Redeeming the time . . .

For several years now--even before Mrs. Curmudgeon gave me Russell Kirk's posthumous essay collection Redeeming the Time, I have wondered about the origins of the expression "redeeming the time." Of course, I didn't wonder very earnestly, as this sort of information is easy to come by, and I could have simply Googled it, but I didn't.

Today at the Mass I attended (the 20th Sunday after Pentecost), I saw the phrase in its original context--St. Paul's epistle to the Ephesians, Chapter 5:

Brethren, see how you walk circumspectly, not as unwise, but as wise; redeeming
the time, because the days are evil.

What a great verse! What a great passage! I'm so embarrassed that I didn't pick it out until now. Seriously, I've read that letter a few times and heard it at Mass -- I dunno how many times. I'm sure that anyone reading this blog is unimpressed with the gaps in my scriptural and cultural knowledge. Remember, I'm a public school kid.