Saving Time

John 6:37-40

Remembrance Sunday, November 10, 2024

Holy Trinity Cathedral

“Saving Time”

In our lives, we only get a finite amount of time.  What we do with what we are given is entirely up to each of us.  We don’t know how many years or days or even hours we have left.  Although we can remember the past, we can’t freeze time or bank it for the future.  This moment right now is a gift not to be saved but to be savoured.  In it, we are held in God’s promise of love forever.

When I was in France I visited a cemetery of Canadian soldiers who had died in World War II.  It was just past my birthday, and I had been given a dozen red roses.  When you are backpacking, it’s not very easy to carry floral arrangements,  so I brought them with me to lay on the graves of the fallen.  I found one tombstone in particular very sad.  The private buried there was born on April 13^th, the same day and month as my younger brother.  Back home, my brother was turning 16.  This soldier had died at the same age in 1944.  I wondered whether he had seen the war as a great adventure or a duty of service.  Whether he was lonely away from his family and home in the trenches.  Whether he was afraid of each day being his last or if all the pain and suffering was worth the sacrifice.  I prayed that he knew God’s love at the moment of his death and was surprised with joy to enter into eternity.  There were poppies in the cemetery; they were blooming as red as the ones we wear today. 

That symbol is our promise to remember all who sacrificed and are still sacrificing their lives in the struggle for peace.  It is also a reminder to us of the preciousness of the time that we have been given. It is tempting to feel helpless about the enormous problems facing this planet.  Time can slip away from us when we are caught up in the dismal cycle of news and opinions about what is happening.  “Doomscrolling” is a thing- going down into a labyrinth of feeds and posts that get more and more despairing in tone.  Or we can dissociate in any number of ways: numbing our senses with addictive behaviours that temporarily take our minds off all the trauma and challenges of the everyday. But what we do in this world matters.  Each day we can choose how to direct our energy and attention.  The time that we have can be used for good. 

On a Sunday morning or at other times Christians gather for worship.  We dedicate an hour to be with God in the company of one another.  We are open to the presence of God with us, and we lift up our concerns and our thanksgivings, our remembrances and our hopes for the future.  This is holy time.  It is a time when God’s saving grace can reach our hearts.  The promise of Jesus in the gospel of John chapter 6 is that He is with us always.  Nothing can separate us from that love.  Even death is not a barrier, for in the end “everything that the Father gives me will come to me, and anyone who comes to my I will never drive away” (John 6:37).  As we come to the Lord in this time together, we are met with the God whose love goes beyond time.

But while we are here on earth, how much attention do we give to God beyond Sunday morning?  God is present to us every moment of every day, but our awareness wavers.  The gift of our awareness is something we can return to the one who gazes on us with love.  I don’t mean being on your knees praying out loud 24/7.  However, we can each work on expanding our openness.  There is “kronos” time which we can tell by the clock.  And then there is “kairos” time that is marked by the holiness of the moment.  When we invite God as a companion to our daily lives, everything we do can be guided by His hand.  Prayer and service become closer, as we listen and respond to the call.   

Time is the gift we all have the capacity to give back to the Lord.  Consider your commitment to daily discipline.  How do you allocate time to personal prayer, to reading Scripture, to confession and giving thanks?  What amount do you commit to public service, to witnessing and helping, taking responsibility in the community and in your family?  We have been blessed to live peaceable lives because of the time that others before us have given to defend the common good.  Now we too are asked to continue the battle against all that threatens the wellbeing of others.  We can sow seeds for healing with the time that we are given, rather than sit on the sidelines feeling helpless. 

In a world where everyone seems to be rushing just to save a few minutes, let’s take a moment to breathe and give thanks.  We have today to be open to God’s call.  Listen to what the Spirit is telling you about the most important way to spend your time.  What do you need to do less of for the good of your soul?  What do you need to do more or differently in order to maximize the time you have?  There is no time to waste.  There is plenty to offer.

Do not lose hope, even though humanity does not seem to learn very well from history.  No one who has engaged in the struggle for abundant life is forgotten.  We have Jesus as the shining example of what God is able to do with one person who gave his whole for our salvation.  He came at the right time to save for all time.  Because of his victory, this mortal life is not the end of our story.  “This is indeed the will of my Father, that all who see the Son and believe in him may have eternal life, and I will raise them up on the last day” (John 6:40).  Our brief span is important.  What we do now matters.  And our hope is full of immortality.  Amen.