Shorter days
Where I live in North America, the days are getting shorter. Summer is just about over, and with the shorter days we know that autumn is almost here.
Shorter days. Makes me think of Jesus, in his Olivet prophecy, saying, “And if the Lord had not cut short the days, no human being would be saved. But for the sake of the elect, whom he chose, he shortened the days.” (Mark 13:20)
Now, I know Jesus wasn’t talking about the annual approach of autumn and its shorter days. He was saying that his Father would mercifully put a stop to the terrible tribulation that Jesus was foretelling—cutting that time short before it destroyed everyone. Nothing to do with shorter literal days.
Still, noticing that the sun is coming up later and setting earlier, did make me think of Jesus’s prophecy. Which makes me reflect that there can be all kinds of small things in our lives, which can make us remember something from scripture. It seems like it would be worthwhile cultivating a habit of looking for such things.
What else at this time of year make might make me remember a scripture passage or a spiritual lesson? Well, animals that will hibernate through the winter are busy fattening up. They will sleep in some kind of burrow until they revive and emerge in the spring. Makes me think of this passage:
Your dead shall live; their bodies shall rise. You who dwell in the dust, awake and sing for joy! For your dew is a dew of light, and the earth will give birth to the dead. Come, my people, enter your chambers, and shut your doors behind you; hide yourselves for a little while until the fury has passed by. (Isaiah 26:19-20)
Some of us, maybe most, maybe all of us—and definitely all the faithful of the past—will sleep in the earth until the voice of the Lord calls us from the grave. Death need not be something to fear. Not only can we have assurance of being called to awake from the dust, but in the meantime the Lord’s fury passes by, and we are untouched, hidden so we don’t have to go through that time.
What else? This time of year some caterpillars are transforming into moths and butterflies. This process is called “metamorphosis”, which comes from a Greek word that appears 4 times in the New Testament. In Matthew and Mark it’s the “transfiguration”. But the one that pops into my mind is Paul writing, “Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind… (Romans 12:2) Every caterpillar we see can remind us: A transformation is expected of us, a complete change from the person we were born, into a totally different being. And just think: A caterpillar can only crawl around on the earth. A butterfly can fly!
What else? I’m sure you can come up with others if you put your mind to it.
I think our spiritual life can be strengthened by intentionally putting a spiritual spin on something mundane. Imagine the entire world as a wall of post-it notes, each one left there to remind us of some scripture. Today’s note says:
Remember to pray for the days to be shortened, that we “see the Son of Man coming in clouds with great power and glory.“ (Mark 13:26)
But this won’t work, we won’t notice the notes, unless we are familiar enough with the scriptures to be reminded of them. So we know what we need to do, don’t we?
Love, Paul
P.S. If you live in the southern hemisphere, you’ll have to wait 6 months for the autumn reminders—but go right ahead with your springtime connections! If you live near the equator and don’t have much of an autumn or spring, you’ll just have to find something else. There’s plenty out there!