Time, time, time.
There are all kinds of time.
There is a time to get up in the morning.
There is a time to go to bed.
There’s a time to go to school and a time to come home.
There is a time to work, and a time to have fun.
There's a time to come to church. And look! Here you are.
A long time ago the writer of Ecclesiastes noticed the same thing.
And then in 1965, 15 years before I was born
the Byrds put these thoughts to music
To everything turn, turn, turn
There is a season turn, turn, turn
And a time to every purpose under Heaven
But what is time?
Some people say that time is a line, but I wonder what that would look like.
Oh. Oh. Wait a minute. What’s this?
Time. Time in a line. This is time in a line. Look at this.
Here is the beginning. It is the newest part. It is just being born. It is brand new.
Look.
[Pull a piece of yarn slowly out of your hand as you speak]
Look. It is getting older. The part that was new is now getting old.
I wonder how long time goes? Does it go forever?
Could there ever be an ending?
[the yarn drops]
It ended. Look at the ending.
The beginning that was so new at the beginning now is old.
The ending is the new part now.
We have a beginning that is like an ending and an ending that is like a beginning.
Do you know what the Church did? They tied the ending that was like a beginning and the beginning that was like an ending together. The church did this so we would always remember that for every ending there is a beginning and for every beginning there is an ending.
And here we find ourselves today.
At an ending.
Or perhaps a new beginning.
It all depends on how you look at it.
Today we mark the Reign of Christ, or Christ the King Sunday, a day when we are reminded that Jesus is at the centre of all things. That it is in Jesus that all things were created. A day when we remind ourselves as a community that Jesus is the one in whom all things hold together. A day in which, as a church we remind ourselves that Jesus has rescued us from the power of darkness, making a way to join him in God’s dream of flourishing through him. Because in Jesus we meet the fullness of God. And so today we are reminded of God’s greatness and majesty, a power that we meet in the very person of Jesus.
But what happens next week?
What happens when we come to Advent?
That’s right. In Advent, we find ourselves waiting.
Watching and waiting and endlessly praying for one to come and set us free.
The Calendar turns over. The new year is declared.
We enter into the mystery of advent—and then what?
Do we suddenly forget?
Do we suddenly forget that Christ is King?
Perhaps. I know that I can forget.
I know that I can forget in my life that Christ is King.
I know that I can forget that all that is, all that is seen and unseen is held together in God’s embrace.
I know that I can forget that God is present in times of trial and struggle.
And when things are going my way, I can forget too.
What about you? Do you ever forget?
We all do. Our memory goes in cycles.
And so the church tied these beginnings and endings together.
It helps us remember.
In the church year, there are three great times.
Christmas. Easter. And Pentecost.
People can walk right through these mysteries each year and not even know what’s there.
But in the days ahead, we will prepare ourselves
to come close to these mysteries.
In the weeks ahead, the four weeks leading up to Christmas,
we will enter a time of getting ready.
The time for getting ready to come close to the mystery of Christmas is called Advent.
And then later on, we will get ready for the mystery of Easter.
The time for getting ready to come close to the mystery of Easter is called “Lent.”
The time for getting closer to the mystery of Easter is longer
than the time for getting ready to come close to the mystery of Christmas.
This is because Easter is an even greater mystery than Christmas.
Easter is so great a mystery that it keeps on going.
You can’t keep it in one Sunday. It overflows and goes on for six more Sundays.
It makes a whole season.
The season of Easter is also a time for getting ready
to come close to the mystery of Pentecost.
And then all of the great green Sundays of the year.
The days start out long in these Sundays after Pentecost.
But then the days get much shorter.
And by now, the days are really short.
The shadows are falling. It’s dark early.
It looks as if the light is just about to go out.
Right about now,
when the light seems to be coming to an end,
we reach Adent.
The year ends,
and it begins again.
It is time to get ready
to enter the mystery of Christmas.
- I wonder if you have ever experienced an ending that is also a new beginning
- I wonder what are some practices you have that help you come close to the mystery of Christmas.
- I wonder how this mystery feels to you. Is it heavy, light? Does it change from year to year? How are you stepping into this mystery, this year?
- I wonder how we might tend to one another as we enter into this mystery, this year.
Note: The opening of this homily is adapted from Jerome W. Berryman, The Complete Guide to Godly Play Volume 2.
