We are approaching the end of 2023, and the New Year is nigh. We hope that the following reflections
by Monk Vasily will
help our readers better
understand the meaning of time, to value the priceless gift more greatly from God, and to better distinguish the temporal from the eternal…
What is time? Who is capable of briefly and clearly defining it? And after all, in our discussions, we talk about nothing with more certainty and such frequency than about time, and when we do talk about it, we undoubtedly understand what we are talking about, and when we hear the word in conversation, we understand what is being spoken of. So, what is time? Back at the close of the fourth century, 
Blessed Augustine: “Thou Wast in Me Deeper Than My Depths and Higher Than My Heights”Borne out of the heart’s innermost recesses, this recognition is filled with amazing power and concerns the life of every Christian.
The nature of 
The Concept of Time in Science and the BibleThe Bible and nature are in essence two books that are written by God, and that these books complement rather than contradict each other
“>time is beyond our comprehension. Time is like the wind: we do not see it but evaluate it according to its effects. In striving to comprehend the mystery of time, in ancient times man was convinced that “everything flows past, everything changes,” just as he himself does. God created time before He created man, whom he created holy, immortal, “in His image and after His likeness.”
Man was immortal, and time had no effect on him. However, he was given a Commandment and was warned of God’s punishment for disobedience: Thou shalt surely die… (Gen. 2:17). This means that life did not depend upon time, but on the way of life, on obeying God’s Commandment. However, with Adam’s committing of a transgression, with his sin, he fell under the power of time, i.e., he became corruptible and mortal. Throughout his entire life, he repented and wept, but by his own powers could not once again be like unto God.
Following Christ’s Resurrection, there came the “time of reformation…” (Heb. 9:10), a time of reforming by grace. God renews man, but now in concert with him, so that through recognition of the Truth and obedience to God’s Commandments, his will, merging with God’s will, might be holy. The Apostle Paul teaches, That ye have heard Him, and have been taught by Him, as the Truth is in Jesus: that ye put off concerning the former conversation the old man, which is corrupt according to the deceitful lusts; and be renewed in the spirit of your mind; and that ye put on the new man, which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness… (Eph. 4:21–24).
From this, one can grasp the course of life: Good works in the name of the Lord is the means to “redeeming” the time of our life, leading unto eternity, unto knowledge of God. And thus, doing good becomes a measure of time, its price, not astronomic time, but conscious, ontological (existential), spiritual (as distinguished from vegetative) time. It may be called “human” time. Holy Hierarch St. John Chrysostom wrote, “If you lose money, you can regain it, but if you kill time in vain pursuits, you cannot move it around. And after all, God gave us time in which to learn piety.”
For this reason, the Apostle Paul calls for redeeming the time (Eph. 5:16), for we often lose or spend it freely and uselessly, or even worse, we “kill time.” Therefore, there is no “sacred” or “non-sacred” time. All of the days of the Lord are holy and wonderful, for the Lord is kind to both the good and the evil. However, the days are evil (Eph. 5:16) through people’s evil acts and evil thoughts. Accordingly, “evil sufficient unto the day” is as if it were a different measure of the time, or essence, of the day.
Love for God and man leads unto eternity, becomes man’s true and highest good, the treasure of all his life, the true content and fulfillment (i.e. filling up) of each moment, and accordingly is the greatest measurement of spiritual time. The Holy Fathers say that the purpose of the creation of the entire world, and consequently, of time, is love.
Christ came into the world out of love for humanity, and our response is to redeem our time on earth through love in return. We are instructed to rejoice always and pray without ceasing, keeping God, the source of love, in mind at all times. Through love, we transcend space and time, as the soul that has achieved love is beyond such constraints.
In a world where everything is constantly changing, we must consider the present not just in a secular sense, but as a culmination of past, present, and future influences. Our faith in God and His kingdom affects how we live in the present, shaping our future as well. Through Christ, the mystery of time is revealed to us, as He is the Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end, the eternal Present.
In the remembrance of our faith, past, present, and future merge into one through the love of Christ. By proclaiming the Good News of the Kingdom of Heaven, the Church unites the earthly and the heavenly, the temporal and the eternal. Through Holy Communion, we touch eternity and transcend the limitations of time. Church time focuses on the soul and leads to eternal life, away from the constraints of earthly time.
Our lives are filled with unfinished tasks, causing us to feel as though we are always behind. The problem lies not in a lack of time, but in our priorities and values. Time itself is not the issue; it is how we choose to spend it that matters most. The passage discusses how time measures movement and changes in our lives based on the decisions we make, goals we set, and desires we have. It emphasizes the importance of using our time wisely and not getting consumed by tasks that cannot be put off. The text also highlights the need for self-reflection and personal development in order to make the most of the time we are given. It warns against procrastination and making excuses, urging individuals to take responsibility for how they spend their time in order to serve both themselves and others effectively.
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