Reflection on Ecclesiastes 3:1-15
In Honor of Dr. Seth Fletcher (46 Years Old)
Memorial on April 25, 2026
The opening poem is beautifully crafted and memorable. It is probably the most well-known part of Ecclesiastes. It has a lyrical quality which The Byrds used in their 1965 hit, “Turn! Turn! Turn!”
The poem articulates the extremes of human existence from birth to death, from love to hate, from mourning to dancing, from peace to war. Life “under the sun” is filled with both, and there is no escape from its reality.
Many find comfort in the words of the poem. By its very nature, poetry may have many levels of meaning, and it may be appropriated in different ways. The situation of the reader will shape how it is heard, and this is part of the point as poetry draws out and speaks our emotions.
What I find striking is that the Teacher (or Qoheleth) is frustrated by the poem. The teacher’s response is basically, “What’s the use?” or “What’s the point?” Life goes round and round, cycling from one extreme to another. There does not seem to be any profit in how life plays out. Qoheleth’s response to the poem is the same as the opening question of the book, “What do people gain from all the toil at which they toil under the sun?” (1:3).
Life feels like a burden that makes no sense. It is frustrating.
Qoheleth expresses this frustration by recognizing that God has put “eternity” (הָעֹלָם֙) in our hearts. Whatever that may mean, God has given humanity a sense of time, “a sense of past and future” (NRSV), that in our present human experience is beyond our wisdom. We can’t figure it out. We “cannot find out what God has done from beginning to the end.”
Nevertheless, the Teacher believes God “has made everything suitable (or fitting) for its time.” I wish I knew exactly what that means. It does not seem to me that everything that happens is “suitable,” much less “beautiful” as some translations.
Today, as we remember Seth, we have many questions. We don’t understand how it is fitting for death to invade the life of the Fletchers when their son, husband, father, and brother passes suddenly and unexpectedly in his sleep at the age of forty-six.
With Qoheleth, the poem does not offer much comfort but raises many questions. It seems to me that the poem is more like a protest and a submissive acknowledgement. Even The Byrds used it to protest the Vietnam War as the last line in the lyric is “A time for peace, I swear it’s not too late.” It is not, in effect, a time for war.
Neither is 46 years a time for death. Seth’s death is a question mark. It does not make sense. Or, as Qoheleth would say, it is vanity (hebel, הֶ֖בֶל); it is an enigma, or perhaps even absurd. It is the brevity of life, and this it burden we must bear.
So, our lament, our pain and our hurt are shared by the Teacher, and it is shared by the Psalmists of Israel where almost half of the Psalms are lament. They are filled with questions like “How long?” (Psalm 13:1-2) or “Why?” (Psalm 88:14). The life of faith is filled with frustrations as life continuously cycles from birth to death, mourning to dancing, love to hate, and peace to war.
Nevertheless, the Teacher is resolute. His response to this frustration is determined and purposeful. The Teachers affirms some fundamental truths about life.
First, Qoheleth says, “I know there is nothing better for them than to be happy and enjoy themselves as long as they live; moreover, it is God’s gift that all should eat and drink and take pleasure in all their toil.”
Today we have been immersed in Seth’s “toil.” He was a musician, professor, and husband and father. We have listened to the music he loved and played. We have heard stories of his love for family, even to the point of letting go of his career to homeschool his son and empower his wife to pursue her musical career in a military band.
This was Seth’s joy, and it was God’s gift to him. Seth found pleasure in his toil, in his music. He created beauty, created joy in the hearts of his audiences, and encouraged others to pursue the creative art of music. Seth knew something of what our Teacher expresses here—to enjoy life with God’s gifts.
Second, Qoheleth says, “I know that whatever God does endures forever.”
Love lasts forever; it is God’s own identity. Joy also lasts forever; it is God’s intent for humanity.
God was at work in Seth’s life, and what Seth created and shared with the world will endure because his love and joy will overflow again and again in the hearts of those who knew him and through his mentorship, care, and love for others. The joy and beauty of his music as a gift of God will endure forever.
This is the root of hope. The cycles of life is often frustrating, but God is at work in those cycles. God is making, creating, and acting in ways that are beyond us, beyond our discovery.
Perhaps in faith we might confess, “Yes, it is ‘fitting’—perhaps even ‘beautiful’”—while, at the same time, we cry out, “I believe, Lord; help my unbelief.”
Today we embrace hope, as Seth himself did. As he wrote, hope last forever. It will work, if we give our hearts space for God’s own working of hope in our lives.
“May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that you may abound in hope by the power of the Spirit.” Romans 15:13