Dean's Message
A Message from the Dean
In 1905 the German-born Albert Einstein published “On the Electrodynamics of Moving Bodies” thereby introducing the world to the theory of special relativity and the relationship of space and time. Einstein doesn’t get all the credit though, as part of the theory had been hinted at by Italian Galileo Galilei who had done a thought experiment in the late 16th century. The idea goes back even further, and begins, as is so often the case, with the Greeks.
In ancient Greek philosophy there are three words for time: Chronos, Kairos, and Aion. Chronos is quantitative, linear, and measurable time (like a clock), Kairos is qualitative, opportune time, a moment of significance, and Aion is cyclical, eternal time, or the flow of an age.
All of this is a very long introduction to welcome you to the season of church life we call “Ordinary Time” which runs from Trinity Sunday in June until Advent in December. For about half of the liturgical year we live in the ‘ordinary’ green with only a few spasmodic feasts and festivals to punctuate it.
But, of course, “ordinary time” is a misnomer, because God is always active in the world, and there’s nothing ‘ordinary’ about that. With the resurrection of Jesus, a new Aion is begun, with the Kingdom of God being ever-more-perfectly revelaed. Our mission in the season is to be open and holy Kairos moments when scales fall from our eyes and we see God at work in and amongst the everyday stuff of our lives.
Cathedrals are great places for Kairos moments. I know that because I have them regularly here. Here’s my guide to where they often show up:
- In particular choral anthem where the various threads of harmony pull together
- In the way someone says ‘amen’ when receiving the sacrament
- In the gentle practice of praying through the hopes and concerns of those who have left a slip of paper in the chapel
- In the lighting of a votive candle before anyone else arrives to the 8am service
- In the squeals of delight from a mob of choristers with water pistols
- In a chat with one of the men who has slept rough the night before and comes in for a coffee with four sugars
- In the vulnerable prayers shared via zoom during Morning Prayer
Dear friends in Christ, I pray that your “ordinary time” would be anything but ordinary, but rather punctuated with Kairos moments with Christ.
The Very Rev'd Ben Truman, Dean of Christchurch