From the Pastor....

May 2008

I am writing this the day before we leave for Michigan and our son’s college graduation. We were told how fast it would go, but we never could have believed how fast! Dale was only seven when we moved here to DeWitt from St. Paul. Our daughter Kara was not quite two. Another year and we’ll be sending her off to the next chapter in her life. So we’re pretty conscious of the passing of time right now. We don’t grieve it so much as in stand of awe of it.

There are a lot of ways to think about time. We are so conscious, in our society where there never seems to be "enough" of it, how fleeting time is. Ironically, when we get so wrapped up in trying to fit so much into already over-filled lives, we can miss out on the moment and on what is present to us. For Christians, time should take on a certain character. When Jesus began his public ministry he declared, "The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand..." (Mark 1:15). We often live as though fulfillment is something always in the future - be it a promotion at work, or retirement, or even heaven. It’s something we work for, or work toward. Every spiritual tradition points to the sacredness of the moment, the need to live fully in it. We struggle with that because it is so difficult to make the space to appreciate it.

We don’t need to become a spiritual "expert" to grasp the fulness of life in the present moment. We only need to look around at the other people in our lives, the opportunities we have to share a smile or to help a friend, to breathe in the early morning air, to hear the music of the birds or a jazz ensemble or a symphonic orchestra - or your own daughter singing in her room!

I think Jesus wants us to grasp that God’s presence and God’s reign in our world is to be found by opening our eyes and ears, our hearts and minds, to the present moment. Surely some moments are hard to bear, surely for some there is not a moment’s peace. But the kingdom of God is not impeded by the sufferings and evils of the world. Indeed, it was through them that Christ has brought redemption to the world. The end of that verse in Mark is, "... repent, and believe in the gospel." The most basic meaning of "repent" is to turn. Turn around and notice the "good news" (that’s the meaning of "gospel"). We’re not meant to be slaves to time, but to know the fulness of it, not to dread its passing but welcome its blessings.

Your’s in Christ,

Peter