For this Ash Wednesday meditation, I wanted to give a shorter mediation that what I have been doing on Sundays.
So let us begin with the Lectionary Readings …
(By the way, if you would like to see a page with the Sunday reflections you can follow this link.)
The Lectionary Readings for today
Scripture Lessons for Ash Wednesday:
Joel 2:1-2, 12-17 or Isaiah 58:1-12; Psalm 51:1-17; 2 Corinthians 5:20b-6:10; Matthew 6:1-6, 16-21.
Meditation on Ash Wednesday
The Irony of Matthew’s Gospel Lesson with Ash Wednesday Services
By the way, I do catch the irony of Jesus warning the disciples in the Sermon on the Mount passage from Matthew about practicing their piety before others, and then (in “normal” years) people lining up to get the sign of the cross in ash on their foreheads. I suppose this year, it will “all be done in private” as the public piece will be via some sort of “streaming” service.
The irony does make me grin.
Two Types of Time
As of late, I’ve been pondering two types of time: Kairos and Kronos (Chronos). An Ash Wednesday Meditation seems an appropriate time to discuss these concepts.
Ash Wednesday is the start of Lent, and as such, it invites us into a new way of living. Lent provides a space to become conscious of how we have been living, and allows us 40 days (not counting Sundays) to practice a different way of being in the world.
That’s the true meaning of repentance: to turn around, to live in a new way.
So Lent gives us an opportunity to try a new way of living, a new way of being.
Some people give something up for Lent. I’ve always been more apt to try to replace a behavior with a different type of behavior. Maybe this new behavior will become a habit, and a new way of being in the world.
So let us talk a bit about these two types of time.
Kronos (Chronos) Time
These two ideas of time come from the Greeks.
Kronos was the father of Zeus, who ate all his children (save Zeus who defeats his own father).
As such Kronos time as an “eating” quality to it. By the way, notice how Chronos is the root of English words like Chronology, Chronometer, and Chronicle.
This sense of time we’ve all experienced with due dates and productivity and timelines. There are only 24 hours in a day. We’ve got to produce. How are we effective, productive and efficient?
This is all Kronos/Chronos time.
Kairos Time
This is the sense of time more deeply rooted in seasons, in flow, in tides.
My sense is that those of use who love boating (or other outdoor recreation) enjoy these activities because they relate to a different sense of time. We are forced to operate on the rhythm of the wind and tides and currents. We slow down.
Kairos time is more rhythm oriented. This time of time is more aligned with “deep time.”
I suspect we’ve all experienced this type of time, too. Those sunsets that grab our hearts. Those places where we loose track of how much time has gone by. I think this is especially true when we have a realization afterward (maybe even in the midst of it) of how much fun we are having.
But isn’t it also true that we enter into this time when we listen to those inner promptings (the Spirit)? We call up a friend we know is struggling and invite them to coffee. We pause as we pass another on the dock to ask how they really are, and take the time to listen.
An Opportunity
While our culture feeds of Kronos/Chronos time, we can choose to be aware and strive to live with a sense of Kairos time.
Ash Wednesday, as the start of Lent, invites us into a new way of being. Ash Wednesday invites us into a new way of orienting ourselves.
We are given an opportunity to see time differently.
And perhaps, just perhaps, that can be our spiritual practice this Lent.
An Ash Wednesday Service
We’ve included an Ash Wednesday Service that you are free to use. You can either click on the link, or find the service (and others) under Resources on the Menu bar at the top of the page.
Our original idea was that it would work for those who are out sailing and therefore unable to join a community. This year (due to the virus) it might become handy for you to use in your home.
Blessed be
Currently I’ve still been reading Philip Jenkins’. The Lost History of Christianity, the Thousand-Year Golden Age of the Church in the Middle East, Africa, and Asia – and How It Died.
_____/)__________(\__________/)_____
Most of the links in this post are to other pages.
The links in this post are affiliate links through Bookshop.org for your convenience. If you were to purchase something by following the links, we would get a small commission at no extra expense to you, while you get to support a local bookstore. Thank you for the support. If you’d like to see other books I’ve recommended, click here.
If you feel you must shop through Amazon, here is our affiliate links. Again, thank you for sending us a little something at no extra expense to you.
[…] I noted on Ash Wednesday there is a difference between Kairos and Chronos time. Do Empires request Chronos related time? Is […]