A Choice of Two Houses

You might be reading this message shortly before my 52nd birthday (5th August). A scripture that has impacted me over the years is Ecclesiastes 7:2: “It is better to go to a house of mourning than to go to a house of feasting, for death is the destiny of everyone; the living should take this to heart.”
 
“What a cheerful soul you are, Michael!” you may be thinking. In a world which chases celebration and circumvents sorrow, this advice seems unsettling. Who chooses the house of mourning over the house of feasting?
 
What wisdom is being shared here? The Hebrew word for “better” is towb (pronounced tove). It can also mean: good, pleasant, beneficial, beautiful, best, cheerful, glad, joyful, merry, precious, sweet, well-favoured.
 
There is greater benefit in the house of ebel (meaning: mourning or lamentation), than in the house of mishteh (meaning: banqueting, drinking, feasting), for it is there, confronted with death, that we reflect on what truly matters.
 
Death is a certainty in life. We may delay it, but no one escapes it. Remembering this truth proves sobering and beneficial. God, in His mercy, uses the reality of death not to frighten but to awaken. Mourning strips away the trivial and forces focus on the eternal. It leads us to ask: “What am I living for? Where will I go when I die? Am I ready to meet my Maker?”
 
Such ponderings are not to burden us with fear or despair, but to point us to hope found in Jesus Christ. The house of communal sorrow becomes the doorway to wisdom and salvation. Here, people come to recognise their need for a Saviour.
We each encounter sorrows and grief we would rather avoid. But since we can’t, let’s not waste the opportunities that arise. As we grieve or walk with those who do, we feel the weight of life’s brevity. Let us draw near to the One who conquered death. Jesus didn’t remain in the tomb. He rose, triumphant, so that all who trust in Him may have eternal life.
 
This is the good news we hold and share. The world numbs itself with pleasure to avoid pain and distracts itself with entertainment to elude the inevitable. But the church must be a house of honesty, inviting people to consider eternity. We must be both tender and truthful: death is real, but so is resurrection. Sin is serious, but so is forgiveness. Life feels so short, but Jesus gives eternal life.
 
When we abide in the house of feasting, let us rejoice! But when we find ourselves in the house of mourning, let us be thankful. Here, our attention can turn from glitter to gold, and the gospel can do its deepest work. May we be bold in witness, compassionate in care, and wise with our few days.
Revd Michael Hogg