09-01-23

ECCLESIOLOGICAL ETCHINGS
September 1, 2023
Can you believe it is May 1? Oh wait, it’s September 1? Where did the summer go? Anyone else feeling that way? It’s interesting how we have periods of life that seem to fly by and other times when it feels as if we are wading through waste-deep oatmeal (that’s slow). Scientists have theories around these experiences of time, but in the end, I think we all speak from experience and sort of know that time can "feel" different depending on what is happening around us. Of course, Einstein was the first to suggest that time is relative, and others say that what we as humans describe as time is in fact an illusion. Personally, I am fascinated by this stuff and have read lots of articles and watched lots of videos, but I probably only understand about 20% of it. With that said, I am fascinated that scripture has two different ways of describing time. The first is the Greek word Chronos, from which we get our word chronological. This time is measured by the clock, which is how most of us in western culture would describe time. The second is Kairos, an understanding of time that is not quantitative but qualitative. Sometimes it is described as the fulness of time, or some will talk about that first magical date with someone special, saying, "It was as if time stood still." I have also heard people call it God time or Kin(g)dom time. How do we measure something like time when we step into the presence of the One who is eternal? And since scripture claims that God is love (1 John 4:16), whenever the unconditional and unrelenting love of God is present, we are dancing with what is eternal.

I give you thanks, O Eternal and Grace-filled God, for the way you show up and make space in my very time-structured life, pushing back everything that attempts to squeeze the meaning and joy from life. Amen.