“The kingdom of God is near.” – Mark 1:15
Have you ever had one of those experiences when it seemed as if time stood still? I’m not talking about time slowing down like sitting in a traffic jam, rather one of those magical moments when time doesn’t seem to exist. The first time I was ever aware of such a moment, or at least the one stuck in my memory, was a classmate’s birthday party when I was in seventh grade. I suppose over the course of my childhood I attended dozens of such parties, and I don’t remember this one being any different than the others – except, there was something unexplainably magical about the evening that had me staring at the ceiling when I got in bed that night wondering what had happened, why it happened, and if anyone else had the same experience. I still don’t know.
That was the first time I ever recall experiencing Kairos time, as opposed to Chronos time which is what most of us live by – or should I say controlled by – Chronos time being the chronological time we are so familiar with, that constant linear progression of seconds, minutes, hours, days, and years, time that is measured and quantifiable. Kairos time, on the other hand, is not bound by the constraints of a clock or calendar, instead is focused on the quality of the moment. Simply put, if Chronos is quantity, Kairos is quality.
For most of my life I assumed Kairos moments were inherently rare, something that occurred every few years or even every few decades. That had been my experience at least. But as I age I find that Kairos moments occur way more often than that, probably every time the clock ticks if we happen to be paying attention. As author Frederick Buechner once described they occur when “taking your children to school and kissing you wife goodbye. Eating lunch with a friend. Trying to do a decent day’s work. Hearing the rain patter against the window.” I would agree.
My New Year’s resolution is to pay more attention – to that precious time with my grandchildren, having breakfast each morning with my wife, enjoying time with friends – for Kairos is sacred time, revealing to us that “the kingdom of God is near.” Buechner says, “there is no event so commonplace but that God is present within it, always hiddenly, [yet] always leaving you room to recognize him.”