Fr. David Khorey, OCAN Spiritual Advisor

This is the time of year when time itself seems to be in short supply and to always be on our mind in one way or another.

In our fallen state we have a very distorted relationship with time. We want to "kill" it at times, "save" it at others, "make" it when necessary, or "pass" it when it seems to be something to be endured. When we need more of it, we try to "buy" it. Indeed we know there is some preciousness to it, lest we "waste" it. This is especially true this time of year, when all seems rushed.

As lawyers we have an intimate relationship with time.

We attempt to not only record but "keep" it, to measure it in increments that may become our stock in trade. Some law firms with a business orientation refer to their lawyers and other professionals as "timekeepers." A partner who bills the time recorded by others is regarded as having a particular status. To lawyers who record time in billable increments it can often seem that this is the central purpose of their professional lives.

All lawyers live with time "pressure." Somehow, a simple date on a docket months from now can be the cause of productivity or procrastination; even the whiff of a docket in close proximity can cause anxiety.

I had a litigation partner who used to tell people he specialized in getting adjournments.
In truth, he knew the value of a well placed adjournment. We might even say he viewed it as the gift of time. Time, in this sense, often provided room for facts or case law to develop, for settlements to ripen, to prepare better and more effectively, to see everything more clearly.

This should resonate with us as Orthodox Christians, for we are supposed to see time as we are supposed to see everything else -- as a gift, to be offered back in thanksgiving to the One from whom all good gifts come. That is, as Orthodox, we are to sanctify time, every day, every week, every season.

Time is a space in which we worship and draw ever closer to God. Our liturgical calendar with its rhythm of prayers, fasts and feasts fosters our participation in time as it should be spent -- in communion with a God who joins past, present and future together. In this way we can live sacramentally in all seasons.

This season, as we complete our journey through the Nativity Fast, let us take the time for a well placed adjournment from our fallen relationship from time, and restore the relationship we were always supposed to have with it, and so much else -- a relationship of gratitude. Let us through prayer, fasting and almsgiving sanctify the time, and so see it more clearly for the gift that it truly is.

Time is after all where we experience joy, for God is with us; now, time itself is made holy, for today salvation is come to the world.

May you all have a fruitful fast and a most blessed feast of the Nativity of Our Lord.

December 2025

© 2025 David Khorey