Please read the Scripture passage before the homily.
This is a mysterious and strange passage. It is wisdom from the Hebrews and, therefore, it has much parallelism and contrasts. The passage consists of seven doublets or pairs. The numeral seven denotes completeness and, therefore, covers the whole of human experience and activity.
Each half of a doublet generally helps us interpret the other half. For instance, the born/die of the first doublet is matched by the planting/uprooting of the second half. Kill and heal are balanced by tear down and build.
In ancient times victorious armies would often throw stones into the fields of conquered peoples to make their planting and harvesting more difficult. The armies would scatter rocks and the farmers would have to gather and clear the fields. Nowadays we have the same effect by bombings and mine fields.
At one time, people used to tear their garments as a sign of mourning. A time to rend and a time to undo the mourning is balanced by the silence of grief and the talkativeness of happier times.
In all we have seven doublets that touch seven aspects of human life. We, like the wise author of the book, ponder the ins and out of our existence, not to find emptiness, but to find the somewhat mysteriousness of the interplay between contrasting elements and tensions of human life. Somehow, in all this, we can possibly see the hand of God interacting with us.