Anthony’s Cell
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While There Is Time: Bishop Augustinos on Spending Our Days for Salvation
13:03
What the video says
Bishop Austinos of Florina preaches on Isaiah 49:8, 'In an acceptable time I have heard thee.' He argues that people find time for passports, tickets, loans, studies and family duties, yet withhold time from God, who created them for salvation. He asks for daily prayer, Bible reading, weekly liturgy attendance, and yearly confession within the 365 days God grants each year.
He warns that death comes suddenly like a hawk and that life may end this week or this day. He closes with the image of a king's white and black flags: Christ raises his white flag of mercy through the cross, but the time will come when the gates shut and judgment arrives, so we must repent while there is still time.
Key moments
- The bishop takes his text from Isaiah 49:8, 'In an acceptable time I have heard thee,' and says those who comprehend it will become like lottery grand prize winners.
- Travelers prepare passports and visas and arrive on time; students submit applications; businessmen pay lenders on time. We make time for all worldly duties.
- God did not create us for travel, business, degrees, titles, dowries or weddings. The time of this life is for salvation, whether we live 20, 40, 60 or 80 years.
- He addresses the young woman at the mirror, the young man in his car, and the housewife at the malls: set aside time each day to kneel and pray to God.
- He tells the husband buried in papers, TV and magazines to open the Bible daily with his wife and children so their eyes may open.
- Of the week's 168 hours, God asks one or two for the Sunday liturgy, from 'Blessed is the kingdom' to the final 'Amen.' People run to dark entertainment centers past midnight, but in church ask how much longer until it's over.
- Each year is like a komboskini with 365 golden beads. Dedicate at least one day to holy confession, the spiritual clinic, just as you run to doctors when physical health fails.
- This year, month, week or day may be our last. A mayor of Athens died of a heart attack at his own birthday party before reaching the table, and death strikes like a hawk among chickens, snatching the elderly and babies alike.
An audio reading from Anthony's Cell presents the discourse 'While There Is Time' by Bishop Augustinos of Florina, built on Isaiah 49:8, 'In an acceptable time I have heard thee.' The bishop observes that people find time for passports, tickets, loans, studies and family duties, yet withhold time from God, who created them for salvation.
He contrasts travelers who prepare documents and arrive on time, students who submit applications, and businessmen who pay lenders punctually with the neglect of the soul's preparation for eternity. God did not create us for travel, business, degrees, titles, dowries or weddings; the time of this life, whether twenty, forty, sixty or eighty years, is for salvation.
He addresses specific states of life: the young woman at the mirror, the young man in his car, the housewife at the malls, asking each to kneel and pray daily. He tells the husband buried in papers, TV and magazines to open the Bible with his wife and children. Of the week's 168 hours, God asks one or two for the Sunday liturgy, while people run to dark entertainment centers past midnight yet ask in church how much longer it will last.
Each year is like a komboskini with 365 golden beads, and he urges at least one day of holy confession, the spiritual clinic. He warns that death comes suddenly like a hawk among chickens, citing a mayor of Athens who died of a heart attack at his own birthday party before reaching the table. The discourse closes with the parable of the king's white and black flags: Christ raises his white flag of mercy through the cross, but the time will come when the gates shut and judgment arrives, so we must repent while there is still time.
Main points
- The bishop preaches on Isaiah 49:8, 'In an acceptable time I have heard thee,' and contrasts our diligence in worldly affairs with neglect of the soul.
- He asks for daily prayer, Bible reading with the family, weekly liturgy attendance, and yearly confession within the 365 days God grants each year.
- Each year is like a komboskini with 365 golden beads; confession is the spiritual clinic, just as we run to doctors when health fails.
- Death comes suddenly like a hawk among chickens; a mayor of Athens died of a heart attack at his own birthday party before reaching the table.
- The parable of the king's white and black flags shows Christ's mercy through the cross and the coming time when the gates of mercy shut.