For Some Cubans, Fidel Castro's Death Doesn't Signal Change

The Wired Word for the Week of December 4, 2016

In the News

Fidel Castro, son of a wealthy plantation owner, leader of the Cuban revolution and ruler of that island nation for 49 years before handing off the reins to his younger brother Raul Castro in 2008, died last week, at age 90.

Even after stepping down, however, the elder Castro's mere presence in the background seemed to assure that much in Cuba, including the lack of many freedoms Americans take for granted, would stay the same.

Politically, Castro was a Marxist–Leninist and Cuban nationalist. Under his rule, Cuba became a one-party socialist state; industry and business were nationalized, and state socialist reforms were implemented throughout society.

Many observers say that the revolution Fidel Castro led and the government over which he then presided has a mixed record, accepting the Cuban government claims that during his rule, living standards were raised, infant mortality was reduced, and both education and healthcare were majorly improved. Other observers argue that the living standard in Cuba went from being similar to Europe's when Castro took charge to being one of the poorest in Latin America and that his claims on healthcare and education are suspect.

Most agree, however, that Castro was intolerant of dissent and that the country's human rights record was dismal. While exact numbers of people slain by Castro's regime are not available, the late political scientist R.J. Rummel estimated that between 35,000 and 141,000 people were killed in its first three decades (mid-estimate is 73,000); over 3,600 of those are documented executions by firing squad. (On a per-capita basis, the low estimate is equivalent to killing more than twice the population of Detroit.) A Wall Street Journal count puts the number of Castro's victims as at least 10,000 and possibly as many as 100,000.

Under Castro's rule, Cuba's economy failed repeatedly. And because of the isolation his policies forced on the nation, his people had to live with a shortage of material goods, a lack of opportunity and no political freedom. During his years, thousands of Cubans fled the island, sometimes by way of a perilous sea crossing to Florida.  

It is not surprising that Cubans, whose average monthly income is very low -- some earn as little as $20 -- would seek greener pastures, especially when Castro, like almost all long-term dictators, was extremely wealthy, with a net worth (as estimated a decade ago by Forbes magazine) at $900 million.

Thus, when Castro's death came this week, while some mourned, many people celebrated -- some openly in the Cuban exile community in Miami, and others more quietly in Cuba itself where there is fear of reprisals for speaking ill of the long-time leader.

While it's not accurate to say that everyone in Cuba feels the same about Castro's death, there is reportedly a widespread doubt on the island nation that much will change, at least not in any near term. And that low expectation is reportedly widespread enough that it qualifies as one noticeable mood in Cuba.

The New York Times, reporting on the reactions to Castro's passing, noted the celebratory mood in the Little Havana neighborhood of Miami, but then commented, "Still, in Havana, expectations were limited and often more narrowly focused, on economic survival, and on how little would really change when the mourning was done."

The Times article then quoted Miguel Fernandez, 56, a current resident of Cuba. "It closes one chapter and starts another," Fernandez acknowledged. But then, referring to how little had changed since Raul Castro took over leadership in 2008, Fernandez added that Fidel Castro's death "won't bring about anything substantial. He's been out of the picture for a while."

Some observers say little will change as long as the younger Castro remains in charge.

The Los Angeles Times explained the low expectation of change in more detail:

With the passing of Fidel Castro, it also seems possible that the island leadership will want to reaffirm its commitment to the core principles of the man who personified the revolution. The nine-day mourning period declared in Cuba appears, at least publicly, as a means of cementing Fidel's legacy, not rejecting it.
Havana "will retrench to demonstrate that the 'Revolution' survives its founder -- and continues to defy the grasp of the United States," John Kavulich, president of the New York-based U.S.-Cuba Trade and Economic Council, predicted.
There is "nothing expected to alter the commercial, economic and political timetable," Kavulich said, "meaning, retrenching for a bit to demonstrate" a post-Fidel Castro revolutionary "stability."

