The right, or opportune, time is the meaning of the ancient Greek word kairos. And no, I did not learn it in my ancient Greek language class, I knew the word prior to the class. In church circles kairos is used to differentiate from chronos…our time, linear time, measured in hours, days, etc. Theologically, kairos is God time, it’s the movement of God, of the Holy Spirit, in the world. It is often the time of something new being birthed, or just on the horizon.
So, in the sermon this past Sunday, it was pointed out that the Gospel stories these weeks are about people’s responses to the activities of the Divine. To respond to something requires one to notice, to become aware of activity or changes, of something different. In-between (liminal) and transition times not only feel like wilderness at times, but are often kairos times. Liminal space is often likened to a threshold with the old on one side and the new on the other side of the threshold. We come to these thresholds many times in life in our personal lives as well as a family, as communities, and as a society.
These threshold spaces and times are an opportunity to pause, listen and watch. What do we notice in our pausing? Are we paying attention to the shifts and the changes happening? How do we perceive the things we notice? Kairos moments can be times when things are changing but there is a lot of uncertainty as to what will be. And sometimes, that kairos moment is right there, an opportunity that just seems to present itself out of the blue or that comes about quickly. Do we consider that these moments might be kairos moments, might be moments of God’s activity in the world?
I have been on that threshold a number of times in recent years. Sometimes the movement of the Spirit has taken a while to notice, or maybe to acknowledge on my part. Often time I’ve noticed something nagging or pulling at my thoughts or soul. I like to laugh and say that the Spirit is patient and persistent, that She will keep at it using others and coincidences to lead you along, hoping that you will get the message.
I remember sitting in a classroom a half-dozen years ago. We were talking about engaging volunteers at different levels and for a few minutes we were focusing on finding volunteer leaders for bigger commitments. The instructor used the analogy of courtships…and a lightbulb went off in my head. Yep, I had been courted, not begged, not voluntold, but courted. Sometimes, we don’t know that we are in those kairos moments until we look back, and we can then connect the dots. Another such aha moment was while reading a ministry book which had a graphic in it depicting the author’s understanding of the call process. As I looked at the image and read the description and the labels, I realized I had indeed lived that diagram, several times now.
But the more we reflect on our journeys, the more we can learn to recognize the signs of God’s movement in our lives…the coincidences, the tugging on the heart, occurrences we don’t understand. Like right now, I’m wondering, as I often have in the recent past, why I’m here in this particular place and time, doing what I’m doing. I do know that there are changes coming in my faith community as we move along the process to call a new pastor. I also sense something new on the distant horizon that is still vague, not just where my seminary journey is leading, but in our wider society.
Noticing the movement of the Spirit happens in different ways…connecting past events, intuition, repeated coincidences, something someone says that seems out of the blue, or sometimes it feels like being hit over the head with the obvious. Whatever those moments are, don’t ignore them. Take notice them. Are they kairos moments? If they are, how will you respond to that moment? Will you be ready, surprised, or unaware? Is the Spirit trying to get your attention? How so? I recently listened to a lecture during which the speaker said that God is always several steps ahead of us, even when movement seems hard to discern. Are we noticing?
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