Our inability to think in terms of other cultures, and our abysmal ignorance of other cultures, is illustrated in the inaugura

Sermon: It’s About Time!

August 16, 2009

1 Kings 3:3-14 & Ephesians 5:15-20

by the Reverend Steve Clunn=

There’s a story about a= man who had been driving all night and by morning was still

quite far from his destination; So he decided to stop at the next city he came to=

and park somewhere quiet so he could get an hour or two of sleep.

As luck would have it, the quiet street he chose happened to be one of the city’s most

popular jogging routes. No sooner had he settled back to snooze when there came

a knock on his window. He looked out and saw a jogger running in place.

“Yes?” he asked. “Excuse me, sir,” the jogger said, “do you have the time?” The man

looked at the car clock and answered, “7:15.”

The jogger said thanks and left. The man settled back again and was just do= zing off when

there was another knock on the window and another jogger.

“Excuse me, sir, do you have the time?” “7:25!” That jogger said thanks and left.

Now the man could envision other joggers passing by, and he knew it was onl= y a matter

of time before another one disturbed him. To avoid the problem, he got out a p= en

and paper and put a sign in his window saying, “I do not know the time!”

Once again he settled back to sleep. He was just dozing off when there was another

knock on the window and a voice shouting out, “Sir, sir? It’s 7:45!”

Time, oh how it sometimes see= ms to rule our lives. I jokingly refer to my daily planner as

my other Bible, because so much of my life, at times, seems to feel so schedul= ed

out.

<= /o:p>

So I decided to check out what others have thought about time and time management

John Wesley spoke out against idleness and the trifling of time.

Albert Einstein once said, “The only reason for time is so that everything doesn’t happen =

at once.” Charles Darwin wrote, “A man who dares to waste one hour= of his life

has not discovered the value of life.” Charles Dickens once said, “A= day wasted

on others is not wasted on one's self.”

And from Betrand Russell, “A truer image of the world, I think, is obtained by picturi= ng

things as entering into the stream of time from an eternal world outside, than fro= m

a view which regards time as the devouring tyrant of all that is.”

But my personal favorite comes from Robert Updegraff who is quoted as having said,

“To get all there is out of living, we must employ our time wisely, never being in

too much of a hurry to stop and sip life, but never losing our sense of the

enormous value of a minute.” Ah, finally, a balanced approach.

Maybe the first thing we each= need to do in thinking and living out of a sense of time, is

to decide which type of time we are talking about?

In Paul’s letter to the church of Ephesis, he shares this thought: R= 20;Be careful then how you

live, not as unwise people but as wise, making the mos= t of the time, because the

days are evil.”

Bible readers familiar with New Testament Greek may want to stop us right there, for

they know that the Greek word Paul used that’s rendered in English as “time” is

kairos, which usu= ally means not clock time but a significant moment, like an

unexpected opportunity or a critical turning point in one’s life. There’s a different

word in Greek — chronos — that’s normally used when clock or calendar time is

intended.

<= /o:p>

So, which type of time is most important to us, chromos, or kairos<= /span>?

Judging from what I’ve discovered over 2o plus years of ministry, I believe that what is

most important to us all is kairos time. When we ref= lect on our lives, we rarely

think of the exact times of our days, we instead remember the significant events =

of birth, celebration, struggle, meaningful occasions and death.

Paul goes further in asking t= he people to use their time wisely, because the days are evil.

So instead of focusing on the evil, understand what is the will of Go= d and live out

of that spirit, that hope in your life.

The Ephe= sian Christians that Paul was writing to were living in a day and place where

Jesus’ teachings weren’t tolerated very well. These were difficult and hard times.

In 1 Kings, we here the story= of Solomon’s rise to the thrown of his father’s kingdo= m,

just before and after David’s death. But again, these were not easy times = and

Solomon had a brother who also aspired to be king.

Solomon could have dreamt of = so many blessings from God. To win out over his

brother’s ambitions, for wealth and power to unify, build and maintain his

Kingdom, Israel= . But instead, he sought after wisdom and understanding.

<= /o:p>

Oh, that it were so in all of= the lives of those who aspire to lead others in this world!

To move beyond the self-centered motivations of “what’s in it for me?” to

recognize that true leadership requires a willingness to consider what’s best f= or all

involved.

