A Reflection on Time & Ecclesiastes 3:1 – 11 (Br Aloysius Tan)

After being immersed into the life of the seminary for nearly seven years, the concept of time becomes so fixed and routine that life is “moved” by time.... reach chapel before 6a.m for Morning Prayer, meditation, Mass..... the timings are all fixed. Often the clock plays a very important role but sometimes when the alarm clock is not functioning, the world seems upside down.

The watch on my wrist seems to be a “must” in life. Perhaps in a good sense, it helps me to cultivate the sense of time and punctuality but in a certain way, I also see my tendency to have “control” over time. For instance, I know that I need to take 5 minutes to walk to the classroom, so, i will “make sure” I leave my room 8 minutes before with just enough time to compose myself before the bell rings for class. Perhaps there is nothing wrong with it but the way time is calculated indeed makes me want to organise my time and in this sense I lose my ability to “waste time” with people and worst still if I lose my willingness to “waste time” with God. There are times when I am tempted to take control over time in my relationship with God too.

During my last 30-day retreat in June, I had the experience of being in “His time”, “wasting” time with Him, I remember during one particular adoration session in the chapel, when I was deep in my prayer and experiencing His presence, I was shock to realised that the adoration last for more than 2 hours but seemed to me that it has been only about one hour.

Today as we are invited to ponder on the Ecclesiastes 3:1 – 11, I guess the writer of the book clearly pointed out to me the necessity of letting God to be the Lord of time. Let Him be the one guiding me and leading me in the process of trying my best and also trying to surrender all to Him. He knows the bigger picture of my life. He knows what is best for me and He knows the burden I can bear. As I thank God for the beautiful passage, I also remind myself that I need to continue to learn to submit myself to Him as His time is eternal and He is the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End. (cf Rev 21:6)

So, friends, let “waste time” with God!

There is a season for everything, a time for every occupation under heaven:
A time for giving birth, a time for dying; a time for planting, a time for uprooting what has been planted.
A time for killing, a time for healing; a time for knocking down, a time for building.
A time for tears, a time for laughter; a time for mourning, a time for dancing.
A time for throwing stones away, a time for gathering them; a time for embracing, a time to refrain from embracing.
A time for searching, a time for losing; a time for keeping, a time for discarding.
A time for tearing, a time for sewing; a time for keeping silent, a time for speaking.
A time for loving, a time for hating; a time for war, a time for peace.
What do people gain from the efforts they make?
I contemplate the task that God gives humanity to labour at.
All that he does is apt for its time; but although he has given us an awareness of the passage of time, we can grasp neither the beginning nor the end of what God does. (Ecclesiastes 3:1 – 11)

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Stay tuned for the next post by Br David Arulanatham on 26th Sep 2010.