*SPOILER ALERT*

Last night I watched the Marvel comic movie Dr. Strange for the fourth time. The movie explores so many interesting themes that it never gets old for me. One of those themes is time. Kaecilius, the villain in the movie, declares to Dr. Strange that time is the enemy and death is an insult, and he is on a path to be freed from time and death. Dr. Strange eventually learns how to wield a stone that allows him to move time forward or backward or stop it. He uses the stone to create a time loop in which he suffers and dies over and over at the hands of Kaecilius’ evil master until the evil one finally relents and leaves earth alone.

Even though Kaecilius is on the wrong path, I understand his angst. Life is short indeed. Psalm 90 reflects on the limits of the human condition and the transience of human life by contrasting the time scales of God and of human beings. From God’s perspective a thousand years telescopes down into a third of our night. But we are compared to grass which sprouts in the morning and withers and dies by evening. The Psalm is filled with words which mark the passing of our time – morning, evening, days, and years. Time is swiftly passing. It slips away like a sigh.

But the writer of the Psalm doesn’t leave us without direction or hope. We are asked to recognize the shortness of life which the Psalm describes and to gain a heart of wisdom so that we can live this life well. And we have the hope that God will “prosper the work of our hands.” The Hebrew word translated “prosper” is a word also used for keeping buildings unshaken. This is such a concrete hope for a substantial human life even in the face of its fleeting nature. Life is fleeting, but substantial when lived with wisdom from God.

“Satisfy us in the morning with your steadfast love, so that we may rejoice and be glad all our days.” Psalm 90: 14