The Picnic
Ecclesiastes 3:1-11
There is an Eastern parable--
Once there was a monk and a student. Like everyone, they both enjoyed picnics. They enjoyed getting ready for a picnic--choosing where to go--maybe a glade by a stream, or in a clearing in the mountains, or in the yard of the temple. They enjoyed thinking about the menu for the picnic--what they would eat--maybe a few salads or a some bread with cheese or some fruit in season. They thought about the day for a picnic--a warm, sunny day that comes as a surprise in late winter--a harbinger of spring--or on a bright, summer day, hot, but not stifling, or a cool autumn day--crisp and colorful. They even thought about the walk to the picnic ground. Every piece of the picnic was cause for joyful thinking.
But they never took their picnic.
They were always too busy. They were always engaged in study, or they were planning worship, or they dealt with visitors who needed attention, or they were praying, or they were doing the household tasks of the temple. Too busy for a picnic.
Then one day, the monk and the student saw a funeral procession coming along the road by the temple. The monk looked up and asked the student, "Who is that?"
The student looked and said, "Someone who has time for a picnic."
There is a season for all things.
Even picnics.
There is an Eastern parable--
Once there was a monk and a student. Like everyone, they both enjoyed picnics. They enjoyed getting ready for a picnic--choosing where to go--maybe a glade by a stream, or in a clearing in the mountains, or in the yard of the temple. They enjoyed thinking about the menu for the picnic--what they would eat--maybe a few salads or a some bread with cheese or some fruit in season. They thought about the day for a picnic--a warm, sunny day that comes as a surprise in late winter--a harbinger of spring--or on a bright, summer day, hot, but not stifling, or a cool autumn day--crisp and colorful. They even thought about the walk to the picnic ground. Every piece of the picnic was cause for joyful thinking.
But they never took their picnic.
They were always too busy. They were always engaged in study, or they were planning worship, or they dealt with visitors who needed attention, or they were praying, or they were doing the household tasks of the temple. Too busy for a picnic.
Then one day, the monk and the student saw a funeral procession coming along the road by the temple. The monk looked up and asked the student, "Who is that?"
The student looked and said, "Someone who has time for a picnic."
There is a season for all things.
Even picnics.
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