What Time Is It?

“It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair, we had everything before us, we had nothing before us, we were all going direct to heaven, we were all going direct the other way.” These opening words from Charles Dickens’ novel about the French Revolution, A Tale of Two Cities, depict the deep divisions in French society during that country’s revolution, when the uprising of starving, oppressed peasantry against privileged aristocracy, exemplified by King Louis XVI and his wife Marie Antoinette, she who said of her starving subjects, “let them eat cake,” led many of the aristocracy to the guillotine, and to blood running in the streets. “It was the best of times, it was the worst of times.” – the words speak to the irreconcilable divisions of the French society at the time of the revolution, when the prospect of better conditions for the peasantry seemed like a harbinger of doom to the aristocracy, when the only language comprehensible to both sides was acts of violence and death.

“It was the best of times, it was the worst of times….” Those words could characterize any number of periods of history, including present-day American society. Our politics are incredible polarized; seemingly there’s no common ground to be found between members of the two major political parties. Over the past year, guns and ammunition have been flying off the shelves of gun stores. The Secret Service reports that they are dealing with 30 death threats a day against the president. Some radio and TV talk show hosts have gone right up to the line – or over it - of inciting their listeners to violence. And some unstable listeners are responding, such as the shooter at the Holocaust Museum. Will we see more incidents of domestic terrorism like the 1995 bombing of the Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City? While I don’t foresee the guillotine making a comeback anytime soon, I fear that if our society’s voices of hate and division carry the day, we may see blood running in our streets. We live in deeply, deeply troubling times.

Paul’s words (Ephesians 5:15-20) were for early churches in Ephesus living amid a culture which didn’t share the church’s values, for a church living in deeply troubling times. Paul warns his flock not to get caught up in what is going on around them. “Be careful how you live, not as unwise people, but as wise, making the most of the time, because the days are evil.” The believers at Ephesus are out of step with the surrounding culture – as we inevitably will be out of step with our culture, if we’re faithful. Paul’s instructions are sort of like house rules, like when parents tell their children, “In this house we don’t hit one another” or “In this house we clean up after ourselves.” Beyond the specifics of Paul’s instruction, Paul is urging his followers to maintain their identity, despite whatever nonsense was going on around them.

One might think of a mother or father sending a grown son or daughter out into the world. The son or daughter is old enough to be responsible for their own decisions, and yet the parents want to offer the wisdom of experience. Some parents tell their children something along the lines of these words: “Remember who you are.” Remember who you are. No matter what those around you are doing – don’t get caught up in it. Remember who you are. Remember.

In our Old Testament reading, we see Solomon at the beginning of his reign, shortly after the death of King David, his father. Like the proverbial genie coming out of a bottle, God comes to Solomon in a dream and asks Solomon what he wants, offering to grant Solomon’s wish. Solomon pleases God by asking for wisdom rather than long life or riches, or the life of his enemies. God tells Solomon that, if Solomon will walk in God’s ways, God will make him healthy, wealthy, and wise. However, as we know, Solomon strayed. He spent a bit over 7 years building a fabulous temple for worship of God – but then we are informed that Solomon spent 13 years building his own house. He married many wives in order to make political alliances with neighboring countries – and his wives led him into worship of false gods. As the years passed, Solomon at times forgot who he was. And actions had consequences; the sense of national unity that characterized the reign of David and his son Solomon’s reign ended shortly after Solomon’s death. And some things never change – the formerly united 12 tribes broke apart because of a dispute over – taxes.

“Be careful how you live, making the most of the time, because the days are evil.” “Remember who you are.” Well, who are we? Who are we exactly? First and foremost we’re Christians, followers of Jesus Christ, those who are nourished by the body and blood of Christ. In our Gospel reading (John 6:51-58), Jesus continues to offer himself fully to his followers. Jesus said, “Unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you.” John tells us that Jesus said these things as he taught in synagogue near the time of the Passover - between the lines of the text, John’s narrative essentially has Jesus offering himself to his listeners as their Passover sacrifice. It’s not surprising that many of Jesus’ casual listeners were, as the saying goes, grossed out by these words – “eat this guy’s flesh – drink his blood - ewwww”, and turned away. But we as Christ’s followers are to feed on Christ confidently, to draw our strength from Christ.

“Remember who you are.” “Be careful how you live, making the most of the time, for the days are evil.” Are we making the most of the time that God graciously gives us? Many Christians on the conservative end of the Protestant spectrum of belief feel that time is growing short, that time is running out, that Jesus is coming very soon. Feeling time growing short, some believers sit on their hands and do nothing, even as environmental damage and political unrest make life on earth ever more challenging. After all, goes that line of thought, how much effort do we want to invest in this world, when Jesus will be coming a couple years from now to carry us all away. We’ve got our golden parachute. For those who don’t, what concern is that of ours? Certainly, this sort of thinking makes us focus obsessively on ourselves and perhaps those in our immediate family – “us four, no more” as the saying goes, to the exclusion of concern for those outside our narrow circle. Make no mistake – I believe that Jesus will return. I also believe that with all my heart that, until then, God has given us a vocation and a mission which we must not abandon. I see no evidence in Scripture that the two great commandments – love God with all your heart, soul, mind and strength; love your neighbor as yourself – were intended at some present or future time to be revoked.

So we do need to use wisely the time God has been gracious to give us. In our church life, we shouldn't allow ourselves to be sidetracked by trivia, to waste energy on arguments about the color of the drapes in the social hall or such, while people around us are in need of Good News. God has entrusted us with the message of salvation, and our neighbors need to hear it. We must be up and doing, up and doing in sharing the Good news, speaking to our neighbors about Jesus, inviting them to worship with us. We must be up and doing, loving God and neighbor with the same self-giving love Jesus gave us.

From Matthew 24:45-46: “Who then is the faithful and wise servant, whom his master has put in charge of his household. Blessed is that servant whom his master will find at work when he arrives.” A bumper sticker says, “Jesus is coming – look busy” but a more appropriate message is “Jesus is coming – be faithful.” “Jesus is coming. Remember who you are.” Amen.