Living at 3:59 PM?

Odd question, don’t you think? Actually, It is a very important one. One that describes the condition of many Christians.

The impetus of the questions is the Gospel of John 1:35-42. In the text John is relating the draw of Jesus among the people. “It was about four in the afternoon” when two new disciples followed him to where he was staying. After hearing Jesus Andrew found his brother Simon telling him “I found the Messiah”. They went to Jesus and at first look Jesus said to Simon “You are Simon son of John and you will be called Cephas (translated is Peter). Sealing him to spreading the word of God and putting him on the path to holiness and Sainthood.

“It was about four in the afternoon” when they met the Lord. There in lies the point of our journey. We are called to meet the Lord but haven’t quite made it to four o’clock. Many of us who are striving to meet and hear Jesus are stuck at 3:59.

We have the desire and the devotion but have not been able to achieve that ah-ha moment when we hear Jesus call us by name. We may have heard distant whispers but like Samuel who was called by the Lord and kept going to Eli thinking it was he who was calling (1 Samuel3.3b-10,19). We don’t grasp that we have already been called but for many reasons; feelings of unworthiness, fear of what accepting the call would mean, not understanding how to respond, not knowing what they are being asked. None of that matters. It is about taking the leap. Just like any leap we must know where we will land. Knowing that Jesus is waiting to catch you in his arms is the knowledge that will help you respond.

If you are at 3:59 the leap is very short indeed. Say yes to the Lord and you will hear the clock chime four times.

We all want to have the Saint Paul experience of being struck on the road to Damascus where he was transformed. None of us need that experience because we already understand, believe in the Lord. What we hope for is something outside ourselves that will profoundly change us. We hope that we don’t have to do anything and yet achieve the desired goal. Unfortunately it doesn’t work that way. The final steps are up to you.

Living at 3:59 is coming up short, we are called, and it is up to us to respond when the call comes.