“The Fullness of Time”

Ephesians 1:3-14

Spiritual Blessings in Christ:

³ Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places, ⁴ just as he chose us in Christ before the foundation of the world to be holy and blameless before him in love. ⁵ He destined us for adoption as his children through Jesus Christ, according to the good pleasure of his will, ⁶ to the praise of his glorious grace that he freely bestowed on us in the Beloved. ⁷ In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace ⁸ that he lavished on us. With all wisdom and insight ⁹ he has made known to us the mystery of his will, according to his good pleasure that he set forth in Christ, ¹⁰ as a plan for the fullness of time, to gather up all things in him, things in heaven and things on earth. ¹¹ In Christ we have also obtained an inheritance, having been destined according to the purpose of him who accomplishes all things according to his counsel and will, ¹² so that we, who were the first to set our hope on Christ, might live for the praise of his glory. ¹³ In him you also, when you had heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and had believed in him, were marked with the seal of the promised Holy Spirit; ¹⁴ this is the pledge of our inheritance toward redemption as God’s own people, to the praise of his glory.

 

Introduction:

Most of us have had to deal with time on a daily basis, but there are some days on which it becomes more important than others. As for myself, there was a point a couple of years ago when I had an academic exam scheduled in downtown Philadelphia. Now keep in mind that prior to this exam, I had only been in Philly once before.

So in the course of this exam I had planned on scheduling in two hours for my trip, even though it normally only takes one. Because I knew that if I was even one minute late for this exam, I would forfeit the whole thing along with the money I had put down. And even beyond that, it would take another couple of months before I could take it again. So I knew that I couldn’t be late.

Well the day of the exam came and I got a little held up, but I still left with about an hour and forty-five minutes of travel time left in my schedule. All seemed like it was still going to be okay. But as you might expect there was an accident that held up traffic and gradually a series of little delays began to chip away at my time to spare. By the time I had parked I had five minutes left to run to the tower where my exam was being held and get up to the fifteenth floor. So I ran, and ran, and stumbled up to the check-in desk exactly on the minute that I was supposed to be there. The minute hand clicked over as soon as I had blurted out my name. Of course, the secretary on hand stated, “Well Mr. Williams, you’ve made it, but just barely.” If I had arrived fifteen seconds later I would have forfeited.

 

I’m sure most of us have experiences like this. And yet, isn’t it a funny thing? Time that is. It’s a rather strange thing really. We all take it very seriously, but what’s really in it? It can almost seem to rule us at many points in our lives, but why? Just because we as collective groups value it? Perhaps we’re all just eager to subject ourselves to this collective organizing tool.

It’s definitely social in its function, but at another level it’s also a way to describe our experiences. It’s how we catalog our lives. So when we face a question like, “what’s the meaning of time?” We’re really facing a question of self-identity. We’re really asking what our own meaning is in the universe.

 

Pericope:

 

This morning’s text confronts us on a number of levels. For one thing, its statements about Christ inform us that Jesus’ death is redemptive – in this case explicitly meaning that it brings about the forgiveness of our sins. In addition to this, this passage tells us that Christ’s coming is revelatory. Or, in other words, Jesus’ coming helps us understand ‘the mystery’ of God’s will. In Christ, we can see God, we can perceive God, and find a God to whom we can relate and have a relationship.

These are, perhaps, the two most commonly addressed issues from this passage of scripture. (1) The forgiveness of our sins through Christ; and, (2) Christ as God’s self-revelation to humanity – Christ as the unveiling of the universe’s mysteries.

It’s not hard to love the book of Ephesians. It’s so incredibly rich and full of great imagery. But it’s also incredibly deep. Admittedly, it may not seem so at first glance. It’s certainly well removed from our own time and context so it can easily be dismissed superficially, but if you take a closer look this book is incredible!

If you’ve looked in your bulletins you will have probably noticed that my sermon is entitled, “Fullness of Time.” Now, if you’re like me, you probably don’t go around most of the time trying to construct a theology of time. In fact, time is one of those things that we tend to take for granted. As we age it certainly becomes a more foreboding and ever-present reality, but even then do we really spend most of our time contemplating what sort of purpose time bears on our existence? Or on the existence of everything? If you think too hard you might find yourself pulling at your hair, staring up at the sky, an screaming – “What does it all mean?!?!”

 

My purpose this morning is not to pretend to be an expert on a biblical theology of time, but I do hope to at least provide some helpful thoughts that you may be able to use in considering a Christian way to think about time and all that entails – like fate, death, meaning, and mortality.

By now, many of you have probably realized that I watch far too many movies and television shows! So you might be expecting me to pull out another movie reference. And, I will admit that I thought about it. The obvious choice would be 2014 Matthew McConaughey film Interstellar, but luckily for you I’m not big on spoilers. So I’m not going to ruin it for you. By the way – you should see it!

