Ecclesiastes: To Everything There is a Season

Jan 8, 2015 | 0 comments

AGG Funeral Radio logoWhile Ecclesiastes is not a psalm, it provides wise words that reflect on the meaning of our lives. Passages from this book, a part of the Hebrew Bible, make for appropriate funeral readings. The most famous passage is 3:1-8, which focuses on a time for every purpose under heaven:

To everything there is a season,
a time for every purpose under the sun.
A time to be born and a time to die;
a time to plant and a time to pluck up that which is planted;
a time to kill and a time to heal …
a time to weep and a time to laugh;
a time to mourn and a time to dance …
a time to embrace and a time to refrain from embracing;
a time to lose and a time to seek;
a time to rend and a time to sew;
a time to keep silent and a time to speak;
a time to love and a time to hate;
a time for war and a time for peace.

If your ceremony includes open comments, you might leave off the last two lines and invite those present to share stories about the departed. There are many different variations of this passage in English, so you can find a version that best resonates with your community.

A Good Goodbye