LENT 

TIME  IN  BETWEEN  TIME

 INTRODUCTION

The title of my homily is, “Lent! Time In Between Time.”

On Ash Wednesday we began the Season of Lent - 40 days and 40 nights - of special time.

It’s connected with the 40 days - Jesus retreated into the desert - when and where he wrestled with life’s big issues - temptations - questions - “What’s next?” Then he came  out of the desert - out of an  empty waste - ready to speak, preach, give wisdom, wash feet, challenge people, help and heal and feed people  and give that same mission to our world.

It’s connected with the 40 years the people of Israel were in the desert - dealing with the struggle to become a people. They had to grow up. Like children they spent too much time complaining and whining against Moses and God. Why did God tell us  people to make an exit - and exodus - out of Egypt? They forgot the part that they were slaves in Egypt.

NOT ALL TIME IS THE SAME

As you know not all time is the same.

Sometimes time is just time.

Sometimes time is non-descript, or time is boring, or time is super exciting.

Sometimes some times are special times.

There’s a difference between Holy Week and any other week of the year.

There’s a difference between the Christmas Season, Summer, Vacation.

Not all days are the same: some days are birthdays - or your parent’s wedding anniversary day - or the day a grandfather died.

Some days someone gets a notice they have to appear in court.

Some days someone has a career game on the basketball court and his or her name is in the paper - and the newspaper story is cut out and a great grandkid sees it in an album 65 years later and says, “Grandpa or Grandma I didn’t know you played basketball.”

Not all time, not all seasons are the same: spring, summer, autumn, winter.

Some of you - good news to you - if you end up with a drinking or a drug problem  - you’ll have to go into a rehab for 40 days or 30 days or 6 months and that period of your life will help you 100 times more than any season of Lent or Advent or year of schooling.

Not all time is the same time.

On Wednesday afternoon I was standing there in St. Peter’s Catholic Cemetery on Route 50 - some 15 miles from the Bay Bridge - after a burial. My car was trapped. So I walked around and stopped to read the stones - as a way of using my time well - instead of complaining inwardly, “People stop talking to each other. Please get back into your cars.  I gotta get back to St. Mary’s.”

There was a black stone for some guy who died around 18 or 19 years of age. I saw just his name - his numbers - and a poem carved on the back of the stone about being understood or not being understood.

And all the stones around  him had people who made it to their 70’s and 80’s.

Not all time is the same time.

Not every life has the same number of minutes and months.

WHAT AM I DOING WITH MY TIME?

Lent is a good time to look at the time of my life.

It’s about time.

It’s about time to look at how I use time.

We’re about to start the baseball season and I like to read about the upcoming season. I read that Michael Conforto of the Mets and Justin Heyward of the Cubs really worked on their swing as hitters over the winter. We’ll see.

How well do we use time?

I remember in baseball in the seminary I found one of those hand sized squeezy exercise things. So I squeezed them thousands and thousands of times in class - outside of class - forever. Being a single’s hitter, I wanted to have better bat control. That year I hit .374. It worked. 

When we use our time well, when we train well, when we read well, when we work well, we end up with great memories of great times and jobs in high school and college and life.

I recently heard someone say they skipped Spring Break in College and went to Kentucky with some other kids to help work on houses for the poor and it was a super time.

Not everyone uses their time the same.

CONCLUSION   

Every night a nice night prayer is taking a minute to look back on today and say, “How was it.”

Come up with some great moments and say, “Thanks God.” If there were some nasty moments say, “Sorry X or Y and God.” Help me to do better tomorrow. Amen.