There really is nothing “magical” about the calendar turning from Dec. 31 to Jan. 1 – but any excuse we have to take stock of our lives is a good one!
The Greeks had several words for time – most common are CHRONOS and KAIROS. CHRONOS time is time measured by the clock – minutes, seconds, hours. It would state a specific date – “Dec. 7, 1941”. It was the unrelenting march of time that made the present into the past and the future into the now. It was marked by seasons, years, millennia.
KAIROS time, however, was different. It is better understood as the MOMENT.
I do not remember the exact second/date that I fell in love with Kim – but I remember the moment. And since that time there have been more moments that have become important to me.
We don’t live for minutes. We live for moments.
Sure, minutes are important. If we didn’t keep track of time and make the best use of it, we can get lost in the mundane and find ourselves at the end of our lives without ever having accomplished anything. But moments are what we live for. The KAIROS time – the critical instant, the fullness of the moment – that’s what gives us purpose.
If you take this “time” to evaluate where you are right now – this season of life, this space that you inhabit – that is a good thing. To manage your chronological time so that you will have opportunities to seize the Kairos time is a goal worth pursuing.
Now is the time for us to serve our Lord, here in this community, and to find our souls fulfilled. May your TIME this year be full of MOMENTS that bring you joy!
- Rev. Bill
