by Rev. Rob Jones
August 19, 2018

Ephesians 5:15-20 NRSVeu
15 Be careful, then, how you live, not as unwise people but as wise, 16 making the most of the time, because the days are evil. 17 So do not be foolish but understand what the will of the Lord is. 18 Do not get drunk with wine, for that is debauchery, but be filled with the Spirit, 19 as you sing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs to one another, singing and making melody to the Lord in your hearts, 20 giving thanks to God the Father at all times and for everything in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ,

I want to give you a look inside my head to see how it works. You may not know I am a natural introvert. If you are not familiar with the term, an introvert is someone who prefers calm, minimally stimulating environments. Introverts tend to feel drained after socializing. And we need alone time to recharge the old batteries. But my mind is also always on. I tend to think and overthink things. As a young man, I became aware of my introverted tendencies and made behavioral decisions to force myself to stay out of my own head.

So, either consciously or unconsciously, I made the decision to become a musician. I knew that eventually, I would have to be in front of people to perform, and I could work on music in my head anywhere. Later, I went into retail as an occupation, which was excellent for my plan because retail is all about being organized and getting the customers what they need fast… eventually, I took responsibility inside the church, which was, well, God’s way of pushing me in the right direction. All these things cause me to interact with other people. PLEASE UNDERSTAND, left to my own devices, I could quickly become a hermit. 

A few months into my seminary journey, I was fussed at by a mentor. Between family, my job, the church, my band, and seminary, I estimate I had at least ten jobs. That week, I was told by my mentor & friend, whom I respect very much, “Rob, you're going to burn yourself out.” This made me think… have I gone too far to curb my introverted ways? Let me go into my head and ponder that for a while… I know why I do so much because I don’t want to be seen as an antisocial hermit. And if I can fill up the time with things to do, then I won’t be left with my own devices. So, have I tried to fill up too much time?

I concluded, at first, that time must be the problem; there is too much time and too little time. I schedule my time reasonably well, with the help of a phone calendar and my wife. I give enough attention to my family, my vocation, my avocations, and my studies. I work hard, I play hard, and I pray hard. I am able to do this… all that I do, not because I am a Superman or a genius, or even because I have some secret formula of special herbs and spices that can be yours for three easy payments of $19.95! No, I have a fantastic support system in both my nuclear family and extended church family. I have a spiritual regimen rooted in prayer and the study of God’s word. Well, that proves it… I can rationalize with the best of them. But I’m Still thinking…the heart of my dilemma is time… This is my first conclusion…

What is it?... TIME… time is something we can try to control, but we always seem to have too much or too little of it. We are moving in and out of day-to-day appointments, running errands, taking care of unforeseen happenings, and using our mantras to remind ourselves who we are; we even use bible verses to remind us that we are Christians. I see John 3:16 on car windows, along with NO FEAR and Salt Life. But what are we really doing here? When did scripture become the same as a t-shirt slogan? And is it really about time at all? So, my mind keeps racing. What is Time? Time is a unique construct. The Greeks in Jesus’ day had two words for time:

Χρόνος (Kronos) time. Which is the idea of time as we know it; it’s where we get the term chronological. It’s the primary measurable clock time. Then there is kαιρός (kairos) time. Which literally means appointed time. Some academics refer to it as “God’s Time”. I like to think of it as “God’s Timeline.” Καιρός time is like the wind; we can’t see it, but we can see evidence of it. God has a plan for each of us, but we are too busy to see the movement. 

The concerned friend in the conversation said to me, “If you spread yourself too thin, the quality of your work will suffer.” It seemed I was doing too much in too little of a time frame. To that, I have no argument. The quality of my work is of the utmost importance. Especially when it comes to the work I do inside the church; it is God’s house, after all, and doesn’t God command the best we can give? 

I contemplated this conversation as I prepared today’s lesson. For years, I have run as fast as I could to be the man I am today. I want to spend as much time as I can afford on any sermon because I do not want to disappoint God and you who listen. I didn’t have a clue what to say. I went to the lectionary and read, I went to devotionals and read, I prayed and pondered. I wrote three other sermonettes that didn’t feel like they were what God was leading me to say but more what Rob was saying. Then I went back to the bible and read Ephesians 5:15-20. Now, I’m sure God opened my eyes this time around because it just came pouring out. So why did God make me think so hard about time? Why was I running down this rabbit hole?

