Lose an Hour, Gain a Day

 “This is the day the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it” (Psalm 118:24. NRSV.) 

As we march into a new month, I have good news and bad news. Let’s start with the bad news first: Daylight Savings Time is less than two weeks away, and “springing forward” will cost everyone an extra hour of sleep on Sunday, March 10. Now that we have that out of the way, here’s the good news: because 2024 is a leap year, we get an entire extra day on February 29. Exchanging an hour for a day doesn’t feel like a bad deal. In fact, it’s the best trade in St. Louis since the Cardinals sent Ernie Broglio to the Cubs in exchange for Lou Brock.

In the great hymn, “O God, Our Help in Ages Past”, Isaac Watts proclaims, “A thousand ages in Thy sight are like an evening gone; short as the watch that ends the night before the rising sun.” We don’t need to study Albert Einstein to know time is relative. We learned this in elementary school while each of us stared at the slow-moving classroom clock. Similarly, we know time goes faster when we are with beloved family or longtime friends. The Bible is not as concerned with the keeping of time as it is with what we are willing to do with the seconds, minutes, hours, and days allotted to us. Jesus reminds us again and again to live fully into every day. 

“Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they neither toil nor spin, yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not clothed like one of these. But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which is alive today and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will he not much more clothe you—you of little faith? Therefore do not worry, saying, ‘What will we eat?’ or ‘What will we drink?’ or ‘What will we wear?’ For it is the Gentiles who strive for all these things; and indeed your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. But strive first for the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. ‘So do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will bring worries of its own. Today’s trouble is enough for today” (Matthew 6:28b-34, NRSV.)

 Don’t let yesterday’s regrets or tomorrow’s worries steal the joy from the day God is giving us. We might lose an hour in March, but we gain an extra day in February. We all long for one more day with loved ones who have departed. The good news of Lent is it concludes with the hope of resurrection and reunion. Since God holds tomorrow, what are you going to do with today?

 In Hope and Confidence, 

Pastor Dave