The Time Has Come to Tell the World

Acts 1:6

So when they had come together, they asked him, “Lord, is this the time when you will restore the kingdom to Israel?”

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Time has come today
Young hearts can go their way
Can't put it off another day
I don't care what others say
They say we don't listen anyway
Time has come today

"Time Has Come Today" by Joe and Willie Chambers recorded by The Chambers Brothers

Pink Floyd sings "Time is the same in a relative way but you're older, shorter of breath and one day closer to death." There's a pessimistic fatalistic attitude in our time that can't disagree with this statement. I guess if you look at life one day at a time with the only goal being the end of days, this is your song. It's tempting on a very bad day, but this is not our call. This view of time is not our vocation.

So the Apostles asked Jesus "Lord, is this the time when you will restore the kingdom to Israel?" Jesus said, “It is not for you to know the times or periods that the Father has set by his own authority.” The time is not for us to know, but Jesus shares two words with his disciples. He tells them that they will receive the power of the Holy Spirit and they are to be God's witnesses in Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth. They were called to share the Good News from the End of the World to their towns.

Well, we still don't know the time when Jesus will return in glory. So far everyone who has made that prediction was wrong. But the time has still come today. The time has come that we have been filled with the Holy Spirit. The time has come that we have been given the power of God. The time has come when we are called to share the word of God with the world.

We are called to tell the world that Christ has come, Christ has risen, and Christ will come again. Scripture doesn't tell us to get ready, scripture tells us to be ready. So take the power we have been given and share the word with the world.

As the Chambers Brothers sing, there are people who will not listen. There are those who are so hard hearted that they may never hear, but there are still others who haven't listened in the past who may hear today. So share and know that it doesn't matter what others say, the time has come today!

Now

Monday of Holy Week


John 12:23-24

Jesus answered them, "The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified. Very truly, I tell you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains just a single grain; but if it dies, it bears much fruit."

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Ticking away the moments that make up a dull day
You fritter and waste the hours in an offhand way.
Kicking around on a piece of ground in your home town
Waiting for someone or something to show you the way

"Time" written by Mason, Waters, Wright, Gilmour and recorded by Pink Floyd

So what did Jesus mean when he said "The hour has come."? Scholars have their opinions. It's the passover. Jerusalem had about 40,000 residents, but during the Passover it also housed 200,000 pilgrims. It's like New Orleans at Mardi Gras, but the parade was on Palm Sunday. You gotta say this about a good crowd-everyone shows up. Nobody goes to a bad crowd.

Jesus had just heard that a group of Greeks wanted to speak with him. The Greeks were the world travelers. The Romans ran the government, but the Greeks were the cultural trendsetters of the time. When the Greeks heard about Jesus they had to meet him. When the Greeks saw what would happen over the course of the week, word would spread not only across Palestine, but through Rome and the world. Oh yes, it was time.

It was time for Jesus to die. In his death, from the one Christ, in his blood will flow Christians. Through Christ, there is much fruit, the best fruit.

Imagine living all your life waiting for something to happen. Often, nothing happens unless you make it happen. In Christ, we don't have to wait because we have someone showing us the way. The moments still tick away, and some days will be duller than others, but in Christ, we have someone showing us the way.

On this Passover week so long ago, something was about to happen. Time was pregnant and eternity was being birthed. Jesus knew what would happen, the rest of the world was going to discover what would happen. Jesus shows the way to something more than we could ever hope or imagine. We won't just knock around in our home town anymore, it's not the same after Jesus comes to town.

"When" we ask? "Now" the Lord answers. The Greeks are here. The Word is ready to circle the globe. Jesus has done his part and continues to do his part. It's time for us to listen and share. The time is now.