As I write today, I am celebrating my 36th birthday.  I will be 36 and one week when you read this.  Many of you who read this will say to yourselves, “She’s just a pup,” and some of you, students perhaps, will wonder what 36 could possibly feel like.  It feels strange.  It feels like good news and bad news, at least to me.  It very much feels like the passing of time.  Not all that much time, relatively speaking, but time that is precious, nonetheless. 

Today’s readings speak to me of time.  I am anxious about the passing of time, perhaps a bit like the disciples in the gospel.  “What’s coming down the pike and how will we know?”  I hear them concerning themselves with the future, and, perhaps even in danger of squandering their days watching for signs and worrying about what will be at the end.  I am old enough to know that time shouldn’t be squandered and young enough to catch myself squandering it anyway.

But the reading from Revelation is a kind of answer for them and for me.  “Stop waiting and wondering!  Now is the time to reap.  Do not worry about the future, for if you do, you will miss the present and what is here for you.”  I worry sometimes about how I am spending my life and if, in the end, I will be proud of it and without regret.  I wonder what is around the corner.  I even wish time away occasionally.  Revelation tells me there is not time to waste; the harvest and the grapes are ripe.  If I do not pay attention to that, I will miss that which may not come again.  If I do not make the best of my life now, then I certainly will have regrets in the end.  And it speaks to me of trust in God.  It speaks to me of living fully each day, harvesting what I can for the Kingdom, enjoying life, and trusting God with the end.

The bad news is that time marches on.  The good news is that there is time and we can make the most of it.  Not to wear out the old adage, but everyday is another chance.  And if we trust that God is present in all we do today, tomorrow truly will take care of itself.  And we can all stop worrying.

What does living fully today mean for you?  How will you harvest everything life and God have for you today?