Wellspring UMC; Third Sunday in Lent; February 24, 2008: “At the Right Time”:

-Isaiah 49: 7-11; Romans 5: 1-11

I cannot count the number of times I’ve used these words of assurance in response to prayers of confession. “While we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly, and that proves God’s love for us that while we were still sinners Christ died for us. In the name of Jesus Christ, You are forgiven. Glory to God, Amen.” These words are found in our hymnal, our book of worship, and incorporated into the liturgy of Churches across the ages.

They are powerful words, and yet I must admit that like many such phrases, when spoken too often, they can become old hat. The message can lose it’s power, and simply become a phrase. As an example of this, when was the last time you really thought about each phrase of the Lord’s Prayer. It’s so easy to do. And yet, in examining the text for this week, I found myself bowled over by the magnitude of the message. I am amazed at such grace.

Listen again. “For while we were still weak, while we were powerless, while we were not in the right state of mind, while we were not ready...at the right time Christ died for the ungodly.” At the right time Christ died for a world filled with sin. At the right time, God sacrificed the Son for the very ones who killed Him.”

“God proves God’s love for us in that while we still were sinners, while WE were not worthy, while WE were lost, while WE were self-focused, self-serving, self-absorbed, Christ died for us.” At the RIGHT time, Christ died for US. At the right time, He did it for us. Anyone else affected by these words?

This passage from Romans lands us smack down in the middle of the texts from the last two Sundays. Last Sunday we focused on the chapter and verses just before this, and two Sundays ago we examined the verses right after this, and at the mid-point of these text we hear, “At the right time, Christ died for us.”

Time is an interesting thing, isn’t it? It is a precious commodity. It cannot be controlled, it cannot be saved, it cannot be manipulated, and yet the words we use to describe time certainly make it sound like we can. After all, we talk about how we “spend” our time, or how we “take” time to do this or that. Yet time moves on...relentlessly...and we feel it, so much so that we struggle with our time. The busier we get, the faster the world becomes, the more the anxiety builds around time.

And yet, we hear Paul say to us that Christ came “at the right time.” Does anyone else hear a word of comfort? It is a comfort to know that Christ comes when we most need it. Not when we think we need it and not always when we want it, but Christ comes at the right time.

We are a society controlled in so many ways by the clock. We punch in to work. We live by alarms and reminders, daytimers and palm pilots. We run here and there to get kids to rehearsals and lessons and games, and we even rush into recreational activities.

I was uncomfortably amused by the Upper Room devotional yesterday, for the author centered it around a billboard on a mountain road which read, “Fastest Scenic Route.” It’s ironic, isn’t it, that we even rush to do the things that are supposed to help us relax and rejuvenate. This is why it is important for us to hear and internalize Paul’s word today. “At the right time,” Christ came. “At the right time” Christ comes.

There are two words for time in the Greek. Chronos, which refers to time on a clock or time marching on, and Kairos, which is God’s time – quality time, worthy time, time which is sacred and impactful.

Paul is writing to a group of people who are in the midst of persecution. The Romans persecuted and killed them. Their“chronos,” their worldly time, was horrific. They never knew whether this was their last day or not, and in order to deal with such stress, they focused on “kairos,” God’s time. They were deliberate in spending time with God or others, sharing quality, sacred, life-giving time, and the result was that God’s life and love was made evident among them. They felt God’s presence, saw the Spirit at work, and at the right time, Christ came.

In the struggles and pains of life, God was with them, but they would have never been receptive to God’s presence, had they not turned from the world toward God. They’d have been overwhelmed by the world’s powers, had they not stepped away, looked to God and let God have control. In the midst of their worldly struggle, they trusted God, and God blessed them with new eye sight and insight. They saw the world from a different perspective... from God’s perspective, and the Spirit poured love into their hearts. The result,”while they were weak,” Paul says, “At the right time, Christ came.”

Are there times when we feel weak? Are there times when we struggle, when we question, when we wonder how we’ll make it? Are there times when we want desperately to be in control of things we cannot control? Are we so worried about the past or future that we cannot live in the present? Do we run and never stop? Do we do and never be? Are we so busy that do not know how to stop and simply be with God? If the answer to these questions are affirmative, then it’s time to take the time to turn from our plans, our stresses, anything that gets in the way of God’s Spirit, and listen.

My friends, this is not only a message for those persecuted 2000 years ago, but it is a message for us. It is a message for all who feel the pressures of worldly time and wish for a way to live into God’s time. It is a word for those who are overwhelmed, frustrated, lost and lonely, that if we are weak, if we feel discouraged, if we feel like we can’t go on, that’s a hint from God telling us to step toward Him and invite Him in.

We’re in the middle of Lent. This is a season of introspection and examination. It is a season where we are invited to step away and examine who we are and whose we are. It is a time to be still and nurture our relationship with God, to live into Kairos time – God’s time, not held captive by chronos – worldly time. It is a time to gain perspective and place ourselves in proper perspective, through the acknowledgment that at the right time, Christ died for us.

We began the season being marked with ash, reminded that all of life depends on God. We journey the road, carrying a cross in our hand, a reminder of our dependence on God. We move toward Holy Week, where Christ enters Jerusalem a King, ends the week on a cross, and emerges on Easter victorious, modeling for us that in order for true life to come, we must depend on the Father, just as He did.

Are you feeling overwhelmed? Are you feeling stagnant? Are you wondering how this whole God thing works? If so, this is the time to step toward God. Give God the chance, for at the right time, Christ comes.

During the season of Lent, we add to our services a Prayer of Confession. Though this may make some uncomfortable, it is an important part of the liturgy, for as we confess our sins and shortcomings, we are reminded that no one is an island, that we do make mistakes, and that if we name those mistakes, God can draw us closer and we can be changed to live into God’s way. It is a way in which we name and claim our full dependence upon God.

But admitting and naming these things is only part of the process. Yes, we publically, collectively confess our separation, then we silently, individually lay ourselves out before God, but God doesn’t leave us there. Instead, God shares with us words of assurance and pardon...then, while we are weak, while we are still sinners, at the right time, Christ comes. Christ comes to those open to receive Him, in all His glory.

I’ve said them before, more times then I can count, but they are not old hat. Instead they are the profound proclamation of the God of resurrection: “While we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. That proves God’s love for us. In the name of Jesus Christ, we are forgiven, glory to God. Amen.”