April 7, 2022 Time is money. I spent time. I wasted time. I just don’t have time for that. These phrases are common in our world. We experience time as a scarce resource that we only have so much of – and in some ways this is true. After all, at some point we will die – a fact that seems an all-too-present reminder amid a lingering pandemic and ongoing wars. Even in Sunday’s gospel text (John 12:1-8), Jesus cannot escape reminders of death. Lazarus, whom Jesus has just raised from the dead, is at the table maybe still smelling of death. Jesus knew and knows that his coming to Bethany to raise Lazarus assures his arrest and death on the cross. And Mary anoints Jesus as you would prepare a body for burial. Jesus even reflects this reality with the words, “…but you will not always have me with you.” Those words of Jesus might give us pause because we think of the ways that he elsewhere assures his followers that he will be with us always. We’re forced to enter into the paradox of Jesus both with us and not with us; this is part of the paradox at the heart of God who is both transcendent (beyond, above, outside of creation) and immanent (closer to us than we are to ourselves). Jesus will be with his followers in a different way beyond death. He will run out of time – not that his time will run out, but that he will once again be with God no longer bound by the way time imposes itself upon us here on earth. While we often start from a mindset of scarcity and either/or, we worship a God who is abundant and operates from a place of both/and. You see, we want to ask Jesus, “Which is it? You are either with us or not with us.” But the truth is that Christ is both with us and not with us – Jesus does not walk alongside us in the flesh except that he does in the presence of our neighbors and those who are called “least of these.” Jesus is both present and not at the same time. When we are able to enter into the “both/and”s at the heart of faith, we too begin to start from a place of abundance. And one of the most radical ways this changes us is how it can cultivate in us a ministry of presence. There are innumerable distractions around us and whether it is a to-do list or a pain from the past or a worry from the future or a dopamine hit from a “like” on a social media post, these things always impinge upon the present and vie for our time. Yet, followers of Jesus know that when our time runs out, we too will run out of time and be swept up into eternal life with God – a life outside of time. And when we rest in that assurance, we step into that eternal life here and now and live as if we have all the time in the world and can spend that time extravagantly. We learn from Mary of Bethany to tune into the presence of Christ and spend as much time with Jesus as we can. We learn from Jesus that we can be interrupted “on the way” and the encounter in the interruption may be the most important part of our day. We are bold enough to take an extra moment at the grocery check out to ask how someone is and truly listen and maybe even introduce ourselves. We play with our children, grandchildren, puppies a few minutes longer before jumping to finish the dishes. We show up at our youth’s band concert or football game rather than complaining that our families with young folks aren’t making time to be at church. Showing up, being with someone, and being present to the moment and the people you are with is one of the most radical things you can do. One of the greatest gifts you can give your neighbor is the gift of your presence. It’s why I mean it so deeply when I say at the beginning of worship, “Your presence is a gift to us and to our community.” Perhaps we can let go of our desire for everything to be an “either/or” and sit with the mystery of a “both/and” God so that we might cultivate our ministry of presence. If you want to give extravagantly to Christ and listen closely to him following Mary’s example, you can do so now by giving extravagantly to your neighbor who is in need and showing up and being present for them. As we enter into Holy Week, I pray that we will be attentive to the mytery of God, present with one another, and present with the powerful story of Jesus’ final days, his crucifixion, and the resurrection.Blessings, Pastor Drew |
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