This song title by the group Chicago invites us to reflect on time. It is appropriate for the 40 days ahead of us that the Church offers us for prayer—the penitential season of Lent. The Bible, in particular the Gospel of John, is instructive in helping us understand this liturgical season.
In biblical Greek there are two words for time. First is chronos, which refers to time as it passes or as it is found on the clock (chronology). Second is chairos, which refers to an “opportune” or special time—often noted by the word “hour” in the Bible.
In John 4, Jesus encounters a Samaritan woman at a well at “about noon.” But there is more to the story. Chronologically, it was midday (chronos), but this “time” was really about the Samaritan woman’s “time” or “hour” (chairos) of salvation—when she comes to accept Jesus as the Christ.
In John 2, at the wedding feast at Cana, Jesus says to his mother, “My ‘hour’ has not yet come.” But it had, and He performs His first miracle—the “time” (chairos) to initiate His public ministry, performing His first public miracle.
In John 12:27, knowing that it is His time to suffer, Jesus says, “Now my soul is troubled. And what should I say: ‘Father, save me from this hour?’” Judas betrays Jesus at the Last Supper, and we read, “So after receiving the piece of bread, He went out. And it was night.” Yes, the “time” was night (chronos); but it was the “hour” (chairos) of darkness—Jesus was handed over to the Jewish authorities (a spiritually dark time, indeed).
In John 3, Nicodemus comes to Jesus “at night” (chronos), but it is the time (chairos) for Nicodemus to come from the dark into the light of the knowledge of salvation and the gift of Baptism. A distinction is made as well between being born (in time) and being “born again,” or baptized into the transtemporal life of faith in Jesus (“through water and the Spirit”).
In the book of Numbers (Chapter 21), in response to the complaining Israelites who are afflicted with deadly serpents, Moses implores the Lord, who instructs him to set up a bronze serpent—and those who look upon it will be saved, but they will eventually die. In John 12:32, Jesus says: “And when I am lifted up from the earth (raised on the Cross), I will draw all people to myself.” Those who look upon Jesus crucified and believe, even if they die, they will live. When our time on earth is through, we have a timeless home with the Lord in heaven. If we truly believe.
In John (3:8), Jesus says: “The wind blows where it chooses, and you hear the sound of it, but you do not know from where it comes or where it goes.” In nature we see the effects of the wind, but the wind itself we cannot see (chronos). Jesus continues, “So it is with everyone born of the Spirit” (chairos).
These contrasts that are parallel to chronos and chairos are found in other Biblical passages. In John 6, there is a discourse on the Bread of Life. Bread has always been a staple of life in many cultures. When I was a student in Rome, at the seminary tables we set every day, the first thing on the table was a basket of bread, then a jug of water, and then a carafe of wine. Jesus makes the distinction of chronos bread—that we consume in everyday life for sustenance—and the “Living Bread” (chairos) of Jesus in the Eucharist, the food for eternal life. John chapter six notes that “Our ancestors ate the manna that God provided, but they eventually died.” Jesus then says: “I am the Bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never be hungry.”
In John Chapter 9, there is the wonderful story of the “Man Born Blind,” where a man who is blind is confronted by the Pharisees. They question and taunt him. In verse one, the blind man refers to Jesus as “Rabbi.” In verse 11, he refers to the Lord as “the man they call Jesus.” In verse 17, he refers to Jesus as a “prophet.” Then in verse 33, he calls Jesus “a man from God.” Finally in verse 38, he calls Jesus “Lord.” The man moves from physical blindness to spiritual insight, from unbelief to belief. All the while, the Pharisees, who can physically see, remain spiritually blind. Thus, there is a difference between those who cannot see and those who will not see.
The Church makes a distinction between chronos time and chairos time with the liturgical year. The 365 days that pass each year are reinterpreted for spiritual use to remind us that time will one day end, and that this life should not be our focus. What we do in this life should be about eternal life. To assist with this, every spring we embrace 40 days of time and designate it as “sacred time,” the penitential season of Lent. We imitate Jesus’ time in the desert of fasting and praying in order to prepare for the three holiest days of the liturgical year, during which we celebrate the Paschal Mystery—the Death and Resurrection of Jesus that opens for us the gates to our intended home that is timeless. We humans mark our days with celebrations of birthdays, anniversaries and holidays—each are a good use of time (chronos). But with Lent, we are invited to remember the really important time. Lent is a chairotic—an opportune time.
John contrasts “heavenly” and “earthly” things. The celebration of the Sacraments are opportune, special times, an “hour” where we worship the Lord and embrace “heavenly things.” The season of Lent is of no use to us if we “leave it on the shelf,” like a gift unwrapped. May these 40 days ahead of us be chairotic as well as chronic. Benedictine Father Godfrey Diekman wrote of the Eucharist: “What difference does it make if the bread and wine turn into the Body and Blood of Christ, and we don’t?” We also might ask of these 40 days: “If our observance of these 40 days does not change us, what difference does it make?”
