Living in the In-Between
Now What?
Each year Easter Sunday is a reminder that something happened 2000 years ago that changed everything. The big question following the resurrection of Jesus following Easter Sunday is the same question today as it was 2000 years ago.
Here’s the question…
Now what?
Imagine This…
I want you to imagine that this past week you decided to get up a few minutes early to enjoy your favorite warm beverage on a cool morning sitting outside on your porch. Everyone else in the house is still asleep. You’re up and you’re enjoying some time alone. Then, all of a sudden, you get a notification on your phone. You’re not sure what it is at first. Is it a weather alert? An amber alert? What’s going on?
You look down to find Breaking News on your phone.
Here’s the news… According to multiple reports from the medical community, a cure has been discovered for COVID-19. Experts agree that they have found a medicine that will cure this deadly virus. The President will be addressing the nation within the hour.
You can’t believe your eyes. You check your social media feeds to see if this is true. You text a few friends to see if they got the same notification. You run into the house, wake everyone up with a shout… “I’ve got GOOD NEWS!”
Ok… in that hypothetical scenario here’s what I want you to see.
Something happened: A cure for the virus was found.
This happened in the context of a larger story: A pandemic that has affected the entire world.
And because of what has happened the future will be different. This news has significance and it will change the lives of millions of people everywhere.
But… this announcement, this good news, also introduces a period of waiting, an in-between time that gives us hope for the future but also changes the way we live in the present.
Medicine has been discovered that will bring healing to COVID-19, but it will take time to test, to mass produce, and to make it available widely.
Something has happened within a larger context that will change everything, but what happened introduces a time of waiting. An in-between time.
This example is adapted from similar examples in N.T. Wright’s book, Simply Good News.
Life in the Middle
Here’s what I want to suggest today: What happened on Easter changes everything for us, but it also introduces a time of waiting. An in-between time. And…
How we live the life we live in the middle matters.
The question we’re all answering in real-time right now is, “How will we live the life we live in the middle?” as we live between the outbreak of a pandemic and the time when we can return to living our lives.
Here’s the reality… We are always living between what has happened and what will happen.
The good news is that Jesus taught us exactly what do in this moment and in every moment like this.
The Story before THE STORY
Right before Jesus entered Jerusalem on Palm Sunday, right before the Friday he faces the cross and that first Easter Sunday, Jesus told a story.
Here in this story Jesus teaches us how to live the life we live in the middle. And it may be in this moment, when the world is living in an in-between moment, that we as followers of Jesus can remember our calling and our purpose living in the in-between.
Here’s the story found in Luke 19.11-27:
The crowd was listening to everything Jesus said. And because he was nearing Jerusalem, he told them a story to correct the impression that the Kingdom of God would begin right away.
Jesus told this story to prepare His disciples for this reality: There is an in-between time that is coming. And Luke writes this letter and this story to help the church understand their role and their purpose in light of the fact that Jesus didn’t immediately set up an earthly kingdom.
A King of Grace
He said, “A nobleman was called away to a distant empire to be crowned king and then return. Before he left, he called together ten of his servants and divided among them ten pounds of silver, saying, ‘Invest this for me while I am gone.’ But his people hated him and sent a delegation after him to say, ‘We do not want him to be our king.’ “After he was crowned king, he returned and called in the servants to whom he had given the money. He wanted to find out what their profits were.
The first servant reported, ‘Master, I invested your money and made ten times the original amount!’
“‘Well done!’ the king exclaimed. ‘You are a good servant. You have been faithful with the little I entrusted to you, so you will be governor of ten cities as your reward.’
“The next servant reported, ‘Master, I invested your money and made five times the original amount.’
“‘Well done!’ the king said. ‘You will be governor over five cities.’
For these servants who used what the Master had given them while he was away, the reward was extravagant!
It’s as is Jesus wants us to know… Our King is a king of extravagant grace. And those who use what they’ve been given in the in-between time will be rewarded extravagantly.
The first 2 servants understood this and because they used what they were given between the time they received the gift and the unknown time when their master would return, they were rewarded greatly!
But that’s not what happened for the next servant…
Missing the Point
“But the third servant brought back only the original amount of money and said, ‘Master, I hid your money and kept it safe. I was afraid because you are a hard man to deal with, taking what isn’t yours and harvesting crops you didn’t plant.’
“‘You wicked servant!’ the king roared. ‘Your own words condemn you. If you knew that I’m a hard man who takes what isn’t mine and harvests crops I didn’t plant, why didn’t you deposit my money in the bank? At least I could have gotten some interest on it.’
The third servant decided to just hold on to what he had been given. He didn’t lose it, but he didn’t use it. Don’t miss this… It’s possible to know Jesus, to know about Jesus, to receive gifts from Jesus, and still live for yourself, live in fear, or live life in a holding pattern.
But keeping what we’ve been given safe isn’t the point or the goal! And for those who choose to receive the gifts of the king and do nothing will end up with nothing and receive nothing from Him in the end.
According to Jesus, there are 2 kinds of people in the world… those who do SOMETHING with what they’ve been given and those who do NOTHING with what they’ve been given. And just in case your curious, here’s the expectation… that you do SOMETHING!
Judgement & Mercy
“Then, turning to the others standing nearby, the king ordered, ‘Take the money from this servant, and give it to the one who has ten pounds.’
“‘But, master,’ they said, ‘he already has ten pounds!’
“‘Yes,’ the king replied, ‘and to those who use well what they are given, even more will be given. But from those who do nothing, even what little they have will be taken away. And as for these enemies of mine who didn’t want me to be their king—bring them in and execute them right here in front of me.’”
This story ends on a pretty horrific note… with a picture of this king executing those who would oppose him. This is a reference to something that had recently happened in their own history with King Archelaus who had executed Jews who had opposed him.
And some have asked, is this a picture of Jesus as King? If so, it doesn’t sound like what we expected. Isn’t Jesus supposed to love everyone and be filled with mercy and grace?
What Jesus does with this story is tie in recent events in their own history to remind them and now us that…
For those who refuse him and don’t want him to be their king, there is judgement. First there is mercy. The mercy of God always precedes the judgment of God. But make no mistake, there is judgment. There is a reckoning. And for those who reject Jesus, they have chosen their own eternity.
How Will You Live in the Middle?
So I think you have to ask yourself this question… How will you live the life you live in the middle?
Some of you are living in an in-between moment because you just got a diagnosis.
Some of you are living in an in-between moment because you just lost your job.
All of us are living in an in-between moment because we’re living right now between the resurrection of Christ and the return of Christ.
And if you believe that Jesus is your King, if you believe he is who he says he is… then you have to ask yourself these questions…
What has God given you?
What are you doing with what you have been given?
God wants you to use the gifts he’s given you to carry on his work in the world.
How we live the life we live right now matters. But Jesus did not leave us unprepared for this moment. In fact, it was always a part of His plan. Because he wants as many people as possible to know about the great love of God. Right now, living in the middle, we have the chance to amplify that message of love, grace, mercy and hope!
What we do in this moment matters, maybe more than we think, as we consider the Good News of Jesus and our part in His plan.
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