Rutter — “A Time To …”

Reading Chapter 3 of Ecclesiastes immediately has me singing the classic Byrds hit, “Turn, Turn, Turn” (1962, Pete Seeger), based on this Old Testament passage.

Setting this centuries-old poem into a lovely rhythm, the melody touches my heart, making me ponder along with King Solomon the value of man’s toil.

From his musings that there is “a time to give birth and a time to die ...” to “a time of war, and a time of peace,” and all in between, the wisest man ever born realized the work that we do goes beyond our time and knowledge of what it will reap.

“God has made everything appropriate to its time but has put the timeless into their hearts so they cannot find out, from beginning to end, the work which God has done.” (Ecclesiastes 3:2-11)

After an 11-year hiatus, this week I attended the International Catholic Stewardship Conference in New Orleans.

It was a joy to speak on my new book, Women of Spirit: Claiming Our Ultimate Power, and even more so, to reconnect with colleagues and meet new friends.

Throughout the three days, it amazed me how often others spoke about doing God’s work, knowing that it is in his hands to prosper it.

Just as King Solomon foretold, though we make the effort, God brings it to fruition in his timing.

Impatient, we get discouraged while waiting and wondering if our efforts have any value.

There are those who give up and go on to things that bring them immediate recognition, satisfaction and reward.

They drift back into, as Cardinal Joseph W. Tobin of Newark, New Jersey, said at Mass last Sunday, “the transactional.”

Tragically, King Solomon’s desire for wealth, power and pleasure ultimately led him to forsake God altogether.

Disciples of Jesus Christ, we let Solomon’s own words help us recognize that although we will have setbacks, if we stay true to God, the times of weeping, scattering, and rending will give way to laughing, gathering, and sewing” (Ecclesiastes 3:4-7).

By staying true to God’s Word and giving our will over to him, our lives will be transformative ones.

“Filled with the love of the Holy Spirit, we, too, have the burning need to offer ourselves — our wills, dreams and lives — to God for His use. This is the glory of being called; this is the meaning of being a disciple; this is the way of a steward.” (Women of Spirit, p. 71)

Though we may never know the impact our lives have on others, walking with Jesus, spreading his message of love, mercy and forgiveness, we can be secure that our work has value.

Giving up our wills to serve his is what gives our lives meaning.

Grateful for my week and the joy of being among friends and colleagues, I find myself humming: “To everything, turn, turn, turn, there is a season, turn, turn, turn, and a time to every purpose under heaven.”

And so, I pray: Dear Lord, keep our hearts focused on serving you alone, recognizing that all we have and all we are, are gift from You. Fill us with the beauty of emptying ourselves from worldly desires so we may walk the steps to the cross arm in arm knowing that the glory of Your Kingdom awaits. Amen.