Time (reprise)

 

Physicists and metaphysicists have puzzled over time for a long time. What is it? Both Zen master Dōgen’s Shōbō Genzō and Heidegger’s Sein und Zeit reflect on how closely we humans are tied to time (Heidegger’s German term for “human being” is Dasein, “being-there”). Physicists reflect on “time’s arrow”—why can we move from present to future but not to past?

Rather than speculate overmuch on what time is, the scriptures prefer to counsel how best to use it.

Ÿ     Different times bring varied opportunities and responsibilities: “For everything there is a season, a time for every activity under heaven—a time to be born and a time to die....”

Ÿ     We each have a “time” that we can use for good or ill: “Noah was a righteous man, blameless in his time; Noah walked with God....  David served the purpose of God in his own generation.”

Ÿ     When our time is over, we get no second chance: “It is appointed for men to die once and after this comes judgment.”

Ÿ     More than concerning ourselves with “times” (χρόνοι) or “epochs” (καίροι), we should devote ourselves to Christian responsibilities: “It is not for you to know times or epochs which the Father has fixed by his own authority; but you shall be my witnesses.”

Ÿ     Israel had special, regular times for worship and remembrance (not a bad idea for us as well): “You shall keep this ordinance [Passover and Unleavened Bread] at its appointed time from year to year.... And it shall be when your son asks you, ‘What is this?’ then you shall say to him, ‘With a powerful hand Yahweh brought us out of Egypt, from the house of slavery.’”

Ÿ     God and we view time differently: “With the Lord one day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years like one day. The Lord is not slow about his promise, but is patient.”

Ÿ     The evils of our age should urge us to use our opportunities well: “Be careful how you walk, not as unwise men but as wise, making the most of your time, because the days are evil.”