CELC Column Time

"What's Pastor Holley Thinking?"

November 22, 2004

Today I am thinking about time. As we observed again yesterday at worship, this is the end of the church year and “end time” lessons are read.

The scriptures use “time” in two different ways. First, there is time as in “chronology.” I remember a few years ago that a watch maker did not refer to their new time piece as a “watch,” but called it a “chronometer;” that is, something that notes the passage of time. A “chronometer” reveals to you that noon was an hour ago and 2:00 p.m. will be in an hour. It keeps “time” for you.

The second way scripture uses time is to talk about the “right moment.” You might over hear someone say, “Jane told me it was time for the baby to be born and that she was in labor.” Babies rarely follow a “chronological” time and arrive during the morning when it is easy for mother, father, the doctor, nurse, or whomever to be there for the birth. Babies are born at the time when it is the “right time.”

Folks often mix up these uses of “time” in the scriptures. Some think that when Jesus is talking about the “right time” for the end of the world he implies some kind of chronological moment. These false prophets often say something like, “The end will come on March 16, 2005.” Jesus warns us not to believe them.

Rather, Jesus tells us that when the time is “right” as in the birth of a baby, the end will come and we will at sit at the great banquet table he prepares for us.

So, don’t be deceived by the false prophets. God will, in God’s good time, see that the new Jerusalem is a gift to us.

One more word about “time:” Advent is the next season of the church. “Advent” means coming and it is the season we celebrate to prepare ourselves for the coming of Jesus. We often think of his coming as the Christ Child at Christmas. That is very correct. Yet, there is a second dimension to the coming of Jesus, and that is at the end of the world as well. So, as we begin another new year as the church on November 28^th you will begin to hear about the coming Jesus, both as child and risen Lord.

Advent will be grand time for us to wait for Jesus.

- Pastor Holley