Seasons Change

Sermon

Have you heard that there is a new name for the days of the week? They’re now all called “day.”

Time is funny right now. For so many, one day really does blur into the next, with little to differentiate yesterday from tomorrow. When I lead noon prayers, I have to look at my calendar to make sure I know what day it is.

Ministry is keeping Gregg and me busy enough, but there is a blandness to this time, in a way. We aren’t doing the things that punctuate our life – we’re not getting on a plane and going somewhere new; we aren’t enjoying long meals at our favorite restaurants; we’re not hugging dear friends as we settle in for a good, in-person visit.

I wonder what the writer of Ecclesiastes would say to us about time. The writer narrates the story of Qoheleth, which translates roughly to “preacher,” and this preacher is not having a good day. Qoheleth is one of the great curmudgeons of the Bible, but like most curmudgeons, you don’t have to scratch very deep to find a tender heart beneath all the grumbling.

Today’s verses from Ecclesiastes are the most familiar from the book, with good reason. They attest to the human experience – the mundane, the confusing, the frightening, the dull, the vibrant. So it seems maybe a little obvious what the preacher of Ecclesiastes would say to us:

In this season of COVID-19, we are in

a time to refrain from embracing

a time to wear masks

a time to wait

a time to pray

But if you’re anything like me, you are ready for a change of season.

The laws of nature remind us that there is nothing we can do to force the seasons – that is up to the rotation of the earth and not up to us. We simply abide in the season – snuggle up in winter, sneeze and enjoy spring, fan ourselves and slather on sunscreen during the summer, and breathe in the crisp air of autumn while we marvel at the color of the leaves. We cannot force the seasons, but we do enjoy them, and dread them, and endure them.

Do we enjoy this season of pandemic? There are things about it I do enjoy, and I honestly feel guilty about that. I love not having the usual morning rush of getting everyone up and out the door. I enjoy wearing comfy clothes and comfy shoes. I am a homebody, and I love staying in. I enjoy this precious time I have with Gregg and Sarah, knowing that in four years Sarah will be off to college, in a time that feels far too short.

As I think about what I enjoy, I realize my deep privilege. I am still getting paid, and we can more than afford the necessities of food, shelter, and clothing. I have health insurance. I live in a neighborhood where, as a white woman, it’s safe to walk at any hour of the day. I have the privilege of strong support systems and meaningful work.

Which is to say that being able to enjoy this time might well be related to the privileges we have because of our social status, our income, our race, our education levels, and our physical and mental health.

Because there are people who live in dread in this time. Folks who are in the higher-risk categories for this disease – older people, people with underlying medical conditions like heart disease, obesity, asthma and other lung conditions – cannot take the risks that others can. To visit the doctor feels dangerous. That cough is worrisome. And we know that this virus has disproportionately affected people of color and people living in poverty.

We all have friends who have lost their jobs, and the dread of the next rent bill, the dread of worrying what will happen when the savings runs out, is real and constant. Even while I can name those things that I am able to enjoy right now, I also acknowledge that this is a scary, dread-filled time for many.

And then there is the mere endurance that this pandemic is demanding of us. Enduring the reality that one day blurs into the next. Enduring the challenge of a very limited area in which we move about. Enduring the sadness of not gathering together for in-person worship, not seeing our beloved family and friends, not gathering around the water cooler at work for a good laugh or a song.

I think the preacher of Ecclesiastes would hear me say these things and respond with some sort of quip like, “Yep. Life is hard. So what else is new?” Which really is not helpful at all. At. All.

What might be more helpful is to remember that seasons change. We do not live eternally in winter or spring – as sure as the earth turns on its axis, the season will change, and that is true too for the season of COVID-19. This might last longer than any of us would like, and we might be dealing with the effects of it for a good, long while, but this will not last forever.

The time will come when our hardworking, brilliant scientists will discover a vaccine, test it, and make it available to the public. (You could pray for that!)

And so the time will come when jobs will come back, and people will be able to earn a living again.

The time will come when we can have people over for that Memorial Day cookout, when seniors will get the graduation they deserve, when retirement centers and nursing homes can open their doors and let friends gather.

The time will come when on a Sunday morning we will hear the choir rehearsing in the loft, and turn on the sanctuary lights, and wander in to the pews, and once again, in that beautiful space, we will gather for public worship. That day awaits us. And we know the name of that day will be Sunday.

Until then, we try to make the best of it and hold on as we’re able, and when we’re making the worst of it and losing our grip, we reach out, knowing that someone is there for us.

Of course, there is a deeper meaning to all this time stuff, and it helps us to go back to some ancient thinking. You may know that the Greeks had an understanding of two different kinds of time: chronos time, which is what humanity invented – minutes, hours, days, years – chronological time, history. They also believed in Kairos time – God’s time, time that is not measurable by anything other than love.

The Hebrews, who preceded the Greeks, had a differently nuanced understanding of time. For them time is marked by the presence of God. No matter the time – the year, the month, the season – God is present in time. Even in this enjoyable, dreadful, boring, terrifying time of pandemic, God is present.

Many people have compared this time to the 1993 movie “Groundhog Day.” In that movie, the main character (played by Bill Murray) finds himself caught in a loop of waking up every morning to the same day. The alarm goes off at the same time to the sound of Sonny and Cher singing “I Got You, Babe.” He sees the same people, experiences the same weather. He realizes that in this loop, there are no consequences to his actions, so he tries out being his absolute worst self, creating mayhem and destruction. After a while, that’s no longer fun. As he wakes up to the same thing again and again, he begins to care about those people he knows he will meet. The cycle is finally broken when he no longer lives for himself but lives for others.

Our friend Eileen says that in this movie, every day brings the main character closer to redemption. Maybe that’s what time is really about – each day brings us closer to redemption, closer to God. And maybe we too find meaning in this endless blur of days as we live not for ourselves, but for others.

And Westminster, you have been doing an amazing job at that. In official capacities, the deacons and Stephen Ministers have made calls to about 90% of the congregation, and unofficially, people are checking in with each other, sending cards, bringing food. Our mission grant challenge has raised over $18,000 to help our neighbors at NEFP, Genesis Community Fellowship, and the Cully neighborhood. Every day we share our prayers with one another. Your generosity, your faithfulness, your honesty about what is hard and what is good in this time inspires me. Thank you.

So when you think you cannot stand one more day, when you start thinking this will never end, remember: you are not alone in thinking that, and you are not alone. Of course so many of your beloveds are with you, and God is too. Whether it is a time of love or a time of hate, a time or war or a time of peace, a time to embrace or a time to refrain from embracing, God is with us. Thanks be to God. Amen.