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Good Morning British Summer Time ends officially this weekend when we are told to turn back the clock one hour. The darkness is already deeper early in a morning when I take the dog for a walk and daylight time is shrinking dramatically whatever we do with the clocks. I remember, shortly after I was ordained, reading Martin Amis’ novel Money in which he pinpoints the complex relationship human beings have with the passing of time: “Sometimes I feel that life is passing me by, not slowly either, but with ropes of steam and spark-splattered wheels and a hoarse roar of power or terror. It’s passing, yet I’m the one who’s doing all the moving.” Human beings, it would seem to me, fall into two broad categories based on the biographies and autobiographies which I have read. There’s one group of people who generally never look back: they are confident and focussed and they have a constant eye to the future. I suspect that they rarely notice the passing of time such is their bright outlook. But the other general group is much more introspective. They love to analyse or question – they are never sure whether what they are doing or deciding is right and they often ponder over how it would be to turn back the clock at random moments in their lives. This lot are much more aware of time passing. In both the Old and New Testaments there are plenty of examples of both of these types of characters. St Peter, in the New Testament is certainly not a turning back the metaphorical clock type of person: he is forever onwards and forwards and seems to be only focussed on the task in hand however often he makes mistakes. But look at some of the great Old Testament characters. Jonah is constantly analysing what this time means for him as his life takes extraordinary twists and turns whilst Amos is deeply introspective and questions even whether the light will return when daytime comes for “the day will be darkness and not light” – such is his state of mind. For me there is undoubtedly, as an intrinsic part of what it means to be human, a spiritual dimension to our relationship with time. And as we alter our watches, clocks and phones this evening we are of course aware of the deepening physical darkness all around us certainly in the United Kingdom. But the time is not just changing. The clock forever keeps on ticking. And so which of those two types are you? Do you notice the passing of time? Or does it quite simply pass you by?