Maybe it’s not just the leaders who need to learn this wisdom, but the followers as well.

Maybe that i= s what Paul was getting about in tying wisdom; the wise use of

significant moments in time, to the focus on God’s will.

Of course this begs the quest= ion, what is God’s will for all people and for me in

particular? Let’s suffice it to say that if I were to try to articulate a “categorical

imperative” for those who claim the title Christian, it would be found in the

command to “love God with all our heart, soul, mind and strength; and to love=

others as we love ourselves.”

I wonder how that perspective= and voice might change some of the discussions about our

national and international priorities in the world?

I was truly moved when I saw = the “Chriatiane Amanpour= Report: Generation Islam”

because it reminded of the struggle that is going on right now for influence and

control over the minds of the following generations. I was also reminded of what

is at stake right now and the role religion is and could play in our lives and world,

for good instead of for ill.

And by that, I mean, what cou= ld be a wise approach to seeking God’s will in the world

today and applying it to times such as these.

<= /o:p>

Friends I’d like to sim= ply share with you what I believe I have learned so far about what

is going on in the world,= both personally and socially and how it relates to what I think God might be cal= ling us to do today.

I think God is calling us to = risk being a bridge; First, from ignorance that depends on the

blind following of a charismatic leader, to become those who hunger and thirst fo= r

knowledge about God and life.

Second, from self-centered consumerism that turns the values of personal liberty and

freedom into a never ending downward spiral of profiteering and profit shares; to <= /p>

life that exemplifies responsibility, generosity and gains that come from true <= /p>

systems of checks and balances in life.

Third, in a world where one t= hird of the people don’t have access to clean portable water;

where more than 3.2 billion people live on less than $2 per day; and, where we

see the growth industry of militancy and terrorism booming among the young,

poor and hopeless: Isn’t it time we became a bridge that helped to once and for all

deal with the greatest blight on the face of this planet – poverty and lac= k of

opportunity?

Within Christianity, if we ar= e ever going to truly address the ways of life that God may be

calling us to lead; then finally, we have got to become a bridge that helps those <= /p>

who have been indoctrinated into a belief system that makes God into a personal=

possession for our own personal protection, to understand that God has always

had a vision of love for us that calls us into a community, or kindom, that values

the belovedness of others and the hopes that the di= vine has for them and us all.

On a personal level, this wou= ld mean that church isn’t about just what I get out of it from

this point on in my life. It would mean, and I believe wisely so, that church is=

about what kind of legacy we build now, for those who will continue to build on <= /p>

our work into the future.

When I was in seminary back i= n the 80’s, Vicky Johnson, a United Methodist Clergy

Woman, who s= ome of you may remember, went to Greece with us; she introduced

me to a song by John Denver called, It’s About Time.” I’d li= ke to close with the

lyrics to that song… some of the best theology I’ve heard within modern music in

a long time.

<= /o:p>

“There's a full moon ov= er India and Gandhi lives again.
Who's to say you have to lose for someone else to win?
In the eyes of all the people, the look is much the same,
for the first is just the last one when you play a deadly game.
It's about time we realize it, we're all in this together.
It's about time we find out, it's all of us or n= one.
It's about time we recognize it, these changes in the weather.
It's about time, it's about changes, and it's about time.

There's a light in the Vatican window for all the world to see
and a voice cries in the wilderness and sometimes he speaks for me.
I suppose I love him most of all when he kneels to kiss the land,
with his lips upon our mother's breast, he makes his strongest stand.
It's about time we start to see it, the earth is our only home.
It's about time we start to face it, we can't make it here all alone.
It's about time we start to listen to the voices in the wind,
it's about time and it's about changes and it's about time.

There's a man who is my brother, I just don't know his name.
But I know his home and family because I know we feel the same.
And it hurts me when he's hungry and when his children cry.
I too am a father, and that little one is mine.
It's about time we begin it, to turn the world around.
It's about time we start to make it, the dream we've always known.
It's about time we start to live it, the family of man.
It's about time, it's about changes and it's about time.
It's about peace and it's about plenty and it's about time,
It's about you and me together and it's about time.”

Yes, it is about time! Use yo= urs wisely and may it bring hope and joy to those around

You! Amen.