He went about life pretty happy & content. It's my personal opinion that sometimes at night, when He was thinking about the day's events & some things that His Disciples said, He probably busted out laughing & fell asleep w/ a smile on His face.

He slept well, got up early & communed w/ His Father, probably ate a good breakfast, sometimes went for a long walk & communed w/ nature, looking over His handiwork everywhere He went... He smelled some flowers, felt the air in His lungs, listened to the waves hit the shore & maybe even skipped some rocks on the water.

He enjoyed good food, good wine, good company, bad company, all kinds of people… He enjoyed good discussions, taking religious people down a notch, building everyone else up a notch… He enjoyed sunrises & sunsets, taking naps in all kinds of weather (this is where I imitate Jesus the most), the sound of children laughing, the sound of community, the sight & sounds of life…

He ate, drank & was merry. He, like Solomon before Him, enjoyed life because He too knew the 144^th Psalm that “man is like a breath, his days are like a passing shadow” so make the most of it.

As Solomon addressed the assembly in Ecclesiastes, so I think perhaps Jesus may be addressing the Ekklesia that He's building in this hour. Perhaps Jesus is reassuring us that He is indeed our rest, so relax & enjoy life! Let His peace permeate & surpass us, tomorrow will bring it's own set of joys & troubles, appointments & disappointments...

Trust your life to Him, trust your salvation & your growth to Him, don't sweat about the political landscape or even sweat the future at all; He's here now w/ us & as for tomorrow, He's already there & where He is, the storm is calm.

If life can be enjoyed under the sun, how much more can it be enjoyed with the Son?