Good First Sunday Morning of 2021,
It is a new year and for many of us that means a time for new beginnings. So, I guess it is inevitable that I will be talking about time.
There are many sayings about time - how precious it is, how it flies when you are having fun, how it goes well with rosemary and chicken, how it waits for no one, and how “its money.” All those sayings are most certainly true.
What do you think of when the topic is time? Here are a few options to help you out: (1) we all have seen or heard of Father Time – the personification of time, usually depicted as an elderly bearded man, carrying an hourglass; (2) for those of you with considerably less time behind you then ahead of you (or for all of us this past year), apparently time is a mystery . . . “How did it get so late so soon? It’s night before it’s afternoon.
December is here before it’s June. My goodness how the time has flown. How did it get so late so soon?” - Dr. Seuss; or (3) for those of you that were hip in 1982, the reference of “time” probably prompts you to ask Morris, “What Time Is It?”
Personally, the thought of time reminds me of one of my earliest memories of learning a particular Bible verse. The verse is Ecclesiastes 3:1-8, generally known as 'A Time for Everything.' To this day, this is a Bible passage that I revere. You all know it – “There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under the heavens; a time to be born and a time to die, a time to plant and a time to uproot; a time to kill and a time to heal, a time to tear down and a time to build; a time to weep and a time to laugh, a time to mourn and a time to dance; a time to scatter stones and a time to gather them, a time to embrace and a time to refrain from embracing; a time to search and a time to give up, a time to keep and a time to throw away; a time to tear and a time to mend, a time to be silent and a time to speak, and a time to love and a time to hate, a time for war and a time for peace.”
In addition to its focus on life’s many dichotomies, this passage reminds us that our lives will be witnesses to good times and bad, harmony and strife, and, of course - life and death. We all know that life is constantly movin and groovin . . . it’s nothing if it is not changing, and we, as God’s children, must learn to accept and adjust accordingly, to the ups and downs of God’s plan for us. Some of life’s happenings will be difficult, and, as to most of those instances, we may not understand what God is doing, but relax (as soon thereafter as you can) and accept God’s plan, trust that he has it worked out for you . . . I mean, it’s not like you are relying on your cousin Vinnie.
Regardless of your thoughts as to time, most of us are blessed with a bunch of it; but most of us also have no idea when our allotment will be used up. We are reminded of that in the gospel according to Mark - “But about that day or hour no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father. Be on guard! Be alert! You do not know when that time will come.” Mark 13:32-33
Despite this, we have often been told to not be afraid . . . and that it because of the good news, and there is always good news, and that is . . . although “the world and its desires pass away, whoever does the will of God lives forever.” 1 John 2:17. So, you see, time (as we usually think of it) is probably not the end all, be all.
So, pour yourself a cup of coffee then sit back, relax . . . reset your watch so that it is two minutes early (so you won’t be late) . . . and then take solace in knowing that the Lord has made this day; may you rejoice and be glad in it.
Jeff Bergstrom
P.S. Don’t forget your support for CLC, the community and the world by clicking here – Give | Christ Lutheran Church (ccbchurch.com)
P.P.S. Like sands through the hourglass, so are the Days of Our Lives.
