What time is it?

Daylight saving time leaves us a little groggy and confuses our pets as to their dinner time. Once our bodies and our pets adjust, we can enjoy an extra hour of daylight. The change confuses us for a little while. We find ourselves asking, “What time is it?”

This question can be asked literally or metaphorically.

In terms of the literal answer, humans invented devices to keep track of time in the civilizations of the Egyptians, Greeks and Romans. They used sundials, water clocks and chronometers to track the movement of the skies. Artisans of the Middle Ages invented mechanical timekeeping devices, but they were not completely accurate until the addition of pendulums. We have a Dutch astronomer from 1656 to thank for those.

Monastic communities needed to know exact times for daily prayer rituals. In developing urban communities, people listened for the tolling of church bells in order to know the time. The Latin word for bell is “clocca” which gave the devices their name. Soon there were large clocks in town squares. The astronomical clock in the old town square in Prague, Czech Republic is a marvel with its earliest parts dating to 1410. People still gather in front of its massive faces to watch all its moving parts and figures.

Timekeeping devices were an art and a skill in my father’s family. My father was a graduate of the Philadelphia School of Horology, as was his father. Horology refers to the design, building and repair of clocks and watches. The wall behind the showcases in our store was filled with clocks with pendulums swinging. Some were repairs being tested for accuracy. There was always lots of ticking and chiming. There was also a large wooden board full of rows of hooks. On each hook hung a watch with its identification tag. They were being tested for accuracy before being returned to their owners. There were also “loaners” which were the watches my father allowed customers to use while theirs was being repaired.

When I was old enough to be trusted with the job, I carefully wound each watch on the board, but was careful not to overwind them until they got stuck. I took this task very seriously. The sound of clocks chiming and watches ticking remains a comfort to me.

“What time is it?”asked metaphorically is a much harder question. The Hebrew Scriptures contain the familiar words, “To everything there is a season and a time for every purpose under heaven.” Ecclesiastes 3:1. The words of the first eight verses of this chapter were set to music by Pete Seeger in 1959 in the classic song, “Turn!Turn!Turn!” The version of the song made popular by the Byrds in 1965 is what we tend to think of in reference to this song.

The verses pair together opposites like building up and tearing down, mourning and dancing, weeping and laughing. Why are painful, destructive experiences included?

These words aren’t comforting, especially in times when our health or that of loved ones is uncertain or when it feels like the ground beneath our feet is shifting in unpredictable ways.

These verses challenge us to pull back from asking, “Why me?” Instead, they ask us to try, even in times of trial and despair, to take in the whole picture. Change happens and we are not in control. That is hard to hear. The challenge is to see all experience as part of what it means to be alive. After all, the pendulum swings both ways.

These verses are not an excuse for passivity or a rationale to adopt a “woe is me” attitude. We have a choice in how we respond to various circumstances. We can ask what we are supposed to learn from difficult times. We can be joyful and thankful when our pendulum is on an upswing. We can be compassionate toward those facing difficulties, knowing that we are not immune from them.

Pete Seeger added just a few words to the biblical text of Ecclesiastes 3. His words brought the ancient words into our current imagination where they linger for our reflection. The chorus of the song goes like this:

To everything (Turn, turn, turn)

There is a season (Turn, turn, turn)

And a time to every purpose under heaven

To everything (Turn, turn, turn)

There is a season (Turn, turn, turn)

And a time to every purpose under heaven.