Bulletin 251 –Time

It was a strange feeling as I walked into the hall where I was about to lead my last service in a church which is about to close. Having spent much time in its early days getting the new venture off the ground, my emotions were mixed. However, the scripture which seemed right for the occasion was from the book of Ecclesiastes – that well-known set of verses from chapter 3 which begin “There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under the heavens”.

When it came for the time for the sermon, which was an interactive occasion where we reflected together on the words of scripture, we considered the meaning of the word ‘time’. Time is a strange thing – you can’t see it, you can’t smell it, you can’t touch it and yet there are so many things you can do with it.

• You can spend time
• You can call time (if you’re a publican)
• You can bide your time
• You can make time
• You can kill time
• You can waste time
• You can idle away time

As someone who has two part-time jobs, I know how important it is to manage time well. I admire those who engage in a portfolio life-style – where they hold down 3 or more jobs at any one time, using their skills in different companies and perhaps in different ways. Time is a precious gift and has to be used wisely and efficiently. Management consultants will tell us not to do more in the time we have available but to be smarter with the way we use our time.

We know from the New Testament that two Greek works are used to represent the word ‘time’. One is ‘chronos’ which refers to the time you see on your watch or wall clock. The other is ‘kairos’ which refers to something more in line with the verses in Ecclesiastes. The word ‘kairos’ carries with it the notion that time is in God’s hands and that seasons of opportunity come and go and we need the wisdom and discernment to accept those opportunities while they last.

It is important to note in Ecclesiastes that the words ‘time’ and ‘season’ are interchangeable. We reflected in my service about the way our lives go through seasons. We may have a season of ill-health followed by a season of good health. We may have a season of relative poverty followed by a season of prosperity. We may go through a season of depression followed by a season of vitality. Empires have gone through seasons of power followed by seasons of decline or even death.

We are reminded by St. Paul that the things of this world have their time or season but will not last forever. “So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal” (2 Corinthians 4v18).

Like many, I was gripped by the men’s 100 metres Olympics Final. Usain Bolt won a gold medal in less than 10 seconds – or did he? We would be quite wrong to think that it only took 10 seconds to win a medal- it took a lifetime of dedication and hard work to prepare himself for that epic final. The late Dr. Sangster, a famous Methodist preacher, was once asked ‘how long does it take to prepare a sermon?’ His reply was ’20 years’. Seeing the puzzled expression on the questioner’s face he went on to say, ‘… because it takes 20 years to prepare a preacher.’ Do we recognise that every moment of time is precious because it is preparing us for something in the future?

So what do you make of time? Do you value it as a precious gift and make the most of every moment? Some people are activists and must fill every moment with something to do. Others are far more reflective and see the value of spending time quietly and meditatively. I think we need a balance of both and would add to the list in Ecclesiastes the verse – ‘A time to work and a time to refrain from working’. After all, the book Genesis in the creation account of chapters 1 and 2 makes it clear that God rested on the seventh day - and we are urged to do likewise.

But the service I conducted had a sad and serious side to it. How do you cope with the situation where a church has come to the end of its life? Ecclesiastes 3v2 says “a time to be born and a time to die”. We find it so hard to let go of things which are precious to us and have been part of our life for so many years. Putting something to rest is always difficult but sometimes we need to do that in order that something new is brought to life. A leaf falls to the ground in the autumn and that spells the end of its useful life – or does it? In reality as it gets absorbed by the soil into which it falls, it adds richness as compost so that the next generation of leaves will be that much healthier. For us, it is important that the lives we live add richness to the world around us so that the next generation will profit from what we have contributed.