Kairos (First Sunday of Advent)

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It’s now been almost a month since the time change back to “standard time.”  I am apparently part of the supermajority of Americans who believe changing the clocks twice a year has outlived its usefulness and ought to stop!  But nevertheless – as a non-morning person – changing the clock so we get an hour of extra sleep is infinitely easier than creating the jet-lag of jumping an hour ahead.

In fact, the only real drawback from the fall clock change is trying to explain to Phoenix that suppertime is now an hour later.  Phoenix, however, will have none of it!  “It doesn’t matter what the clock says, Dad.  It’s supper time!”  And he gets quite vocal about it!  And it’s taken until about now before “supper time” according to the clock is beginning to feel to him like “supper time.”

I thought about this as I was reading what Paul wrote to the Romans in today’s second reading.  Paul writes, “You know what time it is.”  This is one of those passages where it helps to know some Greek vocabulary.  In biblical Greek, there are two words for “time.”  One is “chronos”, from which we get English words like “chronology.”  That’s the kind of time that’s measured by the clock.  If the clock says it’s 10 am, it’s time to start streaming the service.

But the other word is “kairos.”  And it means that a moment for action has arrived; that a new age is upon us; and it doesn’t matter what day it is or what hour the clock says.  It’s supper time!

And it’s this word “kairos” that Paul uses when he says, “you know what time it is.”  We read these words as we begin Advent. And during the season of Advent, we often focus on “kairotic” moments.  We prepare ourselves to remember when the “time” had come for Christ to come into the world.  We recall the “time” when John the Baptist appeared in the wilderness to prepare the way.  And we read sometimes scary sounding stories about “the day and the hour” of the “time” for the end of history, as we read in the Gospel reading today.

But in fact, while Paul may primarily be pointing to the kairotic moment of “end of time,” that’s not the only “kairos” in the Bible.  Kairos – a new time – happens whenever God places a new opportunity before us; whenever God opens our eyes to a new vision of the way life could be; and whenever God moves in our hearts to guide us in a new direction.

So really, one of the questions we’re supposed to consider in Advent is how we can be open to these new, kairotic moments in life.  How do we prepare for them?  And how do we recognize them, instead of  being distracted?

Those are really the questions Jesus is directing the disciples toward as they consider God’s kairotic moments.

And while Jesus is talking to his disciples about the “kairos” of the end-times, he’s in fact guiding them to prepare for the new “time”– whatever the “time” may be.  And that preparation is often done by some pretty basic things.  In fact, it seems to be centered on:

• Being about the regular, daily work that we believe God is calling us to, even if it doesn’t seem flashy or exciting – Jesus talks about two guys out working in the field and two women grinding grain.  These were two of the basic tasks needed everyday for people to eat and survive.  Sometimes, these words have been interpreted as people being clueless, and thoughtlessly caught up in drudgery. But I don’t think that’s what Jesus intends. Instead, these folks were doing what was necessary to sustain and preserve life in their community, and when the day arrives – like the faithful stewards in many of Jesus’ parables – they were found doing their jobs.  They were faithfully carrying out the work God had given them to do…

• Not being distracted by the bright and shiny objects – just as there are today, the folks working in the field and grinding the grain were constantly aware of the wars and the rumors of wars; the earthquakes and other disasters that happened to them and to others; and as the stories of the Magi remind us, there were people who saw signs in the heavens that might or might not mean something.  But apparently, they didn’t let those “signs” – even the bright and shiny ones – distract them from what their job was.  They surely noticed, but they didn’t let themselves be distracted …

• Being centered on God’s promise – Jesus begins this whole discourse with the words, “no one knows…but only the Father.”  That means first and foremost that God knows.  And God really is in control of history, no matter how out of control the world seems.  And perhaps what made it possible for these folks to keep on doing their jobs day in and day out was that they trusted, and centered themselves, on the promise that God would make good on his promises to them.  And that was true whether they were the ones taken or the ones left behind.  Either way, they were still safely in God’s hands…

And doing things like that – focusing on the daily things God is calling you to; not letting yourself get distracted by the bright, shiny objects; and having confidence in God’s ultimate salvation of the whole word – is really, I think, what Paul means when he says it’s the “kairos” to “wake from sleep.”

And so perhaps meeting and kairos moment in our lives – or even preparing for it – can be best done by:

• Being about the daily work that God gives us, even when it doesn’t seem exciting and flashy – part of what can make you “sleep” is when you’re dreaming about the way the world may be or what tomorrow or next year might bring.  Those things are important, too, but it’s clear that many of Jesus’ disciples and quite a few of the people Paul wrote to were so dreaming of life in heaven that they weren’t as involved as they should be with what God called them to do right now. Yet being faithfully at work doing tasks that make a difference in the lives of others around us is often the first part of being open to the future – and to the new moment God may be giving us…

• Not be distracted by the bright, shiny objects – ironically, perhaps, some of the “work of getting ready for Christmas” can turn into the bright, shiny objects as well! Just reading the list of all the great things we’re doing between now and Christmas (and their deadlines!) is exhausting!  Add to that all the other stuff that each of us wants and needs to do to “prepare” for Christmas, and it can sometimes so consume us that we reach Christmas and wonder where all the time went.  At least, I know that’s how it sometimes is for me.  And maybe one of the most important things we can do to prepare for celebrating the “kairos” of Christ’s coming into our lives is to fight against letting the preparations become the distractions…

• Be centered on God’s promise – one of the problems of focusing on all the wild and crazy “signs” in some of the apocalyptic literature is that we get centered on the wars, the earthquakes, the famines and the plagues and the moon being turned to blood.  But those things are NEVER the point, even when they’re mentioned.  The point is always that in that kairotic moment, God always wins in the end, in spite of all this stuff.  And perhaps the most important part of being ready to receive a new moment from God is the daily centering of ourselves on the promises of God, not the scary crazy stuff.  And that’s because those are the promises that can really sustain us and give us strength to endure, no matter what else is happening in our lives…

And so today we begin the new “kairos” of Advent.  It’s a time to prepare, but it’s not just about getting stuff done before December 25^th.

Instead, the kairos of Advent is about a recommitment to living into the coming kingdom of God by investing ourselves in the work God gives us to do each day.  The Kairos of Advent is about resisting the urge to be distracted by all the bright, shiny objects – especially in this season – that so often vie for our attention.  And most of all, the kairos of Advent is about looking beyond Christmas to the whole of the promised future God is giving to both us and to the whole world.

Amen.