During this Christmas Season, I have had some thoughts about
time. (No, read that again: I did not
say “it’s about time I had some thoughts”.)
Strangely, I thought of Christ’s birth in terms of calendar time. Although
the calendar system we now use was created many years later, yet under that
system we would say that Christ was born in the year zero. We always think of years as numbers, and
always think that that one is the first number, but at least in time, zero
is. Zero is the starting point when it
all began. It’s like the foundation to a
house, only it is the foundation to time: Year Zero. It begins with the year Jesus Christ was
born.
And from that foundation of time, time marches on, never to
return. On that foundation, in some year
we ourselves were born, and in some year we will die. We look back at what Jesus did, from year 0
to 33AD, and say: “That is who He is,” the sum of His Life, the example on
which to model our life, during our years.
But we don’t think often enough that our years will also be the sum of
our life. Who we are, who we will be
defined forever as, is also who we will have become at the end of our lives. How
we use this life, who we become in this life, is eternally important.
Time passes and does not
return. God has assigned to each of us a
definite time in which to fulfill His divine plan for our soul; we have only
this time and shall have no more. In
eternity, time will be no more; we shall be established forever in the degree
of love which we have reached now, in time.
No further progress will be possible when time has ended. “Therefore, whilst we have time, let us work
good to all men. (Gal 6:10)”
O Lord, if I look back on the
year just passed, a year given me by Your divine Providence in which to
increase my love of You, I can only grieve over myself and say to You: How
little I have loved You, my God! How
badly I have spent my time!” … Well do
You know, My God, that in the midst of all my miseries I have never ceased to
recognize Your great power and mercy.
May it prove of avail to me that I have not offended You in this. Restore the time I have lost, my God, by
granting me Your grace both in the present and in the future, that I may
appear before You wearing the wedding garment.
--- Divine
Intimacy, Meditation 35, December 31st
We forget the examples Jesus gave us on how to live our
lives, use our years. We are to grow in
holiness; our life is a cumulation, like we are sewing a garment --- one he describes
as a wedding garment, for us to wear to the eternal marriage feast we are
invited to attend, with our eternal King.
But when the king came in to
look at the guests, he saw there a man who had no wedding garment; and he said
to him, “Friend, how did you get in here without a wedding garment?” And he was speechless. Then the king said to the attendants, “Bind
him hand and foot, and cast him into the outer darkness; there men will weep
and gnash their teeth.” For many are
called, but few are chosen. (Mt21:11-14)
This is the end of another year, another decade. What will 2020 bring? As I look back on my years’ past, I am glad
that the sum of my life is not a tally of how may I led to Christ versus how
many I led astray. No, my life is a
cumulation to the point I end up; who I am then, that is who I will be for all
eternity, and so until my last year, my last day, I want keep sewing my wedding
garment, to grow in holiness, grow in love, in my imitation of Him.
Lord, help me to follow You, to
be Your messenger to everyone in my life.
You are so gentle with me, Lord.
You always forgive; You always nudge; You always wait with infinite
patience. Thank You. Make me more like You. I want to be Your light and Your goodness to
everyone around me. I want to attract them
to You, however far away they may be, as the star of Bethlehem attracted the
wise men. Jesus, meek and humble of
heart, make my heart more like Yours.
--- The Better Part, Meditation 239, Jn 1:1-18
Happy new year, my friends.
Happy new decade. May you live it
well, and grow in holiness. Don’t just
let time pass; put on your glasses, see with 20-20 vision; this time is eternally
important.
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