I’m sure you will all agree with me when I say that middle school is a tough transition. There is a lot going on between elementary school and high school and not all of it is good. Those years are filled with a bunch of “coming of age” events and to be honest I am glad I don’t have to relive them. But there were a few things about middle school that were nice. For example, I remember getting my first real watch when I was in sixth grade. Kids didn’t wear watches much, if at all, in elementary school. But just about everyone wore one in high school. So me starting to wear one was a big deal. I remember it well. It was an analog watch that had a picture of Darth Vader on it. Yes, I was cool back then (or at least my left wrist was).
Watches were important as a status symbol to be sure, but they were also great for the obvious reason. I could now always be able to know what time it was. And this was a big deal. Back in elementary school you didn’t have to know what time it was because you didn’t have much freedom in how to use your time. Adults kept time for you. They told you what to do and when to do it. School buzzers or bells went off that told you when to go outside for recess and when to come in. With middle school, though, you started to become responsible for getting yourself places at the right times. When you knew what time it was, all of a sudden time became more meaningful.
I don’t wear a watch anymore. But this doesn’t mean I don’t know what time it is. I almost always do. My phone tells me. The computers I use tell me. Clocks around the house tell me. It is rare that I have no idea what time of day it is. And yet the more I think about the value of knowing the time, the more I realize just how arbitrary most of it is. For example, it makes perfect sense for you to celebrate your birthday on the anniversary of your birth. But what about the New Year celebration? Why does that happen on January 1? Couldn’t we have made our calendar start on any day we wanted? We owe that to the Romans when they formed their calendar back in 45 B.C.E. After the fall of the empire though dates moved around in Europe. Some places adopted Christmas as the beginning of the year. Others put the new year in what is now March to coincide with the Incarnation of Christ (just count back nine months from Christmas to get this date). The names of our months actually reflect this March-starting year to some extent. That is why September, October, November, and December were given those names, pointing to what used to be the seventh, eighth, ninth, and tenth months of the year, respectively.
When you really think about it you realize just how arbitrary times and events are. At least this is true for the man-made events. Here is a small list of things that we have defined for ourselves that could have been defined a much different way.
The standard work week, and the shift times during the day for work.
The times that public schools begin and end.
The times that church starts.
The times that businesses open and close.
The fact that we need 12 years to graduate from public school (not counting kindergarten and preschool).
The retirement age.
We made all of those things up ourselves, and we could have set them up differently. The bible talks about this kind of thing too. In the Old Testament the wandering Israelites were given specific information from God about how and when to observe holidays. This isn’t arbitrary at all. And many of us know the famous passage from Ecclesiastes concerning time, the one that says there is a time for everything:
Ecclesiastes 3:1-8
1 There is a time for everything,
and a season for every activity under the heavens:
2 a time to be born and a time to die,
a time to plant and a time to uproot,
3 a time to kill and a time to heal,
a time to tear down and a time to build,
4 a time to weep and a time to laugh,
a time to mourn and a time to dance,
5 a time to scatter stones and a time to gather them,
a time to embrace and a time to refrain from embracing,
6 a time to search and a time to give up,
a time to keep and a time to throw away,
7 a time to tear and a time to mend,
a time to be silent and a time to speak,
8 a time to love and a time to hate,
a time for war and a time for peace.
Not a lot of specifics there, but one thing does seem to be clear. Human timing may be arbitrary, but divine timing is not. Jesus came to us at a specific time in history and that time was not decided by us. The Israelites left Egypt when God said it was time to go, not when the people said they were ready. And the promised land was entered when God allowed it, not before (when Moses was still alive).
New Years is often an event for us when we think about time. Mainly we think about the passage of it in general and how it has affected us and those around us specifically. I would like to expand that line of thinking. Let’s also use this as an opportunity to think about God’s timing, and how different it can be from our own. What might God be telling you it is time to do this year? Maybe it is time to mend fences with your neighbor or your family. Maybe it is time to care about the needs of others more. Maybe it is time to look around you and see the affects of God’s presence in your life and the lives of those nearby.
What will God help you find the time to do this year?
God Bless.