1434AFC082214 – AGE QUOD AGIS
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Ecclesiastes 9:10a – Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with your might;
Revised Standard Version Catholic Edition (RSVCE) The Revised Standard Version of the Bible: Catholic Edition, copyright © 1965, 1966 the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved
AGE QUOD AGIS
What does that mean? You see it in almost every email I send to you. Have you ever wondered why I put it there? Have you ever wondered what it means?
Many years ago I adopted this as my personal motto. It became part of my Personal Mission Statement. I’m not 100% positive where I first heard it, but I think it was a motivational speaker at a meeting of Clinical Laboratory professionals associated with the American Society for Medical Technology, so it was probably in the late 70’s or early 80’s. It’s been part of me for quite a while – more than half my life, I think. So what is it anyway, and how do you say that?
Say what? AGE QUOD AGIS. If you were reading this in a high school or college Latin class you would pronounce it AH-gay kwod AH-giss (both hard g’s like giggle). If you were using “liturgical Latin,” you would pronounce it AH-jay kwod AH-jiss (both soft g’s like Georgia). When I read it in my emails or in My Personal Mission Statement, I usually follow the Liturgical pattern of sounds. I guess it seems closer to French for me. (I studied French 4th through 12th grades, although I have lost most of my facility in that language from disuse.)
Why did I choose that old Latin phrase for a motto? Well, mainly for its meaning. It means, DO WHAT YOU ARE DOING. Big deal, right? But it kind of is a big deal – especially if you’re one of those persons who is easily distracted by just about anything (Were you just thinking about a squirrel? I was!) When I picked that phrase to be my personal motto, my thought was that it fit in with the way I like to work: Make it happen, whatever the obstacles or push-backs. One of the memory verses I learned in grade school was Philippians 4:13 – I have the strength for everything through him who empowers me.
New American Bible (Revised Edition) (NABRE) Knowing that, I know that whatever I do, if I do it with, in, for, and through Christ, it’s worthwhile and doable. That fits me to a T (for Todd). It also matches up with our text for today from Ecclesiastes.
Ecclesiastes is a wonderful book to read, and even more wonderful to study. It is one of the “Wisdom Books.” There are all kinds of good, practical advice there. You’ll probably recall the 1965 song by The Byrds called Turn! Turn! Turn! It was actually written by Pete Seeger in the 1950’s. It comes directly from Ecclesiastes 3:1-8. In today’s text, the writer of Ecclesiastes, Koholeth (The Teacher), goes on to say (Ecc. 9:10b), “… for in the realm of the dead, where you are going, there is neither working nor planning nor knowledge nor wisdom.” It’s kind of like the old adage, “Eat, drink and be merry, for tomorrow we die,” which is similar to Ecclesiastes 2:24 A person can do nothing better than to eat and drink and find satisfaction in their own toil. This too, I see, is from the hand of God, {25} for without him, who can eat or find enjoyment? Everything – every thing – is a Gift from God. Therefore everything that is worth doing is worth doing well, because it all comes from God and it all goes to God. Even if we can’t admit that in our own lives, we see it so often we can be sure that it is true!
Here are some other scripture passages that make that point:
Romans 12:11 – Never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervor, serving the Lord.
Colossians 3:23 – Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters, …
John 9:4 “I must work the works of him that sent me, while it is day: the night cometh, when no man can work;”
Galatians 6:10 “As we have opportunity, let us do good unto all men.”
We have only this life to live. We have only this life to give. You and I choose to give this life over to Good or to Evil. We have the amazing Gift from God called Free Will, and in that Gift we have the opportunity to do what we’re doing and do it with, in, for, and through Christ. Stick to the task at hand in the company of the Lord and things will always turn out well. Now, of course we also know that not everything goes smooth as silk even if we are doing what we’re doing. Sometimes there are adversities that come up. That brings up another Latin phrase – perhaps learned at that same meeting all those years ago:
Per aspera ad astra – Through adversity to the stars. Doing what you’re doing isn’t always easy. If you’re doing what you’re doing for the wrong reason, it never really turns out well either. Strangely, doing what you’re doing for the wrong reason is sometimes easier than doing what you’re doing for the right reason because you have the false sense of security that if things are going well, you must be Doing The Right Thing. You have to persevere, and always make sure you’re on course. That is hard in a world that values wrong things more than right things. Here are some thoughts about perseverance:
Romans 12:12 – Be full of joyful hope, patient under persecution, earnest and persistent in prayer.
Galatians 6:9 – Let us not grow tired of doing good, for in due time we shall reap our harvest, if we do not give up.
James 1:12 – Happy is the one who endures testing, because when he has proven to be genuine, he will receive the crown of life that God promised to those who love him.
2 Thessalonians 3:13 – But ye, brethren, be not weary in well doing.
John 15:7 – If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask for whatever you want and it will be done for you.
And finally …
John 6:40 – And this is the will of him that sent me, that every one which seeth the Son, and believeth on him, may have everlasting life: and I will raise him up at the last day.
Here’s another gem we often slide right past. It’s from the Letter of James. When we have in mind the performance of a charitable act, what use is it if it is thought up but not completed. Please turn to James 2:14-26. I’m going to show you just verses 18 and 26, but please read the whole passage – James 2:18 18 But someone will say, “You have faith and I have works.” Show me your faith apart from your works, and I by my works will show you my faith. James 2:26 26 For just as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is also dead. If you’re going to be kind, be kind.
And so, Beloved, I invite you to AGE QUOD AGIS “through every day, o’er all the way, God will take Care of You.” You will go through adversity to the stars, to “infinity and beyond!” Do what you’re doing, Beloved. That is why I write these to you. I want you to do everything you can, which is often more than you think you can, by just doing what you’re doing and doing it with, in, for, and through Christ. I send you these studies because I want you to get into the Word, to let it feed you and give you strength to do whatever you have been given to do with all the Gifts that you have been given. Feed on the Word. You can do it if you just do it.
Whatever, whenever, wherever, whoever, however, if ever, forever —
at your service, Beloved
Share-a-Prayer
Please pray FOR the people in Iraq and for the terrorists ISIL and ISIS in the hope that the brutality of these groups will end quickly.
Also remember to pray against the so-called satanic mass scheduled in Oklahoma City. Stop the Devil in his tracks!
Pray for the folks caught up the natural disasters – fire, floods, and other damage – across the country and around the world.
And don’t forget our brothers and sisters in Ferguson, Missouri. Pray that Peace will prevail and that the outsiders coming in to cause disruptions will be defeated.
chick
Aloha Friday Messages by Charles O. Todd, III is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License
