Stewardship, Part 1: the Theology of Time
STEWARDSHIP
Part 1: the Theology of Time
WHERE YOUR TREASURE IS
“Time is money,” so goes the saying. So time is itself one of the main issues when looking to understand the relationship of our life to God, and how to deal with not just possessions, but the whole structure of possessiveness itself. We don’t feel we have time to give God, and we worry about the time to earn what we need and to do what we want to reward ourselves for work done. We must understand our anxiety about work and wealth, from an understanding enlightened by the theology revealed to us in the Scriptures and the Gospel.
We are here doing a meditation on time. This is a building block to understanding how we are supposed to give back things to God, so as to acquire from God a sense of our meaning and purpose on earth. Our life is given to us to return to God in sacrifice. We can’t really pray if we do not start with sacrifice. Sacrifice is to recognize God’s giving, by our giving. Prayer must start by giving. We give ourselves up to God. We give our world back to God. We give what he has given us to others. This is a pre-condition of prayer—fundamentally we exist in a space of gift, of generosity, or we cannot pray. This means that our generosity, as God has commanded us, to “choose life, that you and your descendants may live,’” (Deuteronomy 30:19) is built into the meaning of the world. Put more plainly, in its application to the lowest things: giving money to care for the worship of God and the care of our neighbor is tied to a much deeper theological point. It is not just keeping walls painted, furnaces going, and paying some man who stands at the front and talks in archaic robes. “Where our treasure is:” that question is raised by Christ in the context of time and impermanence vs eternity. So to understand the treasure, we have to understand the boundaries of the question of time as a “space” in creation. Even the idea of treasure—why so often gold or silver? They last, and are bright and shiny. They are simply a lesser image of eternity.
Matthew 6:21 “For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.”
The “place” we are looking for is not a place on earth, where we can possess things. The treasure we seek, is not a thing that can be acquired among things. We are seeking light, knowledge. We are seeking a dedication of time to learn. To learn what? The acquisition of the very meaning of the time we have been given on earth. What is our life but a day? “For a day in thy courts is better than a thousand elsewhere. I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God than dwell in the tents of wickedness.” (Psalm 84:10) “My days are like an evening shadow; I wither away like grass.” (Psalm 102:11)
As for man, his days are like grass; he flourishes like a flower of the field; 16 for the wind passes over it, and it is gone, and its place knows it no more. 17 But the steadfast love of the LORD is from everlasting to everlasting upon those who fear him, and his righteousness to children's children, 18 to those who keep his covenant and remember to do his commandments. (Psalm 103:15-18)
So we are looking for the knowledge which is not subject to the failure of time, to the brief and decaying moment of our life as we know it, among all the things which we hold on to and attempt to possess. We need real participation in an enduring thing. Why is it that time seems to us a thing always lost? We make good use of our time, we work, we build, we secure, we insure ourselves through our use of time to “earn” things. We put in our time. But we don’t know what time is at all. Time seems to flow irrationally, and vainly:
Then I considered all that my hands had done and the toil I had spent in doing it, and behold, all was vanity and a striving after wind, and there was nothing to be gained under the sun.” (Ecclesiastes 2:11) All that we seek to acquire is lost without knowledge of God, and understanding of the time given to us. It is as if we got a job and did not bother to know what work we were supposed to do. Instead, we turn to the thing which makes us feel best about securing our lives without that knowledge. “He who loves money will not be satisfied with money; nor he who loves wealth, with gain: this also is vanity.” (Ecclesiastes 5:10) We could also work just to occupy ourselves, “What has a man from all the toil and strain with which he toils beneath the sun? 23 For all his days are full of pain, and his work is a vexation; even in the night his mind does not rest. This also is vanity.” (Ecclesiastes 2:22-23)
So the only thing that is not vain, is to understand why we are given our time on earth and to what eternity we are called. This is wealth and true treasure. Our hearts should be set on the enduring possession, not an earthly thing which passes. To get there, we must know what our time is best spent seeking. But how does God structure this time that we spend working, seeking, and acquiring? When we have understood this, we will know what we are to spend all our means on, what we are to do with the small things, the stuff we acquire in this life. We will understand how to be responsible. How to do the job that we have forgotten is ours: “stewarding” what we have been given. Or better yet, how to fulfill the priestly act of sacrifice which acquires for us the thing which is eternal; which redefines time not as a thing passing into failure and death, but allows us to step into eternity. To go from vanity to true treasure. To go from a heart that still feels empty with every thing possessed, to a heart filled with divine power and life.
WHAT IS THE MEANING OF TIME?
Clear is the “beginning”—God, out of his “knowledge,” or rather “Wisdom,” makes time as the space and even the shedding of the light to know, by which to see. Time is where the Holy Spirit moves in creation. Time comes with two separated realities, those of heaven and earth. Yet time as a “one” encompasses both. Our time is given to, and under the command of God, to bring both heaven and earth together in the one day. This one-ness points to the “one day” of Christ, who is the Pascha and Resurrection.
