Holy Longing: Already & Not Yet (Advent 5)
The presence of the Spirit does not take away the suffering or it power.
But it changes it. The Spirit is the beginning, the “first-fruit” as Paul
calls it, of that surprising, new creation, new life. The suffering in all
its excruciating variety is part of death, part of mortality, part of “the
slavery of being corrupted” that all of creation experiences.
It is a crucial part of the whole story, but not the end of the story. That
is the Good News of the Gospel. Jesus ultimately conquers death. We’re
allowed by God’s grace to share in him and in that way to share in his
victory.
But now it’s in the midst of a suffering world that we bear witness to his
incarnation, bear witness to his cross, and bear witness to his
resurrection. The Spirit is the first experience, as much as we can bear in
this body, to the full experience of being God’s children as God will
ultimately reveal.
Then the surprise! The great “Not Yet” that we can’t even fully imagine.
Evidently this body, so vulnerable that we sit in this room wearing masks
even fully vaccinated, can be recreated by our Abba to truly share in his
glorious life with all the self-giving love we see in Jesus.
This is the hope that carries us through that bears the weight of our
lives. We journey with God into the future. God gives us his Spirit now. We
still endure suffering but we live joyfully by that Spirit.