***
I turned 35 just a few days ago – and it struck me that I’m now two years older than Jesus.
He died at 33.
***
Over the last several days, we’ve been listening to his final discourse in John’s Gospel; it’s Jesus’ final night on earth, so he tells his disciples everything he wants them to know before his death.
Most of what he teaches them is done so verbally. But there’s also a lesson he teaches them not by his words, but by his actions.
It’s that life is not about duration, but donation.
Time is God’s gift to us.
What matters is not how much we have, but how well we use it.
For his part, Jesus gives everything he has away – even his body as he hangs from the cross. Every moment of his life was time well spent.
***
So many of our relatives and friends – and even some of you – have done the same.
You’ve given your freedom, and some their lives, so that we might have ours. That’s what we celebrate this Memorial Day, the fact that life is not about duration, but donation.
It’s about service.
When I think about Memorial Day, my mind always drifts to the Greatest Generation. When World War Two broke out, so many of our soldiers weren’t even men; they were boys.
But they fought with courage and valor, many giving their lives for the sake of ours. They remind us that life is not about duration, but donation.
It’s about service.
Time is God’s gift to us. What matters – and ultimately what we’re judged upon – is how well we use it.
***
We should consider how well we use the time we have, how we better the lives of other people.
Most of us will not find ourselves on the shores of Normandy, or in the heart of Damascus.
But there are dozens of opportunities we have throughout our day to use our time well – to serve by being patient, thoughtful, and generous towards others.
Because the more we serve our neighbor, even in little ways, the more we become like Christ, who has loved us and given himself for us.
