Fr. Paul MacNeil
2024-03-31
I begin today with Jim Croce's "Time in a Bottle:"
If I could save time in a bottle
The first thing that I'd like to do
Is to save every day 'til eternity passes away
Just to spend them with you
If I could make days last forever
If words could make wishes come true
I'd save every day like a treasure, and then
Again, I would spend them with you.
I wonder if that’s exactly the message that Jesus was trying to give us at the Last Supper when he knew that his time with his disciples on earth was drawing to a close.
It’s a beautiful image that saves time in a bottle. We confront this with our children because they grow up so fast. You want time to stand still. But isn’t the resurrection of Jesus a way to make sure time does stand still? Maybe not in a material way, but in a spiritual way, as we hope to live beyond death? Couldn’t this be the real message underneath the resurrection of Jesus, that he is not only the lord of life but also of time?
Think about how we measure time—the three basic categories we use—yesterday, today, and tomorrow. On the one hand, these three periods are very specific, down to the last millisecond. Yesterday refers to 24 hours on, in this case, March 31st or March 30th, depending on when I give this homily. Last Thursday was not yesterday, nor was last week. Today refers to a 24-hour period that began precisely at 12:01 a.m., and tomorrow refers to a specific day in the calendar. We need these time frames to function.
But of course, there is a more metaphorical meaning to the words yesterday, today, and tomorrow, and these metaphors are as close to absolute as we can get—they don’t ever change. What happened in the past is gone forever; you cannot get it back, and we refer to that as yesterday. Yesterday, you celebrated a birthday, graduated from college, married, and had a child. Yesterday, World War II began and ended, and your close friend passed away; Jesus was also born in Bethlehem and was crucified. The Bible was written yesterday, even though all these things are still with us today in our memories. Tomorrow is also a metaphor. When we refer to tomorrow, we refer to something that hasn’t happened yet. It’s in the same category as hopes and dreams. I know in the future I’m going to retire, your kids will get married, and they will retire! And at some point, we are going to take our last breath. We have no idea when that will be, so we place it in a broad metaphorical category called “tomorrow.”
But what about today? Today is different. Today, you are alive and experience reality in all its pain and glory. What is the most important thing in your life today? How are you going to live your life “today?” Who are you going to love “today?” What did Jesus mean when he said, “Today, this prophecy is being fulfilled in your hearing.” Or the psalm 400 years before that - “if today you hear God’s voice, harden not your hearts.”
The resurrection of Jesus, which we celebrate today, is precisely that: it is happening now. Were not our hearts burning within us? Said the disciples on the road to Emaus when they failed to recognize Jesus, perhaps because they were still dwelling on yesterday, worrying about tomorrow. Our hearts burn within us when we realize that today, this moment has been sanctified by the resurrection of Christ, which also sanctifies that world of yesterday and makes real the hope that we have of tomorrow.
You see, there is a fourth timeframe that we must also acknowledge and accept. that time frame is eternity, and it embraces love and affection both yesterday, today and tomorrow. It is filled with life and goodness; nothing can take that away. At the last supper, Jesus looked at his friends and said, “If I could save time in a bottle, the first thing that I’d like to do is to save every day ‘til eternity passes away, just to spend them with you.” Jesus puts time in a bottle, and it’s a beautiful vintage, and the label on that bottle says simply this: “eternity.” It’s not the bottle that’s important. It’s what’s in it. Jesus' message for you today and for eternity: He wants you to open that bottle, drink it, and share it with those around you. Jesus loves you and wants to spend eternity with you. And in the resurrection, today, he calls to you and sings to you:
If I could make days last forever
If words could make wishes come true
I'd save every day like a treasure, and then
Again, I would spend them with you