TIME AND SPACE
“I am the
gate” seems an unlikely sound bite. Jesus’ description of himself in these
words does not appear to go anywhere. Yet that could be because our ears are no
longer attuned to rural images and ways of speaking.. His metaphor is perhaps
simply a variation on “I am the way” and this way has been unpacked in varying reflections.
Take, for
instance, Pope Francis’ reflection on time and space in his letter on the Joy of the Gospel (##222-5). “A constant
tension exists between fullness and limitation. Fullness invokes the desire for
complete possession, while limitation is a wall set before us. Broadly
speaking, ‘time’ has to do with fullness as an expression of the horizon which
constantly opens before us, while each individual moment has to do with
limitation as an expression of enclosure.”
Francis goes
on to explain his meaning. We want results here and now. We cannot wait. Politicians,
for instance, are often more interested in short term manifestations of power
and prestige than in laying foundations for long term goals. They want to fill
the “space” now. We want to see results. The pope does not mention him but he
might have been thinking of Donald Trump’s reason for tearing up Barack Obama’s
environmentally conscious restrictions on drilling for oil in the Arctic.
Allowing the drilling will create employment now. Never mind about the impact of
a polluted Arctic on climate change. That is for future generations to worry
about.
Jesus’ ‘way’
on the other hand is to do what is right now even if it loses votes or cost me
my job. Francis gives the example of the wheat and the weeds (Matt 13:24-30).
The weeds may compete with the wheat for the nutrients in the soil but if you tear them out now you may
damage the wheat. Be content with an unfinished job now. Wait! A time will come
when you can sort out the weeds from the wheat.
But we
cannot wait. We cannot tolerate “space”. We want to fill it now. We find it
hard to sit by a dying relative. If we can’t “do” anything for them why go at
all? It is a ‘waste of time’ we say. Again, can we be in a room quietly,
without the TV or our mobile for a while? Or do we have to ‘fill the space’ with noise or chat? Can we make long term
plans that show no results for years, in the firm belief that one day others
will benefit? I started something but will not live to see the fruits?
Can I plant
a tree that takes years to mature or do I choose a fast grower that produces
quick results? And, in my interior life, am I prepared to do the inner work
that will enable me to live with others in patience, compassion and forgiveness?
Or do I want the immediate satisfaction “blowing off steam” whenever I am the
slightest bit irritated?
We can laugh
at ourselves as we list the ways we want to fill the empty “space” before us
and refuse to take the “time” to let our hearts mature. Jesus invites us to
enter by the gate of time.
May 7, 2017 Easter
Sunday 4 A
Acts 2:14,36-41 1 Peter 2:20-25 John
10;1-10
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