Good Morning Church!
There is an appointed time for everything. And there is a time for every event under heaven -
A time to give birth, and a time to die:
A time to plant, and a time to uproot what is planted.
A time to tear down, and a time to build up.
A time to weep, and a time to laugh;
A time to mourn, and a time to dance.
A time to throw stones, and a time to gather stones;
A time to embrace, and a time to shun embracing;
A time to search, and a time to give up as lost;
A time to keep, and a time to throw away.
A time to tear apart, and a time to sew together;
A time to be silent, and a time to speak.
A time to love, and a time to hate;
A time for war, and a time for peace.
It is interesting that several thousand years ago the author, traditionally attributed to King Solomon, penned these words that seem so appropriate for us in many ways. “For everything there is a season. A time to be born and a time to die.” In an instant - in one short sentence the author has expressed how fragile life is. “There is a time to be born and a time to die.” It may that the most important question we can answer is: what time it is?
We know that we are creatures of time by the way we set our clocks and watches so that we will know what hour it is. We have schedules and appointments set by dates on a calendar. We know larger amounts of time by measuring the months and years. We also know the seasons of Spring, Summer, Fall and Winter. But perhaps time should be measured in more than hours, or days or years.
But let me ask, what time is it for you today? The writer of Ecclesiastes has said, “There is time and season for every event under Heaven. There is a time weep and a time to mourn.” This week, at our Sunday Eucharist, we will remember Anette Jenkins, and it is very true that we mourn the loss of Anette. It is a time for us to mourn a beautiful, strong, wise, sister in Christ. She may have been petite, but her faith was not. Her stories, wisdom, and will were the stuff of legend and I know I will miss the conversations I had with her and all the laughs we shared.
It true that it is a time to mourn, but it is also time for life. This time is not only about the gift of eternal life which transcends time, but the life we live and the time we spend living that life.
I would ask us all to think about what time it is. What is this the right time for in our lives? As Ecclesiastes points out there is a season for everything. We move through life being angry, loving everyone, living, grieving and eventually all of us face the time where we move from the mortal coil into the Communion of Saints. In other words, there is a time to live, a time to act, and there is a time to die. This reading tells us that life is complicated. We do our best to navigate the rapids of life. We experience emotions. We act in accordance with those emotions, somedays those actions are full of grace, sometimes they might be full of something else.
You see time is tied to action in the reading from Ecclesiastes, so we might ask what is the time? Not by what is on your watch or phone, not by date or year
But what is it time for us to do? Ecclesiastes points to time being linked with actions-
Take these for example,
A time to search, and a time to give up as lost;
A time to keep, and a time to throw away.
A time to tear apart, and a time to sew together;
A time to be silent, and a time to speak.
These are actions linked with the wisdom of God. Actions that we discern through the gift of Holy Spirit. So, this tells us there is a time for actions. I will ask that we discern what time is it exactly? How should we act during the time given to us as people of God?
This is where our Gospel reading for today comes in-
“Teacher, which commandment in the law is the greatest?” He said to him, “’You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ This is the greatest and first commandment. And a second is like it: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.”
These are the actions God calls us to live into, no matter what time it is. It is always time to love. We can hate the things happening. We can hate what this year has brought to us. We can hate the rhetoric and divisiveness. We can hate what COVID 19 has done to our world. In spite of all of that, we are to Love God, and love our neighbors as we love our selves.
That is what time it is. It is time to put away the garments that stratify the people of God. It is time to follow the commandment to Love God and to Love your neighbor, and while you are at it, try to love yourself. But we are cautioned to remember that the love of self is not at the expense of the love of the other two.
It is a time to love, to be faithful and be clothed with hope. This is especially true now, as we move into the quadrennial time of divisiveness. This is true as we move into what seems to be a season of more dread and worry about the pandemic. This will also be true for many of us facing the grey moods of a dark and cold winter.
We are entreated by God to love. Love God, love our neighbor and love ourselves- but not at the expense of the other two. This means that this is a times where we act towards the other in love and not division. This is a time to take care of ourselves both mentally and physically. This is a time to pray and realize that God is the foundation for everything good and sacred. It is a time to acknowledge that we are all children of God worthy of our love and respect.
It is a time to mourn, it is a time to hate some of the things happening to us, it is a time to pray. But, above all it is a time for love.
