Sermon - A God Beyond Time

Sermon - A God Beyond Time

Hebrews 11:32-12:3, Psalm 78:1-8, Luke 22:13-20

Did you know that Christians are not bound by time? This might sound like some statement from a science fiction movie, but it's true. We are not bound by time, because we are bound to our God who is beyond time. We might not always feel it, or understand it, we might even ignore it, but this important idea is more than just a theory, it affects everything.

First, I need to help you understand why we are beyond time and of course it starts with God. You will remember the first few words in Genesis, “In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth”. The first thing we will see is that God created the beginning. God created the beginning of creation, of every sphere of time itself. Since God both created the beginning of time and was before the beginning, that means that he is beyond time. Even if God consistently enters into time to meet us and affect us, he is not bound or constrained by time.

For us, in the garden of Eden, the tree of eternal life was free for Adam and Eve to take, Jesus has come so that through belief in him we might have life eternal, and we know in revelation that God will destroy death. But this promise of eternity is bigger than just a life that keeps going on and on, the promise of eternity is that we will become like Jesus, co-heirs to what he is, and that we will join the beautiful community of God himself. If any of these things are to become a reality, it must mean that we too are meant to be beyond time. Theoretical math actually points to this idea as well. The closer any number gets to infinite or eternal, the more it seems to disappear, to actually transcend the limits of the frame or graph, or the numerical bounds. The eternity we are being offered is not our going on and on, it is a transcendence of time itself.

Okay, so I get that might feel very theoretical, it might not be something any of us can fully understand at this time, but it actually has immense meaning to our daily lives. I want to look at three ways it changes our daily lives:

We are not bound by the consequences of time

We are united across time and space

There is always enough - time and everything.

So first, we are not bound by the consequences of time. This is one of the great bases for the forgiveness and redemption that comes from God. If we were bound by the consequences of time, we would be trapped in the endless cycle of entropy and retaliation. Entropy is the idea that everything dissipates, it spreads out, energy and life would eventually just become this neutral almost non-existent substance as it is evenly spread across the world and universe. Retaliation or even natural justice would say that we should experience the full consequences of our actions. If we turn away from a friend and betray and hurt them, this would mean no more friendship. If we were lazy it would mean we didn’t get to eat. If we treated our earth wrongly it would mean that it would no longer serve us. This isn’t even to mention the natural consequence of turning against God the source of our life. Yet, the truth is that we don’t experience practically any of the full consequences we deserve. This is only through the timeless, powerful grace of God.

Yet, of course, forgiveness and redemption goes further. It doesn’t just take away some of the consequences. When we turn to God in repentance and humble obedience, we can see most of the consequences relieved, but we can actually see God take the consequences and lead them to good. As image bearers of God, we can live this out too. When we forgive, when we act, we can see God’s powerful timeless redemption work through us. This timelessness effects how we live, how we meet the other and how we help others live in this broken world.

Since we are not bound by the consequences of time, it points us to number 2, we are connected through time. One of the consequences of time is that things come to an end and people die, that is not the case for Christians. We know that through our life being implanted in Jesus Christ, we never die - he lives in us as we live in him.

This means that all those faithful that have gone before us are not really gone, they are actually before us, right now, because of our faith and connection to Jesus Christ. I know many of you who have lost people you love know this. They are not truly gone, in some ways, they are immensely and powerfully present with the God who saves. This affects how we mourn, but even more, this affects how we live. As Paul says, if we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses let us throw off all sin and run the race that is set before us. Think about it this way, there are many things that we can’t do on our own right? But suddenly if you have one or two helpers it becomes easier. Now imagine any spiritual task (which is every task), and imagine if you suddenly had Moses, King David, Elijah, Mother Mary or the apostle Peter to help you. I can imagine the difference this would make in my life. Yet, this is actually what is true. We have access to so great a cloud of witnesses through the God who lives. I think sometimes that our Catholic brothers and sisters have a better understanding of this through their prayer practices, but of course we know as in all things Jesus must remain the centre.