More on this story can be found at these links:

In Havana, Castro's Death Lays Bare a Generation Gap. The New York TimesDespite Fidel Castro's Death, Few Expect Rapid Political Changes in Cuba. Los Angeles Times

Applying the News Story

"Perfectly pointless," says the writer of Ecclesiastes. "Everything is pointless." (1:2, CEB)

He then goes on to bemoan, "What do people gain from all the hard work that they work so hard at under the sun? A generation goes, and a generation comes, but the earth remains as it always has. … There's nothing new under the sun" (1:3-4, 9. CEB).

That sounds like some of what we're hearing as Cubans respond to the death of their long-time leader, Fidel Castro. "Castro's dead, but what's new?"

Some people have wondered why a book as pessimistic as Ecclesiastes seems to be was included in holy scripture, but perhaps it's because the book's mood reflects a true part of what it means to be human.

And that, along with the low expectation of change following Castro's death, gives us reason to consider Ecclesiastes afresh.

By the way, the author of Ecclesiastes is called "the Teacher" in the book's opening sentence in English translations. Bible scholars sometimes refer to him as Qoheleth (ko-HEHL-ehth), which is the Hebrew word translated as "teacher" in 1:1. We will use both terms in our  commentary in this lesson.

The Big Questions

1. In what ways do you identify with the phrase, "the joy of being human"? In what ways do you identify with the phrase, "the pain of being human"? Is it possible to go through life without experiencing both? Explain your answer.

2. If you have ever been in an unsatisfactory situation where you had little or no expectation of any positive change occurring, what effect did that low expectation have upon you? If, to your surprise, some positive change did eventually occur, how did that affect you? If change occurred, but was for the worse, how did that affect you? In each case, relate how God used that instance in his relationship with you.

3. Do you find boredom, sameness, routine, humdrum, monotony and low expectations troubling or reassuring? If troubling, how do you deal with that? How does the desirability or pleasance of the status quo affect your answer?

4. Where do you find God when you are immersed in boredom, sameness, routine, humdrum, monotony or low expectations?

5. How is expectation related to the meaning of life? What do you think is the meaning  of life? What does the Bible overall say is the meaning of life?

Confronting the News With Scripture and HopeHere are some Bible verses to guide your discussion:

Ecclesiastes 1:8-9
All things are wearisome; more than one can express; the eye is not satisfied with seeing, or the ear filled with hearing. What has been is what will be, and what has been done is what will be done; there is nothing new under the sun. (For context read 1:1-11.)

The first 11 verses of Ecclesiastes can be considered to be a summary statement of the Teacher's observations of life, and the two verses above are a faithful sample of that summary. Life, as Qoheleth found it, was "wearisome" and same-old, same-old.

If you read Ecclesiastes all the way through, you end with the feeling that Qoheleth doesn't "conquer" his sense of weariness of life. Rather, he accommodates it as a part of his existence. But he tells us some of the things he tried as a remedy.

First, he says, he tried learning. He made a great study of things and sought full knowledge of what could be known. But he concludes, "For in much wisdom is much vexation, and those who increase knowledge increase sorrow" (1:18).

Next, he turned to self-indulgence. "Come now," he says to himself in chapter 2, "I will make a test of pleasure; enjoy yourself" (2:1) But though he has the means and opportunity to indulge his every whim, he ends up concluding, "[T]his also was vanity." He says of laughter, "It is mad," and of pleasure, "What use is it?" (2:2)

He apparently has great wealth, and he spends it lavishly. "I built houses and planted vineyards for myself," he says. "I made myself gardens and parks, and planted in them all kinds of fruit trees. I made myself pools from which to water the forest of growing trees" (2:4-6).

He let himself go with sensual pleasures too. He mentions "delights of the flesh" (2:8) and cheering his "body with wine" (2:3)

He admits that he did find some pleasure in what he'd done, but that the immediate pleasure was all the reward there was. It did not solve his underlying feeling of boredom. He says, "Then I considered all that my hands had done and the toil I had spent in doing it, and again, all was vanity and a chasing after wind, and there was nothing to be gained under the sun" (2:11).

He goes on to try other things, including fame, knowledge and other pursuits. And while he finds certain pleasures in some of those things, none prove the antidote for his underlying doldrums.

