| Introduction As the church in exile, quarantined in a pandemic, the crucial question is, “How can we church at home, in family or small groups, or alone?” During the Covid crisis, church is not an address but an activity, not a noun but a verb, less of a place we go and more of how we live. In the daily devotional emails to come will be a series of Moment Practices seeking to give practical and pragmatic exercises on how to church each and every moment. |
| Practice Number 1: Leave Your Minutes for this Moment During pandemic quarantine, each minute can seem eternal. To begin our moment practices, let’s distinguish between moments and minutes. Whether it is the best of times or the worst of times, it is the only time we have. Art Buchwald We ask so often, “What time is it?” when the more important question for life is, “What kind of time is it?” Is it minutes or moments? Minutes are measurements of time. Moments are experiences that transcend time. Minutes are time at its worst. Moments are life at its fullest. Minutes are measured, clocked, labeled, scheduled, ordered, alarmed, hurried, packed, and expiring. Minutes tell us when to wake, when to eat, when to leave, what to do, when to return, and when to sleep. Minutes plot our lives in a tangible and visible grid on paper, calendars, schedules, computers, and mobile phones. Minutes are the thin train tracks of our lives with a clear beginning at birth when we get on board and a final stop when exiting is required. When we are young, minutes put life out of reach in some far away future telling us, “Not yet, but maybe one day.” When we are older, minutes count downward like the scoreboard in a basketball game visibly reminding us that our, “Time is running out,” and that, “What Once Was” is far more than “What’s Left.” All that minutes are: measurable, numerable, ordered, scheduled, alarmed, and expiring, moments are not. While minutes are about the quantity of life, moments are about the quality of life and deny quantification. Moments are other. Moments transcend charting, calculating, and ordering. Moments are life beyond minutes. Time may be repeated. The same minute will occur tomorrow, but moments are always singular, distinct, particular, and unique. Every moment is a new moment. Every moment is a fresh moment. Every moment is a first moment with new possibilities, new realities, and new life beyond limits of scale, schedule, or measurement. In every moment, you are born all over again, resurrected from what was to what is for moments can be holy, touch eternity, never ticking away but ending to begin. Moments are larger than life or death, far more than minutes, for moments are now. To focus on this moment, try repeating this phrase by Emily Dickinson over and again until you leave this minute for a greater moment.  |
The Moment and other books by David W. Jones are available for free at Macland Presbyterian or for a small fee on Amazon. amazon.com/author/dwjones Previous Moment Practices can be found on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/welcometothemoment |