Baptism and Communion become beautiful examples of this. As we come to eat and drink at this table, a priest describes the moment of the last supper, speaks the words of Jesus himself and then we live out the moment of that very first communion with Jesus. This might feel like just a kind of play-acting and remembering, but it is so much more. Every generation of Christians has recognized that God does something bigger than our actions in this practice. Almost all Christians recognize that Jesus becomes powerfully present in this moment. Yet, notice what Jesus says, “this is my body which is broken for you”, “this is my blood which is shed for you”. Yet, Jesus’ body hasn’t been broken yet. His blood hasn’t been shed yet. It may be only a few hours away, but none-the-less Jesus is drawing that future moment to his present moment. As they eat and drink, they are drawn to the moment and effectiveness of something Jesus was soon to do in time. The same thing happens to us. As we remember with Jesus, as we live it out, we are being drawn through time to that first communion and to the effective and present reality of the cross. Yet, we are also connected with every moment this supper has ever been celebrated, across time and space into the eternal supper of the lamb.

Another profound moment where we see this is the transfiguration of Jesus. You will remember that Jesus goes up a mountain with his disciples and suddenly he is speaking to Moses and Elijah as he begins to be transfigured before them. You might never have realized it, but while Moses and Elijah lived on earth they both met God on the mountain. They were both hidden in a rock, Moses saw God and would be transfigured himself, Elijah came out to speak to God and was sent to change his people. Do you see what is happening here? Jesus was the one that met them on that mountain when they lived and through his eternal timelessness, Moses and Elijah met Jesus while he was on that same mountain. This is so much more than remembering, this is reliving.

Okay, this is a lot, but there is one more eternal reality that I want to pour over, that is that there is always enough. If you are anything like me, you have felt that there never seems to be enough time. In some ways this is true, but that is only because we have a practice of binding ourselves in time. We (including those around us) set schedules, deadlines, expectations, restrictions and so much more. These are binding us in time. It’s not that these are bad things, they are often quite helpful, but we can easily turn them into shackles. One deadline might restrict us from seeing what we should actually do, or what is needed. One or many things might never need to be done. We might rush and push other things aside, just to get somewhere to wait, or not be needed. Its good to be on time and care about others' time, but it is no longer good when we feel imprisoned by it.

I’ve felt this struggle with Matteo, Eliza, Mary Anne, Layla, Work and Rest. There just isn’t enough time in a day to care about all of them in the way that I think is needed. This has led to a lot of guilt and pushing. Yet, the truth is, as I do what I can and trust God with the rest, I see that there are a lot of good things result when I leave space and let my expectations go. I still feel like I would love more time, but many things can and should wait.

This doesn’t just effect the feeling of not having enough time though, it actually affects our feeling of not having enough of anything. Sure we do have basic needs, but even those are often wrapped up in the expectations and demands that can just as easily shackle. In those, we can often miss what God is providing. Yet, a timelessness can help us to see that any lack is not really a lack at all. It is but a moment in eternity, that helps us to see and live in God’s provision. An eternal time, should lead us to begin to see an infinite provision. Just remember the prodigal son who was given half of his father’s estate, yet when he came back to his father his father had more than seems possible, so much so that it led to extreme generosity. That is the eternal and infinite provision of God.

That might feel like a lot. If you hold onto anything, just remember that God is inviting you into eternity. Then if possible remember these three points:

Through Jesus we are forgiven and redeemed - escaping the consequences of time

Through the Holy Spirit we are united to all other Christians across time and space

Through the Father’s immense provision there is always enough

Now join me as we explore these realities in faith. Step out, knowing that through God we too can realize these truths in our lives. AMEN

Notes

In the beginning God created - God was before the beginning

Not bound by the consequences of time

Forgiveness

Redemption

Divine remembering

Unity across time

Cloud of witness

Not just heritage

Jesus with Moses and Elijah

There is always enough - time and everything

Eternity is not just an endless moving Forward

A day is like a thousand years

The prodigal son and God's economy