“IF NOT NOW, THEN WHEN?”
I have a tiny confession to make. When my son first introduced me to The Chosen, I wasn’t immediately convinced. But as I continued watching — episode after episode — I found myself unexpectedly moved and captivated. I eventually grew to love this multi-season series portraying the life and ministry of Jesus of Nazareth. For those unfamiliar, The Chosen is an independently produced show focusing on Jesus and His disciples. It portrays the heart of Christ’s ministry with honesty and humanity — the triumphs, the struggles, and everything in between. Most strikingly, it presents Jesus in His full humanity: born of a woman, walking among us, and destined for an earthly death.
One line in particular captured my attention. In Season 1, Episode 5, during the wedding at Cana, Mary urges Jesus to act when the wine runs out. Jesus replies, “My time has not yet come.” Mary then gently places her hand on His and says, “If not now, then when?” Though not a biblical quotation, the line has become iconic in the series, capturing the urgency of stepping into one’s calling without delay.
This particular scene is a callback to an earlier scene of Jesus as a boy in Jerusalem. After the Passover, Mary and Joseph search desperately for Him, finally finding Him three days later among the finest teachers of the Law. Luke 2:41–52 tells us how astonished everyone was at His understanding. So, when Mary asks why He stayed behind, Jesus answers, “Did you not know that I must be in my Father’s house?” In the show, Mary responds, “It is too early for all these…” and the young Jesus replies, “If it is not now, then when?” Again, it is not scriptural — but a very powerful expression of urgency.
The phrase itself has deep historical roots. It is most famously associated with Hillel the Elder, a revered first-century Jewish teacher who used it to stress the importance of acting without hesitation in matters of moral and spiritual growth. His full teaching, found in Pirkei Avot 1:14, reads:
“If I am not for myself, who will be for me?
If I am only for myself, what am I?
And if not now, when?”
Hillel emphasized that duties should not be postponed, and even warned students not to say, “I will study when I have time,” because that time may never come.
Although The Chosen is a dramatization and the line is not found in Scripture, the question itself remains meaningful for us today. It reminds us that life is short, time is precious, and Christ calls us to make the most of the days we are given — to steward the gift of life with purpose and intention.
This urgency is reflected in God’s promise through Jeremiah. He foretold a New Covenant, one written not on tablets of stone but on the human heart. Jesus fulfilled that promise, sealing the covenant with His Precious Blood on the cross and giving us the Holy Spirit through the Sacraments. Consider what that means: the Holy Spirit — God Himself — dwells within us. Because of Christ, we are made a new creation, constantly in communion with God, who desires to shape every part of our lives.
That reality should stir us to lean forward, eager to give ourselves fully to His purposes. John Wesley captured this sense of wholehearted discipleship beautifully:
“Do all the good you can, by all the means you can,
in all the ways you can, in all the places you can,
to all the people you can, as long as ever you can.”
But if we’re honest, this is not always how we live. Why? Because the work of becoming one with the Holy Spirit — this transformation at the heart of the New Covenant — is ongoing. We live in the tension between our human nature and God’s calling. That internal conflict is part of the human condition, as expounded by the Apostle Paul, who describes the constant struggle between the “old man” and the “new man,” most prominently in Romans 7. In his letters to the Ephesians and Colossians, Paul reiterates this ongoing battle — a daily struggle Christians face as they continue their pilgrimage through this earthly life.
Even Jesus experienced it too. Though fully divine, He was also fully human and felt the weight of fear and anxiety. Paul reminds us that Christ cried out to the Father to be spared from death. And in the Gospel, even as Jesus acknowledges that “the hour has come,” He reveals an inner struggle. Yet unlike us, He surrendered completely to the Father’s will. Aware of the world’s desperate need, He chose obedience — even unto death on a cross.
Jesus knew His earthly time was limited. And so is ours. God is eager to pour out His mercy and grace, but He will not force it on us. We must desire it, ask for it, and receive it. And the opportunity to do so is bound to this life. When our earthly journey ends, our chance to respond to grace ends with it.
This is why Jesus calls us with such loving urgency — calling us back to the path of salvation, into the life of the New Covenant through Him alone. For many of us, that path is long, and the time ahead may be short. Jesus waits patiently, inviting us to turn toward Him. But the choice is ours. So what, exactly, are we waiting for? If not now, when?
The time of grace is now.
Today offers a fresh chance for renewal — to turn from what is contrary to God, and to receive His grace in a deeper way.
As we prepare our hearts, we are invited to encounter the Living Presence of Christ and to accept the grace freely offered to us. Grace restores us to the Father through faith in the Son by the power of the Holy Spirit.
All of us must face the call to repentance, the need to align our lives with God’s desires, and to walk in obedience to His love. Jesus is calling — calling tenderly, calling the weary, calling those who carry burdens. He is calling today.
If not today, when will we accept His invitation?
If not today, when will we allow His love to transform us?
If not today, then when?
Because eternity matters.