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Up-to-the-minute jumping-off points for sermons, linking the reading to the latest news and global issues
Just in time
Time is not simply linear but is an invitation to engage constructively with the purposes of God and the well-being of our world (Mark 1:15).
Context
‘The Seekers’ were one of the most enduring pop/folk groups of the last 60 years. Having had a stellar rise in the early 60s (and written themselves onto my heart – and the hearts of many of my generation), they then split up for more than 20 years, but eventually got back together in the early 1990s and continued performing together until a few years ago. The ‘stand out’ figure in the group was the woman soloist, Judith Durham. The power and pureness of her voice unforgettable. Among the songs that The Seekers recorded in the 1960s, was ‘To everything, turn, turn, turn’, its words basically a paraphrase of Ecclesiastes 3, this week’s focus biblical reading. An original video from the 1960s of the group singing this while ‘helping’ with the grape harvest at a South Australian vineyard is available on YouTube at The Seekers - Turn, Turn, Turn and is well worth listening to (or even watching during a service). The Australian sun is a good counterfoil to our northern January! Sadly, Judy Durham died in August 2022 and, as we think of ‘time’ as one calendar year ends and another begins, it is inevitable (and appropriate) that we should remember how ‘Time like an ever rolling stream bears all its sons away’ and give thanks for her life and those of many others whose lives have influenced our own.
One of the standout happenings in world news just at the moment has been the really extreme weather hitting North America, especially in the eastern part of the continent. The ROOTS Bible notes for this week speak about apocalyptic literature, and indeed there seems to be an almost apocalyptic flavour to what is happening weather-wise at the moment. (I accept that the 2004 film The Day after Tomorrow is indeed fiction, but I found myself being reminded of it when I saw the pictures from Buffalo NY! Trailers for the film are widely available on YouTube). The Bible (and indeed Christian theology) often uses the idiom of ‘flood’ to speak about massive events, either natural or man-made, in which we feel overwhelmed and powerless. So, in view of this week’s focus on ‘time’, it is interesting to notice how one of the features of the biblical account of the flood in Genesis 6-9 is that the time references in these chapters are confusing and sometimes even contradictory. It is as though, in the chaos and catastrophe, time itself is breaking down. Conversely, it is then interesting to notice that when God promises a
re-establishment of order after the flood, part of that ‘order’ which is reinstated is linked to times and seasons,
‘As long as the earth endures,
seedtime and harvest, cold and heat,
summer and winter, day and night,
shall not cease.’ (Genesis 8:22)
What wisdom might this offer us, given that there is a widespread belief (which I accept) that the current storms in North America are indeed linked in some way to human over-exploitation of the world’s natural resources?
Of course, for those of us who are UK or Commonwealth citizens, a standout moment of 2022 was the death in September of Queen Elizabeth II. For most of us it is the end of an era: we cannot remember any other monarch, or any other time than the Elizabethan era. And since an ‘era’ is a measurement of time, there is a feeling that with the death of this person who has been such a constant in our lives (whether we are monarchists or not), time itself feels as though it has shifted. One of the most powerful brief reflections made by the late Queen, recalled in relation to herself after her own death was that, ‘Grief is the price that we pay for love’. It was first spoken by her after the attacks of 9/11, then
re-spoken after the death of her own beloved husband. It is interesting to set these words alongside Revelation 21:1-6a, another of this Sunday’s readings; the passage from Revelation looks forward to a time when God ‘wipe every tear from their eyes… Death will be no more; mourning and crying and pain will be no more’. But it is important to remember that even God cannot wipe away our tears, unless we have first learned how to weep.
And, indeed, there has been quite a lot to weep about in 2022, Not least the war in Ukraine…though that, in turn, led me to ponder the fact that the ‘poem’ in Ecclesiastes 3 ends with the contrasting pair, ‘a time for war and a time for peace’. Are there indeed ever circumstances in which there should be ‘a time for war’?
One last item not to forget in the news is that about the incoming Israeli government which is widely believed to be more hard-line than its predecessors. This change in government has been rather overshadowed by Ukraine, North American weather, UK strikes and Christmas! But given the reference to ‘Jerusalem’ in this week’s reading from Revelation 21, it is important not to forget how passions and love for Jerusalem, on the part of many Jews, Christians and Muslims, can be extremely dangerous. It is a salutary example of the danger of the apocalyptic that the ROOTS Bible notes refer to. Certainly, the likely impact of the incoming government on the ‘Jerusalem question’ is something not to be forgotten.
