This year the seasons, especially this winter, have been so different. This year has been such a strange year for snow. It feels almost like we’ve missed the real cold and bluster of winter. Earlier this month on Ash Wednesday, when we finally had our first serious snow, when around 6 inches of snow finally fell. My 7-year-old looked out the window and the first thing he said was: “Look! It finally looks like Christmas!”
Today, I’m thinking about the change of seasons because Easter is coming. This year more than most it strikes me that we may all be in very different places when it comes to feeling ready to celebrate Jesus resurrection.
One of my favorite hymns is “Now the Green Blade Rises.” You might know the tune, too. It’s a pretty hard one to sing, and so most of the time I enjoy it most as a listener when it’s played on the piano or the organ. I can remember some great arrangements with a flute playing the melody line. It always gets me in the mood for the change of seasons from winter to spring, from Lent into Easter.
In Greek, there are two kind of time: Chronos and Kairos. The Greek word Chronos is where we get our word chronological. When I was a kid my first watch was a digital watch. One of the buttons was labeled the chronometer. When my best friend in I were bored in class, I think this would have been fifth or sixth grade, we would see who could get closest to exactly 10 seconds on our chronometers. That’s the time it kind of time that we’re talking about when we’re thinking about the calendar or how the second turn in minutes turn into our turn into days one right after the other.
As we move through the season of lent, I’m thankful for this Chronos time because it gives us an opportunity to give intentional attention to our theme. This year, every Wednesday night during Lent we’ve been hearing from a different preacher. Preachers from House of Hope, Holy Nativity and Faith-Lilac Way have or will come with a story from the Acts of the Apostles. it has been a good time to have our attention drawn to the way the Holy Spirit altered the way we live our lives. We’ve been able to see how God‘s presence through the Holy Spirit in us offers guidance and strength, perseverance and clarity.
The other kind of time in Greek is Kairos. It is the kind of time that we’re talking about when we say: “Now is the time!” When I think about Kairos time, I think of Jesus’ first sermon in Mark: “the time (kairos) is fulfilled and the Kingdom of God has come near!” Or, I think of Paul’s description of the day of resurrection in 1 Corinthians 15:51-52: “Listen, I will tell you a mystery! We will not all die, but we will all be changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. The trumpet will sound and the dead will be raised imperishable and we will be changed.”
During Holy Week this year, I’m so excited for the magnificent music our Music Director, Ben Jeitz, has planned for our Palm procession and the retelling of the passion story on Palm Sunday. And, be sure to mark your calendars for Maundy Thursday at 6pm. Last year, we tried dinner church for the first time and it felt like a joyful experiment. This year we feel like we'velearned enough to really lean into the kind of immersive experience of music, food, and faithful recollection of that night, when Jesus was betrayed. On Good Friday, we’ll join Faith Lilac Way for two services at 3 PM and 7 PM. We will have a Tenabre Service organized around Jesus’s last seven words. If all goes to plan, a joint choir will lead us through the music and meditations that make the day so meaningful.
This month, our worship life will bring us through so many moments and experiences of joy and grief, hope and loss, death and resurrection. We hope that you’ll seize the moment and join in!