There is an appointed time for everything. And there is a time for every event under heaven -
A time to give birth, and a time to die:
A time to plant, and a time to uproot what is planted.
A time to tear down, and a time to build up.
A time to weep, and a time to laugh;
A time to mourn, and a time to dance.
A time to throw stones, and a time to gather stones;
A time to embrace, and a time to shun embracing;
A time to search, and a time to give up as lost;
A time to keep, and a time to throw away.
A time to tear apart, and a time to sew together;
A time to be silent, and a time to speak.
A time to love, and a time to hate;
A time for war, and a time for peace.
It is interesting that several thousand years ago the author, traditionally attributed to King Solomon, penned these words that seem so appropriate for us in many ways. “For everything there is a season. A time to be born and a time to die.” In an instant - in one short sentence the author has expressed how fragile life is. “There is a time to be born and a time to die.” It may that the most important question we can answer is: what time it is?
We know that we are creatures of time by the way we set our clocks and watches so that we will know what hour it is. We have schedules and appointments set by dates on a calendar. We know larger amounts of time by measuring the months and years. We also know the seasons of Spring, Summer, Fall and Winter. But perhaps time should be measured in more than hours, or days or years.
But let me ask, what time is it for you today? The writer of Ecclesiastes has said, “There is time and season for every event under Heaven. There is a time weep and a time to mourn.” This week, at our Sunday Eucharist, we will remember Anette Jenkins, and it is very true that we mourn the loss of Anette. It is a time for us to mourn a beautiful, strong, wise, sister in Christ. She may have been petite, but her faith was not. Her stories, wisdom, and will were the stuff of legend and I know I will miss the conversations I had with her and all the laughs we shared.
It true that it is a time to mourn, but it is also time for life. This time is not only about the gift of eternal life which transcends time, but the life we live and the time we spend living that life.
I would ask us all to think about what time it is. What is this the right time for in our lives? As Ecclesiastes points out there is a season for everything. We move through life being angry, loving everyone, living, grieving and eventually all of us face the time where we move from the mortal coil into the Communion of Saints. In other words, there is a time to live, a time to act, and there is a time to die. This reading tells us that life is complicated. We do our best to navigate the rapids of life. We experience emotions. We act in accordance with those emotions, somedays those actions are full of grace, sometimes they might be full of something else.
You see time is tied to action in the reading from Ecclesiastes, so we might ask what is the time? Not by what is on your watch or phone, not by date or year
But what is it time for us to do? Ecclesiastes points to time being linked with actions-
Take these for example,
A time to search, and a time to give up as lost;
A time to keep, and a time to throw away.
A time to tear apart, and a time to sew together;
A time to be silent, and a time to speak.
These are actions linked with the wisdom of God. Actions that we discern through the gift of Holy Spirit. So, this tells us there is a time for actions. I will ask that we discern what time is it exactly? How should we act during the time given to us as people of God?
This is where our Gospel reading for today comes in-
“Teacher, which commandment in the law is the greatest?” He said to him, “’You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ This is the greatest and first commandment. And a second is like it: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.”
These are the actions God calls us to live into, no matter what time it is. It is always time to love. We can hate the things happening. We can hate what this year has brought to us. We can hate the rhetoric and divisiveness. We can hate what COVID 19 has done to our world. In spite of all of that, we are to Love God, and love our neighbors as we love our selves.
That is what time it is. It is time to put away the garments that stratify the people of God. It is time to follow the commandment to Love God and to Love your neighbor, and while you are at it, try to love yourself. But we are cautioned to remember that the love of self is not at the expense of the love of the other two.
It is a time to love, to be faithful and be clothed with hope. This is especially true now, as we move into the quadrennial time of divisiveness. This is true as we move into what seems to be a season of more dread and worry about the pandemic. This will also be true for many of us facing the grey moods of a dark and cold winter.
We are entreated by God to love. Love God, love our neighbor and love ourselves- but not at the expense of the other two. This means that this is a times where we act towards the other in love and not division. This is a time to take care of ourselves both mentally and physically. This is a time to pray and realize that God is the foundation for everything good and sacred. It is a time to acknowledge that we are all children of God worthy of our love and respect.
It is a time to mourn, it is a time to hate some of the things happening to us, it is a time to pray. But, above all it is a time for love.