Our Christian liturgical year follows a rhythmic cycle. It points us toward beginnings and ends. This is the Thirty Fourth or last Sunday of the Church year and we celebrate Christ the King (or, Reign of Christ) Sunday. It is no coincidence that between this Sunday and next, we celebrate Thanksgiving, because next Sunday, we begin the season of Advent, beginning once again the time of preparation for the celebration of the birth of our Savior. This helps us to see time as a gift, helping us to grow in the life of grace by marking time with those deeper truths that matter most. The point is made in Scripture with the different words for time. They are:
- Chronos (from which we get the word chronological) refers to the continuous, ongoing flow of time, that is, sequential time, the kind measured in seconds, minutes, hours, and years. It’s about the quantity of time. It encompasses the duration of our lives, governing our day-to-day activities and existence. Chronos is linear, moving from the past through the present to the future. It’s the human way of tracking life’s progress and aging and is subject to human observation and control, such as scheduling and planning.
- Kairos, on the other hand, signifies a moment of indeterminate time in which everything happens, focusing on the quality or opportune moment for action. It is determined by divine will, a moment specially chosen by God, beyond human control or prediction, representing an opportune moment, a divine window of opportunity or the right time for something significant to occur. It transcends linear time and is deeply tied to eschatology (the end times), focusing on critical moments that define or change the course of history, often linked with God’s intervention or fulfillment of prophecy.
In essence, while chronos maps the terrain of human life with its predictable rhythms and routines, kairos breaks into this sequence with moments charged with meaning, purpose, and divine presence. The discernment between these types of time and the recognition of kairos moments can be crucial for faithful living and decision-making in accordance with God’s will.
For the Christian, time is not meant to be a tyrant, somehow ruling over us. Rather, it is to be a teacher, instructing us, a series of invitations to allow the Lord to be our King, to reign in our real, daily lives. Through viewing time with this lens of faith, we come to discover life is a journey—a pilgrimage. With this is mind, let us walk through this last week of the year and join with those whom we love around the table of Thanksgiving, and then let us walk the way of faith into the new Liturgical season, Advent, getting ourselves and the world of our own time ready for the coming of Christ the King.