It has often been pointed out that there are two kinds of time. Chronos or chronological time is marked by seconds, minutes, hours, days, weeks and years. Chronos time is about the past or the future.
In contrast, kairos time cannot be pinned down. Kairos time is the moment of opportunity—the time appointed by God. And here’s the paradox about kairos time; precisely because kairos time cannot be pinned down, it is a moment in the here and now.
Most of us spend our lives driven by chronos time. We are either looking back at the past, regretting what we did or didn’t do, or forward to the future, fretting about what we need to do next. This is particularly true of the days leading up to the holidays. Retailers count down the number of shopping days before Christmas. They urge us to take advantage of the time limited Black Friday or Cyber Monday sales. According to these voices the clock is ticking and if we don’t hurry we will miss out.
Driven by chronos time, the holidays become the season of busyness. There are parties to host and to attend. There are gifts to buy. There are trips to plan. There are lights to be hung and trees to trim. There are phone calls to make and e-mails to send. The list of holiday “to do’s” is endless.
As a result, the holidays become a source of stress. The pressure of trying to get it all done, and get it all done just right creates a situation in which we are either regretting the past or fretting about the future. Existing in chronos time alone rob us of the joy of the season.
What if, just for a moment each day this holiday season, we set aside our obsession with chronos time? What if, just for a moment, we ceased all activity and entered intentionally into kairos time? What might we discover?
Entering into kairos time can be as simple as pausing for a moment and asking yourself “Where is God for me in the here and now?” Maybe you will discover that God is speaking to you through the brilliant blue winter sky or the sparkle in your child’s eye. Maybe you will hear the voice of God as you pause to listen to the words of a Christmas carol. Maybe you will feel the love of God as a stranger warmly greets you and lends a helping hand.
Paying attention to the presence of God in the here and now, entering into kairos time, is simple but not easy in a chronos driven world. It is spiritual ninja work. Perhaps that is why the gospels urge us to keep awake, to watch, and to wait attentively. For as the poet Ann Weems reminds us, “God will be where God will be.” If we are not attuned to God in the here and now, if we are stuck in the past or caught up in the future, we will miss the coming of God in the present moment.
My hope and prayer for all of us is that, amidst the busyness of this season, God will grace your days with moments of kairos time in which we know the joy of the season.
Pastor Margrethe