Title: “Make the Most of the Time”

Scriptures: Ephesians 5:15-20

8/17/03 10th Sunday after Pentecost

Rev. Joy R. Haertig

“Make the most of the time”, the author of Ephesians tells us in today's reading.  

A little Greek word study tells us that the author is using the Greek word “Kairos” here, not “chronos” - for time - which adds meaning to the English translation that we would not note without this background.  Kairos time is what is defined as “God's time” while “chronos” time is human time, clock time.  In today's reading we are being urged to make the most of God's time, not “clock” time.  

God's time is about quality, not quantity.  God's time is when we “lose track of time”.  God's time is about the gift of life itself and how we use it in fulfillment of our highest selves.  Chronos time is something we run out of, it can be a source of pressure or fear: “my time is running out…yoyou have run out of time…titime is short…acact now before the time is up!”  

While Kairos time is abundant and eternal.

With this in mind, hear again the words from Ephesians:

“Be careful then how you live…” ” the author states.  “Not as unwise people, but as wise, making the most of the time, because the days are evil.  So do not be foolish, understand what the will of the Lord is.  Do not get drunk with wine, for that is debauchery; but be filled with the Spirit as you sing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs among yourselves, singing and making melody to the Lord in your hearts…”B”

Be careful then how you live - for indeed, life is a precious gift and it is more greatly enjoyed the more we nurture the Kairos part of it and worry less about the chronos.  I believe that what is evil in the world would hold less sway if we were to focus more on the “Kairos” of God.  (But that is another sermon!  I am also not going to preach on whether to drink wine or not, that is another sermon as well!)

The author of Ephesians understands that one of the greatest gifts we have been given to help us live and focus on the “Kairos” of God is the gift of music.  What else has the power to bring you to your knees or have you dancing in the aisles?  For many of us singing is the central joy of worship, and what other way can you unite a whole mish-mash of people together in harmony but through song?  

(Mind you, I do believe that music can be used in ways that are not life-giving, but today I want to give thanks for the music that helps us experience the “Kairos of God”.)

Music can speak of love between two people and it can break open the human heart and fill it with truth.  Music can facilitate memory, it can connect us with stories long gone and it can connect us to the saints of old.  It can help us remember what it felt like to “be young again” and it can sometimes make us “feel old”!

Music can express issues of justice and invoke courage.  Howard Thurman wrote a wonderful book called Deep River and the Negro Spiritual Speaks of Life and Death.  In it he shows how the words to the Negro spirituals reflected the deep courage and faith of the slaves to not give up and to trust that God had not given up on them.  For some, singing gave them the strength they needed to persevere.

I was reading an article this week that explained how music involves the use of both sides of the brain, so it is good exercise too!  The left side is more analytical and practical.  This is the side that produces the words.  The right side is more creative and emotional - closely tied to the passions of the heart.  So, song is a combination of the passion of the heart and the reflection of the mind.  The left and ride side of the brain join forces and allow the mind and heart to focus, pointing toward the same idea.  When the song is sung, the body completes this circuit of mind, body and soul.  The Rev. David Sharp writes: “A song then, becomes an arrow, pointing the whole being toward one point, one issue, one theme.  It is a commitment of the whole individual in an act of spiritual expression.”

This week in preparation for my message I asked a few folks in our congregation to share with me how or if music was connected to their spirituality - these are the responses I received:

“Music is part of “the universal vibe” - when I sing then I became a part of the whole.  When I went through my desert time away from a church community and questioning my beliefs, music kept me connected and ultimately music brought me back.”

“Music connects me to the past…I I enjoy singing that which others have sung through the generations.”

“Music is the way I make my spiritual connection to that which is beyond me, my family and friends and immediate surroundings.  The feelings I get through music are what I draw from day to day.”

“From the time of my youth when the folks would play the piano and sing the old songs I came to know those songs and to trust and believe that that was religion.  I struggle now with the changing of words to be more “politically correct” but I do love some of the new pieces that have been published.”

“Music is the voice of God, speaking through chosen messengers such as Bach, Mozart, Beethoven, Aaron Copland etc.  Hymns are prayers sung to God.”

“In worship, sometimes the entire service can be lost on me yet the music will linger with me for days…SeSecular music can be as meaningful to me as that in church.”

“I have not thought about it much - is tearing up and getting goosebumps spirituality?”

“Music is made of sound waves, they come together to make beauty and altar the universe forever.  Sound can rearrange molecules!  Music is a form of worship - my mother used to always say to me, “Music is the language of God.”  Music is like God, it happens only in the moment, you can not hold on to it, it is ethereal…ThThe power of joining with others to sing is wonderful, I don't care who they are or whether they can “sing” or not.”

I also discovered this week that it is no accident that singing is one of the most powerful expressions of spirituality because scientists have discovered that everything in the universe vibrates and so is making “a joyful noise unto the Lord”!   The rocks, the trees, everything in nature is “singing”, even if we cannot hear their song because of our limited range of hearing. (Rev. David Sharp)   

Another “aha” I stumbled upon this week is that the word “universe” itself means “one verse” - so the whole creation is one amazing song.

I guess this means that any of us who have ever said “we can't carry a tune” is not telling the truth - I guess we are all singing whether we realize it or not.

The wisdom of Ephesians is eternal - its verses still ring true for us today.

May we indeed be careful with how we use God's time.  May we find ways to nurture Kairos time in our lives - that which is eternal and abundant - and may one of those ways be through the gift of music, “singing and making melody to the Lord in your hearts.”  Amen.