The Greek
word might be ‘kairos’ as opposed to chronos. The former marks a moment of
significant import. The latter refers to the ticking of a clock. Lives are
changed because of kairos moments.
Recently I
passed through two kairos moments, points of significance only to me and some
bureaucratic numbers fanatic in some distant city. The first of these two
events came when I reached the age of 65. People reach that age all the time
and I’m sure quite a few did it on the same day I did.
For me there
was the importance of that age because I had reached one of the milestones that
determine the proximity of retirement, Medicare qualification. A score of
insurance companies had been letting me know for months of my importance to
them. The United States Government had discovered my address for something
other than quarterly tax payment envelopes.
The second kairos
moment was related to this blog. When I began writing this several years ago, I
did it mostly as an outlet for the desire to write. I was already writing in a
variety of other ways, but this opened a new social media outlet. I was under
no illusion I would soon reach scores of thousands of readers. I simply saw
this as another literary avenue to express my thoughts. Only a few weeks ago I
passed the milestone of 6000 views on this site. For me that was a kairos
moment.
That number
might mean one person has visited this site 6000 times in the recent past. It
could also mean 6000 people have visited it once. Since I do not know the truth
of the matter, I will allow the number simply to stand alone as a mark in the
passage of time.
The numbers
of 65 and 6000 are no more than that except as they stand as significant points
in my life. They will never be repeated, but I can look back and say I made it
that far. For me that is important. I may share this with my family, but it
will have little historical significance.
Of far greater
significance are those kairos moments that point to a a future task and an
acceptance of an inescapable destiny.
Luk
4:16-21 Then Jesus went to Nazareth, where he had been brought up, and on the
Sabbath he went as usual to the synagogue. He stood up to read the Scriptures
and was handed the book of the prophet Isaiah. He unrolled the scroll and found
the place where it is written, "The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because
he has chosen me to bring good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim
liberty to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to set free the
oppressed and announce that the time has come when the Lord will save his
people." Jesus rolled up the scroll, gave it back to the attendant, and
sat down. All the people in the synagogue had their eyes fixed on him, as he
said to them, "This passage of scripture has come true today, as you heard
it being read."
In this
moment Jesus led his listeners to a radically different understanding of who he
was. Jesus had set his feet upon the path of a divine mission and nothing would
ever be the same.
For Saul/Paul
the change in his life was even more radical. His kairos moment transformed him
from a persecutor of the church to its first great missionary.
Act
9:3-6 As Saul was coming near the city of Damascus, suddenly a light from the
sky flashed around him. Act 9:4 He fell
to the ground and heard a voice saying to him, "Saul, Saul! Why do you
persecute me?" "Who are you, Lord?" he asked. "I am Jesus,
whom you persecute," the voice said. "But get up and go into the
city, where you will be told what you must do."
We all have
kairos moments. We are called to recognize those moments and allow them to
shape us for a future God has planned.
