Timelessness of God

By Very Rev. Andrew kemberling, V.F.

Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit. As it was in the beginning, is now and ever shall be, world without end. Amen

Time is a gift from God. In stewardship spirituality, we think of time and talent being connected. One has to spend time giving of one's talent, so the two are obviously linked. But reflecting upon time alone gives further insights into the spirituality of stewardship.

The timelessness of God is found in the "Glory Be" prayer.

  Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit. As it was in the beginning, is now and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.

Yes, God's world is not like our world. Time is a creation of God. Time is for our created world, it's limited, and it will have an end. We clearly hear in Scriptures that Jesus will return at "the end of time." Since time is a creation of our world, perhaps time has been created solely for our human benefit. This is a staggering thought in the light of the millions and billions of years that have passed before human existence. Perhaps time was created so that the phrase, "In the fullness of time, God sent His only Son to be our Redeemer," would take on greater meaning. In comparison to the vast amount of time that has passed before us, a relatively short time has passed since Jesus made the announcement, "This is the time of fulfillment; the kingdom of God is at hand."

We have learned from science that time and space are intricately connected since they are a function of each other. Since God is timeless, He is also space-less. The world of the afterlife, where God lives, has no time; it has no space. God's world is not like our world. These are qualities of our world that need to be appreciated for the gift that they are. I believe that when we no longer have them, we will appreciate them for the gift that they are.

I believe we will be able to look upon all of our time and how we spent it. How we prioritize our time will reveal our motives and intentions. We will remember the hours we spent watching movies or television. Time spent with family will be compared with time spent working. The time spent with God will stand out in a special way. Will this review of our time betray us and reveal us to be hypocrites?

Time spent in prayer is time well spent. In the beginning God took six days to create and on the seventh day He rested. As a reminder, these are divine days, since an earthly day was created on the fourth day when God created the sun and the moon. Scripture tells us in Psalm 90 that a thousand years is like a day, and a day is like a thousand years. Whatever these divine days mean to God, who has no time, He took the seventh day and made it holy.

We imitate God since we have seven days in our week, with Sunday the day set aside for rest. Six days may be considered ours but the seventh day belongs to God. That is why Sunday is called the "Lord's Day." The main reason for the prohibition of work is so we would have the time to pray. I like to say, "Remember the days when to miss Mass on Sunday was a sin? Well, it still is." Yes, the primacy of Sunday being a day of prayer is important in stewardship spirituality. Please note that attending Saturday evening Mass is a fulfillment of our Sunday obligation.

In stewardship spirituality we fulfill an obligation of being thankful for this gift of time by giving a portion back to God in prayer. The portion that is given back to God is called the tithe; the first ten percent of this gift is to be given back to God in thanksgiving. In respect to time, we would be asked to give the first and the best of it. Sunday being the first day of the week has a special place in our time marked out for prayer. The one-tenth portion of a day is two hours and 24 minutes. Being conscious of the amount of time we spend in prayer will allow us to pass the best of our time ever mindful of it being a gift to us.

Well, that's what many people in religious orders do. For those who already have a dedication to a prayer life, wouldn't it be wonderful if added to that spirituality was the understanding that the time spent in prayer is that of being a good steward accepting, receiving and giving back the gift of time that God has given to us? It gives greater meaning to a prayer life. You might say, "I'm doing this as a gift back to God."

This is particularly true for me as a priest. There maybe two or three days a week; when I get to tithe two hours and 24 minutes of time back to God. I'm celebrating Mass; I'm hearing confessions; I'm praying the Rosary; and I'm leading a group in prayer. And when I do that and it starts to seem burdensome to me I remind myself, "Wait a minute, this is my opportunity to tithe this time back to God in thanksgiving for what God has done." I'm being a good steward of time. And when I realize that I'm saying, "Wait a minute. Where is the present moment in this?" Then it gets me deeper into the prayer that I'm praying. The distractions become something further away. When we become aware that distractions are part of interfering with the present moment, then we deepen our prayer life.

Making time to pray can be seen in this story:  During the lunch hour the president of a large factory wanted to talk to his company's manager about an urgent matter, but the manager's secretary said, "He is in conference as he is every day at this time." "But," said the impatient official, "Tell him the president wants to see him." The secretary firmly replied, "I have strict orders not to disturb him when he is in conference. Angrily, he brushed the secretary aside and opened the door to the manager's private office. After one look, he backed out slowly, and gently closed the door, and said, "I'm sorry. Is this a daily occurrence?"  "Yes, everyday he spends 15 minutes in such a conference," said the secretary. The president had found the manager on his knees before an open Bible. Of course, the 15-minute daily conference was with God.

Sometimes people feel distracted when they pray. Understanding the relationship of prayer to time can be helpful in this matter. Experiencing time in relation to the present moment is a critical idea in understanding time as a gift, and is even more important when we see the link of time to prayer. Time can seem elusive because we view time as being past, present and future. As hard as it may seem, time is only experienced in the here and now. There is the constant temptation to live time as if it were either in the future or the past. When we begin to think like this, we rob ourselves of the present moment and we lose peace and serenity. By living in the future, we experience worry and fear. By living in the past, we are plagued by guilt and shame. Only in the present moment is there any relief. Finding that present moment is where we also find the presence of God.

When we try to seek to live in the past without the involvement of God in the present moment, we fail miserably. Historians have a noble profession but have always found their efforts ultimately take on meaning in relation to the present. Planners and developers dream dreams that ultimately have their meaning also in the present. Living in the here and now means adopting spiritual principles that recognize time as a gift.

In our modern society, we have many timesaving devices, yet less time than ever! Over-activity and the pursuit of leisure activities rob us of the present moment. Being busy has us scurrying about, causing a lack of focus and priorities. We become too busy to pray. Some are too busy to attend Sunday Mass. Time gets hijacked by the business world. Time is money, and no losses will be recorded by the industrious. This kind of utilitarian way of thinking wickedly transforms time into being a measure of production and efficiency. Time becomes a curse and not a blessing. The pursuit of pleasure also makes time into a commodity. Our hedonistic tendency needs time to experience gratification. Of course, one can never get enough, as temperance is a casualty of pursuit of pleasure. God is lost, or forgotten, because the gift of the present moment becomes irrelevant.

These threats need to be consciously addressed as we reclaim the present moment out of respect for God. Time is a gift, a gift from God. True peace and serenity will not be found in deed or gratification, but in God. The spiritual principle of stewardship resets our priority upon the primacy of God as creator. We are creatures of His created order, an order of time and space. Past and future have their places as do fear and shame. Emotional freedom is found in the here and now and recognizes life as being lived in the present moment.

Stewards of all that God gives us, we are ever conscious of the gift of time. We don't find time to pray, we make time to pray. Time spent in prayer is balanced with the time experienced each moment of our lives. When we are too far ahead of ourselves, we know that we will experience fear and worry. When we are too far behind ourselves, we will experience guilt and shame. The good steward acts rightly, loves goodness and walks humbly with his God. (Micah 6:8)  First things are done first and one thing is done at a time. We stay focused upon the primacy of God and see every moment as a gift. In all things may God be glorified.

Time, in stewardship spirituality, is more than time spent in giving of our talents. It is an attitude that stays focused and unafraid. Being God-conscious in all that we do keeps us ever linked to the present because only God is found in the here and now. This spiritual understanding of time is important to understanding and embracing the spirituality of stewardship.