Still, in the end, while he never fully overcomes his periodic bouts of boredom, he does make peace with them. And he comes to these conclusions: Go your way, appreciate your family and passing pleasures (9:7,9), value wisdom and learning, and then this: "Remember your creator in the days of your youth, before the days of trouble come, and the years draw near when you will say, 'I have no pleasure in them'" (12:1). In other words, start with God, who provides a baseline of meaning.

Questions: In what ways, if any, do you identify with Qoheleth? In what ways do you not identify with him? Why?

Ecclesiastes 2:24-25There is nothing better for mortals than to eat and drink, and find enjoyment in their toil. This also, I saw, is from the hand of God; for apart from him who can eat or who can have enjoyment? (For context, read 2:18-26.)

The author of Ecclesiastes arrived at the "find enjoyment" conclusion after noting the repetitious cycles of life, the coming and going of one generation after another, the fact that no matter how hard you work, sooner or later whatever you've gained gets passed on to someone else. He had asked rhetorically, "What do mortals get from all the toil and strain with which they toil under the sun? For all their days are full of pain, and their work is a vexation …" (vv. 22-23). Thus he arrived at the "enjoy life as long as you have it" conclusion.

While that does not sound like advice that should be taken without qualifying it by the responsibilities of one's life and the opportunities to do good that one has, it is important to note that the writer identified the ability to have enjoyment as a gift from God.

Questions: How do you balance duty and enjoyment? Can they ever be one and the same?

Ecclesiastes 3:1-2For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven:
a time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to pluck up what is planted  ... (For context, read 3:1-15.)

These are the opening lines of the most well-known portion of Ecclesiastes. Even if you've never read the book, you've probably heard this sing-songy chant about a time for this and a time for that. In fact, the lines from 3:1-8 have even been made it into a popular song, composed by Pete Seeger, "Turn, Turn, Turn."

In the passage, the Teacher first lists poetically his observations about the contrasts of life, that everything from birthing to dying, from planting to uprooting, from weeping to laughing, and so forth has an appropriate time in life. Then, in his commentary that follows, the Teacher says, "[God] has made everything suitable for its time" (v. 11a), but adds, in effect, that no one of them is sufficient for all time.

Qoheleth goes on to say that God has put "a sense of past and future" in our minds (v. 11b) -- some inner sense that there is more to this life than what our five senses can perceive, a sense we might call "spirituality." But then he says that this sense is not strong enough to really let us connect with God with any clarity. The way he puts it is that we "cannot find out what God has done from the beginning to the end" (v. 11c).

Still, in the face of this unsatisfiable spiritual yearning, the Teacher comes to two conclusions:

First, life itself is a good thing. He has no sense that there was any kind of afterlife; as far as he is concerned, once you die, it is all over. Still, the life we have here is a good thing, he says, and we should be appreciative of it, enjoying our times to eat together and taking pleasure from our daily work and accomplishments, even though none of them will last forever.

Second, whatever we can or can't know about God, God has given us our lives and so we "should stand in awe before him" (v. 14). He doesn't spell out how we should do that -- whether he is talking about attending worship services or daily prayer, or simply acknowledging that God has the last word and that we are all subject to whatever God decides for us. But he does at least acknowledge God, even if he can't figure out what God is up to.

Question: What has your spiritual sense led you to conclude about life?

Ecclesiastes 12:13 (The Message)The last and final word is this: Fear God. Do what he tells you. (For context, read 12:13-14.)

Unlike many inspirational religious books, Ecclesiastes does not present its pessimistic view of life only to show how God helped the author recover from it. Rather, this "what the heck, enjoy the moment" outlook is consistently present throughout the book, right up to its conclusion. And yet, it remains a book of faith, a skeptical faith at times to be sure, but a faith that concludes in the final verses of the book, "Fear God, and keep his commandments; for that is the whole duty of everyone" (same verse as above, NRSV).

Christianity says that there is a deep meaning to life -- to give glory to God -- and that by doing that, daily meaning comes to our life as well. But in truth, even some Christians have found that they too have days when things go flat and they wonder if they shouldn't just live for the moment, as the writer of Ecclesiastes seems to conclude. Yet the words above give his final conclusion:Fear God. Do what he tells you.