Ideas for sermons or interactive talks
Bishop John Robinson is probably best remembered by most people for his book Honest to God. But he was in some ways particularly significant as a New Testament scholar (he supervised me when I studied at Cambridge). In his (fairly) short book In the End God, Robinson drew attention to the fact that in Greek, the language of the New Testament, there are two different words that often get translated into English by the word ‘time’ – but which mean something rather different from each other. They are chronos and kairos. Chronos refers to a period of time (e.g. ‘It’s taking a long time) and Kairos to a particular point in time (e.g. ‘It’s time to do this’). Robinson comments that in the Bible there is more emphasis on time as ‘kairos’ rather than as ‘chronos’. Time is God’s opportunity, God’s moment in time. ‘The time is fulfilled and the kingdom of God is at hand’ (Mark 1:15). Ecclesiastes 3 certainly offers us a ‘kairos’ understanding of time. But perhaps the challenge for us is to find ways to draw together time as ‘chronos’ and to see moments of ‘kairos’ within ‘chronos’.
I wrote the following prayer/poem about 12 years ago. It takes its starting point from the fact that, in the Gospel of Luke, the word ‘Today’ appears at significant moments in the Gospel story. It wasn’t written consciously trying to make that linkage between chronos and kairos that I referred to above – but looking over it, I think that it may be implicit in it.
Faithful father, minder of our yesterdays,
We thank you for your blessing and cherishing,
For your care which has brought us and all creation to this day.
Forgive the failings of our past,
the false steps and paths that we have taken
in our lives and in our histories,
As individuals, as nations, as members of your own people.
Grant us the courage not to forget,
Not to stifle the sounds of suffering in which we have been complicit;
Encourage us also to trust in your power to redeem,
Your willingness to work with flawed humanity and re-create an earth
Which all can celebrate with you as truly good.
Holy Spirit, hope for our tomorrows,
Grant us vision of the future of this world as you would have it be.
Inspire us with your power and grace us with your gifts and fruits –
Love, joy and peace, generosity and gentleness,
Faithfulness and kindness, patience and self-control.
May they become seeds in us, taking root deep within our lives,
Starting-points for change and growth.
Speak into the divisions and hatreds of these days,
In the turmoil, open our ears to catch your quiet breath,
And give us voice to echo your aching and longing for the promised time,
When in communion with you true life and freedom will be shared by all.
Christ, comforter yet challenger of our todays,
You are the beginning and end of creation,
Drawing together past and future,
Threading them into the texture of the present.
Through your life and ministry you showed us the importance of ‘today’,
Of carrying out God’s mission in the world of here and now.
You did not allow yourself to be bound by time past
Nor await impassive for an unseen future.
Still, today, you do not let us stand aside and delay,
But urgently you offer us both salvation and judgement.
You demand that we choose, and invite us to work with you
To accomplish God’s purpose, yesterday, for ever and today. Amen.
© Clare Amos
Questions for discussion
- Do you think there can ever be ‘a time for war’?
- How do you think of time? As Chronos or as Kairos or as both?
- Are there indeed ways in which a defective understanding of the importance of time may exacerbate other deep concerns, such as climate change?
- Reflect on the prayer/poem above – what do you think of its central theme – that in Christ both the past and the future are ‘pulled’ into the present, to enable us to engage with them?
Having retired a few years ago from her work at the World Council of Churches, Dr Clare Amos is enjoying a busy retirement, with honorary roles in the Church of England Diocese in Europe, and working on a book on the theme of transfiguration. With others, Clare is developing a lay learning course for the Diocese: the material already available can be viewed by choosing ‘Guest Access’ and typing in the password ‘LayLearning2022’.
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Connecting faith with everyday, real-life issues for young people
“…I once was lost, but now I'm found, Was blind but now I see.” These are the lyrics to arguably one of the most famous hymns, ‘Amazing Grace’ which celebrates its 250th year anniversary on 1 Jan 2023. Some hymns granted seem quite dated, but the lyrics in ‘Amazing Grace,’ despite their age are timeless.
Perhaps this year you have felt a little lost at times, but starting a new year, you have been found and are ready to face what ever 2023 has lined up for you. Perhaps you are still a little lost, still feeling a little blind. Were there any times in 2022 when you can now see how blind you had been to something or someone? Were there times in 2022 when you had your eyes opened, a wow moment, a God moment?
If you thought 250 years ago seems like a long time ago, how about over 2000 years? And wow, do those words we read from our passage in Ecclesiastes still reach us today. For everything there is a time, including Rev John Newton’s time to be lost and a time to be found.
New Year is often viewed as a time to change, a time to make new year's resolutions. I wonder if you have made any? How many times have you made a resolution then broken it within a few weeks or days? This could be because you weren’t meant to be in a time of change. So this new year, why not find time to pray, instead of the latest fitness craze or make time to listen, and appreciate each moment in time instead of trying to control it. See where God is calling you to be, and if you are lost take the time to find where you need to be.
Natasia Bullock, Director of The B Tales Christian Theatre Company
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