4.4 Seconds

Seek the Lord and his strength; seek his presence continually.
-1 Chronicles 16:11

I grew up in a family that loved music. We often sang a prayer before meals. The song that we sang the most often had been handed down through my mom's family. And the first line was, 
"Be present at our table, Lord... 
God is love, God is love."

Asking God to be present is really just a human way of reminding ourselves to be present to God, isn't it? Because most of us believe that God is always present already. If we believe anything about what Jesus taught us, it's that God isn't coming in and out of our lives like a neighborhood mailman, quickly dropping a few things off here and there and then maybe seeing us again tomorrow, if the timing works out just right. 

God's very name,Yahweh, is often translated as "I am who I am." Jewish rabbis like to point out that Yahweh is literally the sound of the breath that we take in and out... the constant moment of life coming in and out of our body in the present.

And Jesus, in the best moment of in-your-face, grammar school! in the New Testament, tells the Pharisees, 
"Before Abraham was... I Am." 
It wasn't just a declaration of Jesus' shared identity with the Father. It was a reminder that God's very nature is always present tense. 
So, yes, God is indeed present at our tables. 

It's actually us who may not be. To put it in more culturally relevant terms: 
It's me. Hi. I'm the problem, it's me. 
It can be challenging for me to live in the present moment these days. Do you feel that too? It's so easy to have our minds and attention on anything other than what is right in front of us. It requires us to move beyond the worries in our heads, or the hurts of our past, or the endless narratives scrolling on our phones. 

Some neuroscience suggests that the human experience of the present lasts exactly 4.4 seconds. Beyond that section of your consciousness, you enter a world that that does not yet exist (future). And anything that occurred before the 4.4 second segment that you're currently in is now stored in a different spot in your brain (hippocampus) as short-term memory. 

You literally started reading this article in the past. You are now in a new present. 
Whoops, now you're in a new one already again! 
But you're still thinking about that past one aren't you?
Please, keep up. You're living in the past. 
Just kidding. 

But as disciples, learning to be present is crucial, particularly in the place and time we find ourselves in right now. 

The beauty of an ever-present Jesus is that he does not live in the past, the future, or far away in the distance. And he reminds us of the pitfalls of them all. Jesus teaches his disciples that worry is just a poorly imagined future and accomplishes nothing toward what's real: trusting God in the present. That's where God is and it's what God is doing. 

The risen Jesus also tells Peter, who had decided that his past was destined to define him (failure, wounds, denial), that the present moment was one of reconciliation and hope. There was fresh work to do, and Jesus isn't one to hold grudges. So he snaps Peter into the present to get on with the work of the kingdom. I bet that when Jesus asked Peter, "do you love me?" on that beach, that Peter was completely present in that nail biting, life-changing 4.4 second "now" that was occurring over and over again during that conversation. Now was the time to step into his next calling, not sulk in the shadows. 

Living in the 4.4 seconds of the present with God and others is scary and dangerous, because it requires us to step into trust. We can't control the future, and we cannot hide in the past. But this is what makes us most capable of love and connection. How many times have we missed God-given opportunities to love and care because we are not fully present to what's in front of us?

There is much going on in our world. Some of it you can have influence over. Much of it you cannot. You might be tempted to live in fear (future-oriented) or in resignation (past-oriented). But in the coming week, let's live well with a humble ear to the Spirit--every four seconds or so-- and an eye to see the people and moments in front of us. In doing so, may we meet God and follow Jesus in truth and in love. 

Jesus, keep me present to my own breath and Yours this week. 

Peace,
Keith