Genesis 1:1 In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. 2 The earth was without form and void, and darkness was upon the face of the deep; and the Spirit of God was moving over the face of the waters. 3 And God said, "Let there be light"; and there was light. 4 And God saw that the light was good; and God separated the light from the darkness. 5 God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night. And there was evening and there was morning, one day. (Gen 1:1-5 RSV)
God creates in time a mystery, the potential for fruitfulness, imaged by the seeds. This fruitfulness is a sign of death and rebirth, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit. 25 He who loves his life loses it, and he who hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life.” (John 12:24-25) . Before the fall God creates the mystery of the seed (on the 3rd day) with foreknowledge of the fall, or just to emphasize rebirth as a purely positive thing. Time is marked by the cyclical image of the death and resurrection of Christ. “According to Scripture,” God made the world to raise the world from nothingness to life and will do it again. It is built into creation. It is also what the lights are ministering to: in life there is light and in light there is life. This comes with every day and night of our life. Our life is made to rise and to pass through any darkness into light and life.
GENESIS 1:11-19 11 And God said, "Let the earth put forth vegetation, plants yielding seed, and fruit trees bearing fruit in which is their seed, each according to its kind, upon the earth." And it was so. 12 The earth brought forth vegetation, plants yielding seed according to their own kinds, and trees bearing fruit in which is their seed, each according to its kind. And God saw that it was good. 13 And there was evening and there was morning, a third day. 14 And God said, "Let there be lights in the firmament of the heavens to separate the day from the night; and let them be for signs and for seasons and for days and years, 15 and let them be lights in the firmament of the heavens to give light upon the earth." And it was so. 16 And God made the two great lights, the greater light to rule the day, and the lesser light to rule the night; he made the stars also. 17 And God set them in the firmament of the heavens to give light upon the earth, 18 to rule over the day and over the night, and to separate the light from the darkness. And God saw that it was good. 19 And there was evening and there was morning, a fourth day. (Gen 1:11-19)
God makes the human being in his image. The image is not itself created. The Image is the eternal Son of God,
15 He is the image of the invisible God, the first-born of all creation; 16 for in him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or principalities or authorities -- all things were created through him and for him. 17 He is before all things, and in him all things hold together. 18 He is the head of the body, the church; he is the beginning, the first-born from the dead, that in everything he might be pre-eminent. (Col 1:15-18)
We are made to manifest his union with the Father, not just “outside of time,” but in the world and time. We are created after the mystery of the seed that foreshadows death and rebirth, and for the sake of tending that mystery in our life, in the plants and the animals, but also in our own interior garden of the virtues. After we have been made, God commands us first, before we can fulfil all the command to work, to rest with him.
26 Then God said, "Let us make man in our image, after our likeness; and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creeps upon the earth." 27 So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them. 28 And God blessed them, and God said to them, "Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth and subdue it; and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the air and over every living thing that moves upon the earth." 29 And God said, "Behold, I have given you every plant yielding seed which is upon the face of all the earth, and every tree with seed in its fruit; you shall have them for food. 30 And to every beast of the earth, and to every bird of the air, and to everything that creeps on the earth, everything that has the breath of life, I have given every green plant for food." And it was so. 31 And God saw everything that he had made, and behold, it was very good. And there was evening and there was morning, a sixth day. 2:1 Thus the heavens and the earth were finished, and all the host of them. 2 And on the seventh day God finished his work which he had done, and he rested on the seventh day from all his work which he had done. 3 So God blessed the seventh day and hallowed it, because on it God rested from all his work which he had done in creation. (Gen 1:26-3)
Resting with God is a great mystery—the rest is actually how he “finished his work.” It connects to the seed. Before we plant, grow and harvest, we must be one with God. He did and does the work, not us. He has set up all the conditions and the very natural powers that work to make life. He can pause, because he is not some impotent deity that frenetically has to maintain something more powerful than himself. What he has set up will happen, without fail, without even true hindrance even from the free creatures who have been given a power like his to freely reject him. He has given, gives, and will give life. He created it, and will raise it. He rested with us in the tomb on the Sabbath. He rests with us in the tomb, as he raises us. He is planted with us, to cause us to be fruitful into eternal life. Time is sealed by his mysterious death and awesome harrowing of Hades, and brought back to the unifying “day one” when all begins, the day of Creation and Resurrection. So he has set into the structure of time his own death and destruction of death. He has made a thing which seems the end of time, the meaning of all time. What seems folly and causes people to, with sour cynicism, proclaim meaninglessness, that thing, namely, death, becomes the place to unveil the treasure of eternity, the thing which does not pass away, the seeds of life awakening.
Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. 25 For the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men. 26 For consider your call, brethren; not many of you were wise according to worldly standards, not many were powerful, not many were of noble birth; 27 but God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise, God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong, 28 God chose what is low and despised in the world, even things that are not, to bring to nothing things that are, 29 so that no human being might boast in the presence of God. 30 He is the source of your life in Christ Jesus, whom God made our wisdom, our righteousness and sanctification and redemption;31 therefore, as it is written, "Let him who boasts, boast of the Lord." (1Corinthians 1:24-31)
His rest is a sign that in his knowledge of all things, he can make the impossible happen, for death to become life, for our repose and return to the earth to become fruitful. How? Because he knows that the deeper meaning of this rest is that he will die with us and rest in the tomb. God and the human both rest in Christ to make something which destroys the fear of death that imprisons and causes us to labor in fear and anxiety and separation from him.
…your fasting may not be seen by men but by your Father who is in secret; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you. 19 "Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust consume and where thieves break in and steal, 20 but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust consumes and where thieves do not break in and steal. 21 For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also. 22 "The eye is the lamp of the body. So, if your eye is sound, your whole body will be full of light 23 but if your eye is not sound, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light in you is darkness, how great is the darkness! 24 "No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon 25 "Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you shall eat or what you shall drink, nor about your body, what you shall put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? 26 Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they 27 And which of you by being anxious can add one cubit to his span of life? 28 And why are you anxious about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they neither toil nor spin; 29 yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. 30 But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is alive and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will he not much more clothe you, O men of little faith? 31 Therefore do not be anxious, saying, `What shall we eat?' or `What shall we drink?' or `What shall we wear?' 32 For the Gentiles seek all these things; and your heavenly Father knows that you need them all. 33 But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things shall be yours as well. 34 "Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Let the day's own trouble be sufficient for the day. (Matthew 6:18-34 )
The fear of death causes us to seek other things. We are anxious, but Christ tells us that God already has given us signs that God cares for us in a way that impermanence cannot break. He knows how to make from nothing. How should we fear anything? Our loss of focus on him, causes us to fear death. But his salvation is fundamentally about restoring the light to a life lived in knowledge of God’s power. God knows and will provide the “treasure” that cannot be overcome by death. If we have faith, “like a mustard seed,” God can take away the fear of death. This is what we come to Church to see, this liturgy that teaches us the meaning of all time, the conquest of death in Christ. We come to be enlightened with faith and fearlessness in life:
he himself likewise partook of the same nature, that through death he might destroy him who has the power of death, that is, the devil, 15 and deliver all those who through fear of death were subject to lifelong bondage. 16 For surely it is not with angels that he is concerned but with the descendants of Abraham. 17 Therefore he had to be made like his brethren in every respect, so that he might become a merciful and faithful high priest in the service of God, to make expiation for the sins of the people. (Heb 2:14-17)
So the day that we are called to, is the one on which we must change and be turned toward an eternal reality that transforms our lives.
exhort one another every day, as long as it is called "today," that none of you may be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin. 14 For we share in Christ, if only we hold our first confidence firm to the end, 15 while it is said, "Today, when you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts as in the rebellion." (Heb 3:13-15)
The “today” is the day when we are at Church, that is supposed to overwhelm all our days and whole conception of time. The day when we remember the death and resurrection of Christ. The “today” is when we are called to return to confidence in Christ. Today is the day that is supposed to be extended over all of our life and into the eternal life that God has prepared for us if we wish to be truly fruitful and to dwell in light. Today is the day when we give up worldly perishable treasure to find eternal treasure. Today is the day to taste life and not death.
lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust consumes and where thieves do not break in and steal. 21 For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also. 22 "The eye is the lamp of the body. So, if your eye is sound, your whole body will be full of light 23 but if your eye is not sound, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light in you is darkness, how great is the darkness! 24 "No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon.
Christ does not speak these words in a vacuum. What does it exactly mean not to follow the God of worldly treasure? It is tied to fasting (as we saw earlier in this passage), because that is where it began: eating the fruit of knowledge before it is granted, before we even understand the fundamental principles of life, or have sought the “tree of life.” We cannot have good or true knowledge if it does not begin with the obedience to the God who gives life.
These are a complex network of scriptural images. What does all this tell us that is relevant to our use of money? How are we to use our money, which we gained through our labor in time? We are to give it for the acquisition of eternity. Money does not purchase eternity. But if we are laboring and acquiring things useful in this world, we have to do it with eternity in our hearts and minds. We have to do it in the light of the “Day One” of which shows the meaning and eternity of our life as created by God, raised in Christ, and moved by the Spirit. So all our thought while working must be tied to this eternal light and this day. When we work and earn our daily bread, and our worldly “wealth,” we have to know and seek the thing which gives greater and absolutely true understanding of time. If we don’t, time becomes the plaything of fears, anxieties, various sublimating and escapist pleasures. If we are possessive of things and money, we will serve Mammon instead of the Giver of Eternity and Life. So it is that idolatry comes from not knowing what time is and why it has been given to us. Possessiveness and vain distraction by work takes away the meaning of Life as Gift. Once we understand “Life and Time” as Gift, we are ready to give to God, to church, to others in need. And so time becomes not a hard and stingy measure, but breaks open to eternity. So it is that we must understand the this theology as the first principle behind generosity. Generosity is not a bland moral rule, but something that comes out of a deep and mystical theology.