I learned as a musician that time is the most important thing you know about. I taught my students to count the time of a song. At first, they make mistakes and count the notes wrong. But they learn. If you can count time, you can do anything in music. Paul tells us, “Be very careful, then, how you live—not as unwise but as wise, ¹⁶making the most of every opportunity (Καιρός) because the days (Κρόνος) are evil. Therefore, do not be foolish but understand what the Lord’s will is.” God’s will is making the most of Opportunity.

As we run through our daily lives, we watch the clock, we make decisions based on travel time to get someplace important, we pay close attention to when we have to take medications, we are a part of this organization or that club, Oh I can’t be late for that dinner date, or the show starts promptly at 8 O’clock. These are Kronos time events, not opportunities, not kairos Timeline events. Is our time used in the best way? Are we managing our time in the will of God? Or are we, like the beginner music student, miscounting the notes? You see, God gives us clear instructions, and Paul reiterates it in this epistle. Not as unwise but as wise… understand what the Lord’s will is. You see, if we look to scripture, we can know what God’s will is for our time. You can always find inspiration in the psalms…

• Psalm 37: Be still and rest in the Lord; wait for Him and patiently lean yourself upon Him.
• Psalm 46: Be still, and know that I am God: 

OK, so the Psalms say that… what else you got, God? Lay it on me…

Well, let us look at the Proverbs…

• Proverbs 1:5, Let the wise listen and add to their learning, and let the discerning get guidance.
• Proverbs 12:15, The way of fools seems right to them, but the wise listen to advice.
• Proverbs 29:11, Fools give full vent to their rage, but the wise bring calm in the end.

Listen to Paul again, ^“Be very careful, then, how you live—not as unwise, but as wise, making the most of every opportunity because the days are evil. Therefore, do not be foolish but understand what the Lord’s will is.” OK, so what does that mean for the advice I got from my mentor? If I am wise, I will listen and add this to my understanding of God’s will for my life. I will make good decisions. I will be still and know that God is with me always. But what else is God telling me to do? Am I to walk away from the responsibilities I have taken on? What about time are you telling me, God, What am I not getting here? 

Then, a song by the Byrds enters my mind.  “Turn, Turn, Turn” which led me to Ecclesiastes 3:1-8 ¹There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under the heavens: ²a time to be born and a time to die, a time to plant and a time to uproot, ³a time to kill and a time to heal, a time to tear down and a time to build, ⁴a time to weep and a time to laugh, a time to mourn and a time to dance, ⁵a time to scatter stones and a time to gather them, a time to embrace and a time to refrain from embracing, ⁶a time to search and a time to give up, a time to keep and a time to throw away, ⁷a time to tear and a time to mend, a time to be silent and a time to speak,

So many of us, when we are young, think we have eternity to live our lives; as we get older, we wrestle with mortality. Sometimes, we lose sight of what God has planned for us. We have plenty of time… As time moves on, it moves a little faster. We fight our appointed time like Jonah, or we are so busy we just become blind. The scriptures are full of blindness for anyone who doesn’t want to know the truth. 

On August 10, 2018, Richard Russell stole a Bombardier Q400 plane at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport Friday, August 10th, then crashed on Ketron Island, a small, sparsely populated strip of land in Puget Sound, some 30 miles away, about an hour later… Saturday night, 24 Hours later, His family, in a statement, called Russell, whose nickname was "Beebo," warm, kind, and gentle, a faithful husband, loving son, and good friend. They said his death came as a complete shock. In his own, calm words, recorded by flight controllers as he was doing loops and rolls over the waters of Puget Sound, he said he was “a broken man with a few loose screws” … Richard Russel was 29 years old. 

Time… Wise and unwise choices… God’s will… wait while my brain is processing this… Paul Says, “Be filled with the Spirit, ¹⁹ speaking to one another with psalms, hymns, and songs from the Spirit. Sing and make music from your heart to the Lord, ²⁰ always giving thanks to God the Father for everything, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.”