Question: The Teacher's conclusion could be worded as "trust and obey" God, as one old hymn urges. In what ways, if any, have you found that to be a default position when you were unsure how to proceed?

1 Timothy 6:6-8Of course, there is great gain in godliness combined with contentment; for we brought nothing into the world, so that we can take nothing out of it; but if we have food and clothing, we will be content with these. (For context, read 6:3-10.)

Bible students have correctly noted that unlike most Old Testament books, Ecclesiastes is nowhere quoted in the New Testament. That is not to say, however, that the New Testament writers were unfamiliar with Ecclesiastes. The thought in the verses above, from the apostle Paul, does at least seem to echo one of the Teacher's conclusions. We can't say that Paul had Ecclesiastes in mind when he wrote the words above, but they do remind us that Qoheleth was not alone in the way he experienced and thought about life.

Questions: With what Bible persons or passages do you most identify? Why? How have they influenced how you approach life?  

For Further Discussion

1. If you can locate anyone with family or history in Cuba, ask them to come to your class to give their own perspective on Fidel Castro's death.

2. Discuss this from TWW team member Stan Purdum's sermon "The Kin of Qoheleth": "From the standpoint of both the Old Testament's Judaism or the New Testament's Christianity, Qoheleth's conclusions are a pretty thin theology -- thin but not bad theology. Those for whom faith comes more easily might wish that he were more positive in his testimony and more confident of God's intentions for the world. But given that Qoheleth's intellectual honesty, experience and observations would not let him embrace the more hope-filled and more theologically developed faith of mainstream religion, he is still considered worth listening to by those ancient rabbis who decided which books were included in the Old Testament canon.
            "We can take a lot of comfort in that. What it means is that those of us who have quiet doubts or whose intellectual integrity will not let us submit to all the claims of organized religion are not cast away from God's presence -- that like Qoheleth, we too are children of God, even if what we can truthfully affirm about God is less than a full statement of faith or a doctrinal creed."

3. Respond to this, also from Stan Purdum: "I saw a saying on a sign in front of a church that made me look at it twice, for I realized it had three meanings, one of which I doubt the people who put the words there intended -- at least I hope they didn't. It said, 'When you come to your wits' end, there you will find Christ.' Unfortunately, that could be taken to mean, 'You have to stop thinking to find Christ.'
            "Rather, what I suspect they meant was either 1) that when you reach the end of your own resources, Christ's resources have just begun, or 2) that clear thought and the simple affirmations we can honestly make can take us toward Christ. Faith in Christ is a step beyond where thought can go, but it is not a step in the wrong direction. (They need to find a way to say that unambiguously on their sign, however.)
            "So if you are kin to Qoheleth, or have friends or loved ones who are wrestling with honest objections to the faith, take heart that even people like him are allowed to speak as part of the inspiration of the Bible."

4. For more on how the Ecclesiastes mood may be reflected in the New Testament, summarize this blog post for your class and discuss its implications: "Ecclesiastes and the New Testament."

5. Respond to this, from TWW consultant James Gruetzner: "There are rulers who manifest evil in the world. Mao, Hitler, Stalin, Pol Pot, Kim Jong-un -- and, yes, Fidel Castro -- come immediately to mind. Yet it is also true that each of these can be presented as having a mixed record, with some good and some bad in their rule.  I personally believe that neglecting to clearly criticize the manifest denial of human rights -- and instead putting forth an anodyne 'mixed bag' commentary -- is itself supportive of evil. A soft support, but still a support."

Responding to the News

Pray for the people of Cuba, that current events and the course of history will lead soon to better life for its people. For your prayers, consider using the suggestions found at "5 Ways to Pray for Cuba," by the American Bible Society. You might wish to add other petitions that you believe important, such as increased liberty and prosperity for the Cuban people.

Prayer

We pray, O Lord, for the people, the government, the churches and the institutions of Cuba that current happenings will lead soon to a better life for all.

Thank you, Lord, for the many ways the Bible gives us for connecting with you. In Jesus' name. Amen.