The Music of Time

Dear Friend,

I don’t know about you, but for me the dilemma of time is with me constantly. How to manage it? How much is left? Deadlines?! I’m currently reading two books and it dawned on me recently, well into the second book, that I’m starting my day with a book entitled “The Music of Time,” and at night, before bed, I’m making my way through one called “The Noise of Time.” Maybe that’s the question, noise or music? (And would I sleep better if I ended my day with music instead of noise?) 

Regarding time in this Sunday’s readings, Jesus says this to his disciples: “It is not for you to know the times or seasons the Father has established by his own authority.” This in response to the disciples’ question: “Lord, are you at this time going to restore the Kingdom to Israel?” Jesus is about to be taken up into heaven, the Ascension, the account of which we hear in the first reading from Acts, as well as in the Gospel reading from Mark. As scripture scholar Andrew Davis points out, the readings come from opposite places in their respective books; namely, from the opening scene of the Book of Acts, and the final verses of Mark’s Gospel. Beginnings and endings converge in time for all of us.

The most characteristic feature of the Judeo-Christian tradition is its conviction that God’s self-revelation to humanity took place in history, i.e. historical time (Sandra Schneiders, Written That You May Believe, p. 70). God entered the noise of history through love. In prayer I let go of noise. As a church we bear Christ into history, as his body, which like music shaping time, becomes as Paul writes, “the fullness of the one who fills all things in every way.” 

Gratefully,

Father Dan ofm