• Do we spend our time wisely?... Or unwisely? 
• Do we listen for God’s will, or even God’s “how ya doin’ there today” salutation? 
• Are we giving quality work to the building of God’s kingdom? 
• Or are we just running from appointment to appointment? 
• Are we Making good choices and always giving thanks?

Richard Russel was called by his friends a loving and caring person; by the authorities, he was called suicidal. In his own words, he was broken. When we do not take the time to be still and give God the attention that the creator of the universe is due, we are all at risk of being broken… and sometimes broken to the point that there is no coming back. We all think we have plenty of time… Russel’s news story lasted about 24 hours, and then the world moved on. 

Today, we live in a 24-hour-a-day news cycle. You can find out anything just by looking at your phone. With the right software, you can find out anything about anyone at any point on the globe. Yet, when a broken man steals a plane, makes loops for an hour, and crashes the plane, we forget about it in that same 24 hours because something else is there to replace it. Forgotten just like that… Statistically speaking, As of May 31, a total of 318 people have been killed, and 836 people have been wounded in 225 mass shootings. That is the 181^st day of the year. 

The world is kind of like my head… always on. We get bombarded with so much that we lose sight of what is essential. Maybe that’s why I have to recharge my batteries in solitude. I know I have a lot going on. But I also know that It’s temporary. God has a timeline for me; I was not in school forever, my life as a professional musician ended, and, well, life goes on. I understand God has a plan for me, and I want to be able to pay close attention to that plan. I want to make wise choices and make the most of the opportunities. 

Even when I take time to recharge my batteries, I’m never really alone. I stand in the presence of God, study his word, and reflect on the ultimate sacrifice of Jesus. I know that no matter what, I am made whole in that sacrifice. Never to be broken. I heard my mentor’s advice, although I never did find ways to scale back my responsibilities. I still strive to be wise and make the most of every opportunity. Most importantly, I continue to find time to be still, rest in the Lord, and continually give thanks for the many blessings that God has given. All that I had going on in my life then was only preparation. It prepared me for my life now. 

There is one final point I want to make from this passage…

“Be filled with the Spirit, as you sing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs to one another, singing and making melody to the Lord in your hearts.” Now, this may seem like a very innocent statement. But the phrase “with the spirit” is a fully loaded, mind-blowing thought bomb. Spirit comes from the Greek word πνευματικαῖς (pneumatikais). Now, the root word of πνευματικαῖς is πνεῦμα (pneuma), which is where we get Words like Breath, Wind, Spirit, and Pneumatic. When Paul wrote about Jesus, just as he is doing in this epistle, and he talks about from the spirit, He’s not talking about your ability to sing like Aretha Franklin or Ray Charles. No, he means the breath of YHWH, The very essence of your existence. From that place so deep down inside of you that you can’t even explain where it comes from except to say it’s from… YOUR SOUL. This is how we are to speak to one another and how we are to praise the one creator God, who gave us this life, with every blessing, with every appointment, with every learning experience, and every opportunity to give that praise, which we are not even worthy to offer. No, we are not, but God wants us to provide it in everything we do and to everyone we see. 

At Douglas, we do a ritual called the passing of the peace. This is not just a way to let people know that we are here on Sunday or to grab that pillow that is on the next pew while no one is paying attention. No, the passing of the peace is Us imitating God. It’s a practice session for what we are supposed to do at all times. Praise God. 

Yes, I’m busy, and I spend a lot of time managing my time. I know that I can’t go at this pace forever. 

I find comfort in the fact that, Right now, God is in control; this is Καιρός—the appointed time for me to do what God has called me to do. And I will stumble, I will fall, I will fail, But I will gladly obey. 

So, just as I walked you through my thought process, look inside at yourselves… 

• Are we really using the very essence of ourselves to Praise Him? Are we being kind? 
• Are we taking the time to be still and know that God is present? 
• Are we looking to that Καιρός in our own lives? I pray we are… 

 In the name of the Father and Son and the Holy Spirit. Amen