The Grace of Time - January 10, 2016

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Genesis 1:14-19
2 Peter 3:8-10

"I'm late! I'm late! For a Very Important Date!" the White Rabbit fusses in Alice in Wonderland as he runs past her. Alice follows him and falls down the rabbit hole and so the story begins.
"I'm late! I'm late!' we too cry out as we rush through life. Sometimes our hurry becomes the stuff of a slapstick comedy routine. As I scurry to leave the house I can't find my shoes, fall over the box I was supposed to take to the church, and drop my keys. Parents know that when they are in the biggest rush to get somewhere it is almost guaranteed the baby will have a diaper explosion and the toddler will have a meltdown because she can't find Teddy Bear anywhere. Or you finally get to the store and realize you've left the grocery list on the kitchen counter. It's funny in a skit but not so amusing in real life. "I'm late! I'm late!" we cry.

Anyone who has traveled by air knows the pressure of late flights and missed connections, all of which are beyond one's control. Years ago Doug and I were flying to Los Angeles so I could officiate at my Aunt Nina's memorial service. We were scheduled to land several hours before the service which was to be held at 5:30 PM in a lovely park. The first flight got canceled because the flight attendant could not open the door and so it flew back to Seattle from Yakima empty. We still could have made it with the rescheduled flights but then the second flight was late leaving the gate because of some other problem. I had been in touch with my cousins throughout this challenge. Finally we approached the LA area. The pilot announced, "We should be on the ground at 5:30." I paged the flight attendant: "I am to officiate at a funeral at 5:30. You WILL make sure I am the first person off this plane." Sure enough, I was the first and Doug was the second. At the gate a man held a sign that said, "Rev. Sue". It was my cousin's brother-in-law. Because there were 3 of us we could use the HOV lanes and we zipped past rush hour traffic. We got to the park and I walked up the path to the front of the gathering just as my Dad finished telling stories about his sister.
"I'm late! I'm late!" In our otherwise affluent society, many of us struggle with the poverty of time. It seems there are not enough hours in the day to get everything done. Perhaps you have seen the quote from Bill Watterson, the creator of the Calvin and Hobbes comic strip: "God put me on earth to accomplish certain things. Right now I'm so far behind I'll never die."
The earliest Christians wondered at the passage of time. They worried that God was late for a very important date: the final return of Christ which would mark what we sometimes think of as the end of the world, or at least the ultimate triumph of good over evil. They had expected Christ to return in their lifetimes – and yet faithful Christians were dying. God was late! People wondered if those who had already died were excluded from the promise or if God was just slow.
Ten nights ago we counted down the time to mark the start of a new year. Well, some of you counted. We celebrate on Eastern time and are usually sound asleep by midnight.
The start of a new calendar year truly marks the passage of time. Some people rejoice at letting go of a year that may have been difficult or painful. Others fear the passage of time, counting the years as a finite quantity. It's not politically correct to ask adults of a certain age how old they are, as if too many years is a shameful thing. My definition of middle age is that you have to stop and think to remember your age. Children know to a fraction just how old they are: "I'm 10 ¾ they can say." Very elderly people too will note, "I'll be 99 on my next birthday." I, on the other hand, have to do some arithmetic to say "I'll be 57 this week."
The Bible counts time in a variety of ways. "And there was evening and there was morning," the Book of Genesis recites as it counts the days of creation. "Let there be lights in the dome of the sky to separate the day from the night; and let them be for signs and for seasons and for days and for years." Genesis says of the creation of the sun, moon, and stars. Other cultures credited the heavenly lights with divine powers. The Bible credits God with the power of creation and sees in them only markers for time.
"For everything there is a season and a time for every matter under heaven," observes the Book of Ecclesiastes. And often the Bible says something like "And it came to pass . . ." or "In the year that King Uzziah died." We just say, "Today is January 10, 2016."
The passage of time is important, however you count it. And today we come here to give thanks for the gift of time. It is, in the end, the ultimate gift of God. "For the beauty of each hour, or the day and of the night" we sang a moment ago. Without the gift of time we would not know the joy of being with loved ones, the satisfaction of a job well done, or the fun of a favorite activity. Without time music would be a cacophony.
Take a moment now to reflect on the blessings time has given you. I invite you to call out some of those blessings:
Our reading today from I Peter tells us of the grace of time. To those who worried that the delay in Christ's return was a sign of God's lateness, the author wrote, "The Lord is not slow about his promise, as some think of slowness, but is patient with you, not wanting any to perish, but all to come to repentance." Christ's delay is more like the teacher allowing for more time before the term paper is due, more time to get the work done well. God is patient and grace-filled, not late.
The grace of time allows us to live out God's will in our lives. People sometimes ask me, "How do I know God's will?" as if it is a vast mystery. I understand the question. Often we ask it when we have big decisions to make: should I take that new job? Where should I go to college? What should I major in? Certainly those decisions call us to prayer.
I think living out God's will is actually fairly clear, though not always easy to do. What is God's will? Jesus said the two greatest commandments are to love God and to love our neighbors. How do you love God wherever you live? How do you love your neighbors – or your colleagues, your clients, your classmates? That's God's will.
The grace of time allows us more and more opportunities to love. I've been a Christian for over forty years now. I have learned to love God – and to trust God – in new and deeper ways with every passing year. Where am I supposed to be? I've asked. I have learned instead to focus on living out God's will in whatever is before me in the present moment. The grace of time gives me the chance to forgive people with whom I am unhappy and even to reach out to them in moments of their need.
The grace of time allows me to count my blessings: the beauty and wonder of each snowflake; the smile of a new baby; the love of family and friends. The grace of time gives me the chance to learn a new skill or develop a new hobby, to sing a new song to God. Instead of fussing, "I'm late! I'm late!" we can say instead, "I'm blessed! I'm blessed!"
Perhaps on New Year's Eve some of you opened bottles of champagne to celebrate the New Year. To celebrate the grace of time, I am now going to open some bottles of sparkling cider. Will my helpers come forward to help me pour?
I invite you to come forward now, in two lines like we do with communion, to receive a taste of cider to celebrate this grace of time. Truly, we are blessed!