RBWords - Volume 34 - Number 11: November 2021
Something to Think About
Perhaps it is my increasing age but the arrival of Advent has made me very conscious of the passage of time and how “time” has become different to me at this stage of my journey. Yes, a new liturgical year has begun, but also a Fall semester is coming to an end. Where did it go? I have two pill boxes which each hold a week’s worth of medications - AM & PM. It seems like two weeks is going by way too fast! Some students I have known here at Texas Tech since they first arrived as new freshmen are actually graduating this December. I already feel the loss of their presence! More of them will graduate next May and move on to the next stage in their lives.
In his letter to the Galatians, St. Paul says, “In the fullness of time, God sent his son…” [Gal. 4:4]. Which “time” is he speaking of? The ancient Greeks had two words for time - chronos and kairos. Chronos is what we measure on clocks. Kairos speaks to our meaning and situations. We can measure the “passage of time” but how do we measure “the time of our life?” I think Advent challenges us to find out where we are in relation to the event that Advent aims to prepare us for. The Advent/Christmas season comes each calendar and liturgical year, but its meaning - its impact on our kairos - is different. Ask anyone about their memories of Christmas celebrations and “what we used to do.”
More than anything else, perhaps the meaning of this season and Christmas is about love and presence - the presence of God’s love in our midst and the presence of our love for each other. The nativity scene is a better reminder than the tree. We can look at that scene and ask ourselves, “What time is it?” without looking at a clock! IT’S SOMETHING TO THINK ABOUT
It Has Been Said
Time, like an ever-rolling stream,
Bears all life’s cares away;
They fly forgotten, as the night
Dies at the opening day.
From the old hymn, “O God, our help in ages past.” by Isaac Watts