Easter reflection by Mark Searle, Rector, All Saints Weston
There are two types of time. The ordinary kind of time, it is chronological and keeps on moving forward - Kronos. The other kind of time is the extraordinary, defining moment kind of time - Kairos.
Kairos time is the moment when everything changes. It is the time when you have a choice about how you will respond, for good or ill. Kairos moments come in many forms. It can be a simple phone call from someone you have lost touch with. A doctor’s diagnosis. A letter offering you the job of a lifetime. A nerve agent attack on UK soil. The news of a new person coming in to the world. Or the realisation of the truth of who you are. These are the Kairos moments in life that change everything.
For Christians the death and resurrection of Jesus is Kairos rather than Kronos. It is the defining moment of history. Everything has changed. But it only becomes Kairos when we take a step of faith. If we look with the eyes of history at an event in space and time then the cross seems foolish. The world seems to moves forward unchanged. People continue to hurt each other and live for themselves.
But we can choose to respond to the invitation to surrender ourselves to the work of the cross. When we do we also receive the gift of life because of the resurrection of Jesus. This is the ultimate Kairos moment. Everything changes.
This Easter allow yourself to be part of the story. Not observing from afar a Kronos event. Instead take a step in, even if you have been following for years. You could set aside some time to read the song in Philippians 2:5-11 and join with the worship of All the Saints at the end. This year experience the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ as a Kairos moment again.
Mark
All Saints Weston, Bath
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