Unfinished: Discovering God’s Call in the Not Yet.
(Alpine Lenten theme 2023)
“Honor the space between no longer and not yet,” so writes author and life coach, Nancy Levin. We can probably all think of a host of experiences from our own lives in which we occupy the space between no longer and not yet. The space between no longer pre-pandemic life and not yet what will settle into post-pandemic life. The space between before and after a medical diagnosis, before and after living with a loss, before and after navigating a relationship change, a job change, a move. The space between childhood and adulthood, young adulthood and midlife, midlife and the autumn years. The space between yesterday and tomorrow, your comfort zone and uncharted territory. The space between Ash Wednesday and Easter Sunday.
The church by its very nature, and we as people of faith, live our whole lives in the space between no longer and not yet. Cross-marked and Spirit-sealed, we dwell in the space between the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus and the final fulfillment of God’s hope-filled promises. In this space between, we dwell in the unfinished as unfinished people. As John reminds us, “we are God’s children now; what we will be has not yet been revealed.”
But we are not left alone in this space between no longer and not yet. We are not left alone to navigate this unfinished life by ourselves. God is here – present-tense, each and every day – calling to us, accompanying us, renewing and recreating us – over and over again.
God calls us once and forever and over and over again. Called by God through water and the Word, marked with the cross of Christ forever, we are God’s beloved children. Nothing can change that – not our greatest successes or our worst failures. But so much beckons for our attention – for good and for ill – that it can become difficult to both hear and lean into God’s call in everyday life. Lent is a time amid this unfinished life in which we are invited into experiences of reset and renewal, trusting that God is with us to help us to imagine again and anew how we live into God’s call in daily life (adapted from an article originally written By Rev. Dr. Charlene Rachuy Cox).
Join us this Lent at Alpine Lutheran Church as we discover and answer God’s call to us in the no longer and not yet of our lives. Each week we will dive into our Lenten theme during our Sunday morning worship and Wednesday evening guided meditations. Don’t forget Soup Suppers every Wednesday during Lent at 6:00!