Has happens sometimes, though probably not as often as it should, I have been finding myself in a place of deep and broad reflection these past few months. Some of that reflection has made its way to my preaching and in messages to the parish. This is from the message I wrote for our parish newsletter on April 16, 2025.
This is not a new, groundbreaking, or original thought, though it is one that bears mentioning in this time when so much is happening in the world that it can make it difficult to figure out how to live one’s faith with integrity and authenticity. It’s a timely reminder as we journey through Holy Week.
Our understanding of time is not the same as God’s. We perceive of time in a linear fashion. We have this moment and then the next after that and the next…The moments in the past are over and we cannot go back and change anything. The best we can do is to be in the present moment and do our best from there, which is not always easy or comfortable, especially if we feel any regret or guilt or sadness about what has passed.
God’s time is not linear. God’s time is the fullness of all that was and is and is to be. And as much promise as that holds for those who believe we will one day experience the fulfillment of God’s dream for the world, that there will be a day when love prevails and there is no more suffering or brokenness, we are reminded each and every day that the day is not yet here. We may even wonder if we are moving in the wrong direction and if that day will ever come. It can all feel too much, too heavy a burden to carry day after day.
Tomorrow is Maundy Thursday, the beginning of the Triduum, the days from the evening of Maundy Thursday through the evening of Easter Sunday. Though we experience these as three 24-hour days, liturgically they are one day. I find this quite comforting this year because it reminds me that in God’s understanding of time the betrayal and the suffering and all the worst that human beings can and do to each other do not even interrupt God’s deep desire to save us from ourselves, to heal our brokenness and redeem our sinfulness. And that gives me hope for all the moments yet to be.
