It happens to all of us on occasion – without checking Caller-ID we answer the phone. With a sinking feeling we discover that “The Voice” is again on the line and onto our back: the acquaintance who drones and dithers endlessly about not much at all, who has nary a clue about the give and take of friendly conversation nor the gracious consideration that you might have other obligations beyond being the target of mind-numbing chatter. You motion for your spouse to go ring the doorbell. That not working, you then ask your daughter to go poke her baby brother in the ribs. The baby’s crying just might release you from this bondage. Rather than willingly “spending” time in “mutual conversation and consolation of brothers and sisters” (as Luther remarked in the 1537 Smalcald Articles, III, #4) your time has been mercilessly killed by another.
The killing of time is a scandalous waste of living for people of faith. Time is God’s gift to us, the rhythmic drive of our lives, the shared environment inhabited by friends and family, neighbors and strangers alike, the context of our belief and participation in life with God. God accomplishes wondrous things through this gift of time. It is the context for St. Paul’s preaching to the folks in Athens:
24 The God who made the world and everything in it, he who is Lord of heaven and earth, does not live in shrines made by human hands, 25 nor is he served by human hands, as though he needed anything, since he himself gives to all mortals life and breath and all things. 26 From one ancestor he made all nations to inhabit the whole earth, and he allotted the times of their existence and the boundaries of the places where they would live, 27 so that they would search for God and perhaps grope for him and find him—though indeed he is not far from each one of us. 28 For ‘In him we live and move and have our being’… [Acts 17:24-28].
The passage is also quoted in an early Bach cantata, God’s Time Is Always Best. God’s gracious desire is that we live, move, and become who God calls us to be, not wasting a nanosecond of life’s unfolding. God’s “best time” is the context for our longing and puzzled groping for the One who remains beyond our understanding. Yes, God even gives us the needed space to wonder, search, and doubt! However, the Acts passage also reminds us, “…indeed [God] is not far from each one of us.”
And so Christians strive to make the best use of God’s time by learning the stories of God (Holy Scripture), the stories of faith (the joys and struggles of disciples throughout the ages), and our own salvation history (the still-unfolding experiences and memories of God-with-[each of]-Us). Such a curiosity is instilled by God who created us in the first place. Author and lay-theologian Dorothy L. Sayers once wrote that the unique aspect of being created “in the image and likeness of God” is to be created “creative” beings, folks whose lives are turned outwards to learn, to delight in, and to care for this good creation. That is the goal of living in holy relationship with one and all.
It takes time, a lot of best time, to integrate the stories of God and faith into our own lives. We help infants discover their place in the loving circle of their immediate family by telling them over and over stories about family and friends, demonstrating to them our love, helping them to understand their boundaries, and teaching them to play well with others. That means we must be able to play well with others ourselves!
The church sets apart a large portion of its best time each year to focus on the many-faceted reality of Easter. These fifty days [sometimes called the “Week of Weeks”] conclude with the vivifying outpouring of the Holy Spirit on Pentecost. It is time dedicated to wrestling with the profound implications of Jesus’ resurrection for us all. Jesus confounds worldly wisdom by his empty tomb [Easter I]. Jesus provides for each of us in our doubts to trust God’s abiding presence [Easter II]. Jesus hallows our meals and fellowship by that presence [Easter III]. Jesus shepherds us safely into flocks of faithful people, reminding us, too, that his flocks are far more diverse than we might imagine [Easter IV]. Jesus assures us that we will remain in close relationship with him just as branches are to a vine’s rootstock [Easter V]. Our friend Jesus also reveals what the oneness of fellowship means today and always [Easter VI & VII]. The Holy Spirit then sets to work to make these good things our reality [Pentecost]. That’s a lot of Good News to take in and to share with others. That’s why we dare not kill the time we have. That’s certainly why God’s gift of time is absolutely the best.