Illustration: The Midsummer Chronophage

So instead of pulling something from film or music, I’ve decided to call upon something that relates both to the sciences and the arts. In your bulletins you will find an image of a unique clock entitled, “Midsummer Chronophage.”

This rather large clock is designed to make viewers experience the dread of the time-eater, fate, through the experience of relativity. The creator of this unique clock, Dr. John Taylor, wanted to find a way to represent the way we experience time. Clocks usually represent every minute as though it is exactly the same as the next, yet our collective human experience of time is in contrast to this. As we all know, some minutes, hours and days seem longer and shorter than others.

 

If you stand in front of this clock you’ll notice that some minutes race by, others drag on, some disappear and others appear to stand still. Every five minutes the clock “corrects” itself and the accurate time is shown through light slits.

Walking atop the face of this clock is a large kinetic sculpture of a mythical beast. The creature, an integral part of the mechanics of the clock, appears to devour time. In a performance of drama, the Chronophage tolls the hour by the sound of a chain clanking into a small wooden coffin concealed in the back of the clock to remind us that our time on earth is limited. In this way, the viewer faces something rather unique and dramatic.

 

Lesson:

 

Time is a foreboding force that we cannot control. It is both the beginning and summation of our existence. So what can we take away from this? Where do we start to construct a theology of time?

I believe that we should start with God Himself! Some of you work in the sciences, and are likely familiar with the idea that gravity exists beyond the experience of time. In fact, it can actually manipulate time! If for example, you were on a planet near a black hole your experience of time would be different than that experienced on Earth. God is like that! As the creator of all things, God exists beyond the four dimensions that we experience.

This might at first glance sound abstract, but it’s actually quite amazing. This is a message of restoration and redemption! God frees us from this harrowing image of time. Frees us to live through time. Frees us from fear of time. Frees us to live beyond time. Because we have been assured that all things will be gathered in God in the fullness of time.

This morning’s passage points to a God who entered a broken universe to restore everything to a state to which it can be once again referred to as ‘very good.’ God’s plan is make sure that everything that exists in Heaven or earth shall find its perfection and fulfillment in him. I believe that God’s plan is to restore what is broken in all of us!

So now we know that there is a deliverance from the ‘time-eater.’ God intends to gather up all of creation into God’s own loving embrace. As a result, there’s no need to fear this ‘time-eater’, this Chronophage. But we still should look at this term, “the fullness of time.” Many of you may be wondering what that may mean. What could the author of this gospel have in mind when thinking about this?

For one thing, it’s referring to a completion. Since God exists beyond time, God will at the end of the era gather up all of time and bring it to himself. What a thought. It’s as though all our lives, all the lives of our ancestors, and all the lives of our descendants are like a woven carpet to be rolled up and held by the God who loves us.

But there’s more to it than this. There’s meaning in this history – in this thing we call time. In its fullness and in its particulars it is important. We matter, even in our mortality. When we live in a moment, we touch phantoms of all of history through our connection to Christ, and subsequently the Creator. Through the movement of God in our hearts, minds, and communities we are interwoven into the unfolding of God’s miraculous work within the cosmos.

 

The inauguration of God’s Kingdom in our world, which is identified by the ‘pledge’ or ‘down payment’ of the Holy Spirit that we hear about in this passage, establishes a dynamic of grace – a way of living.  This is a living, bodily, history-shaping movement of God toward the world through and in the church. In this community, one can find a new life where you can experience the fullness and meaningfulness that you are intended to have. This is what I mean by restoration.

In your participation in the Kingdom of God, as a Christian, you can touch and become more like the person you are meant to be. God’s grace works in and through us to affect all of history. We are heirs of God’s redemption. We are heirs of freedom – freedom from the ghost of our own fates and freedom from our fears of meaninglessness.

 

The ‘fullness of time’ that God gathers up, captures the church. As a result, the church – as a community of believers – acts as a locus of reconciliation. As a gathered people it is our task, in the sands of time, to share the Good News of Jesus Christ and to let that Good News permeate our lives so that we can more fully live into our purposes and meanings.

Easter isn’t just about redemption or the forgiveness of sins, although it is certainly about that too, Easter is also about revelation. The revelation of God’s self to us in Christ; and, in Christ we can see God’s purposes for us.

Our community acts as a promise of what God has in store, because the Kingdom of God still exists in an already/not-yet dynamic. It has been heralded and we can experience and touch it, but it is not yet fully revealed. We live and breathe in particular moments, so we don’t see the end of all things, but God exists outside of this and, like gravity, can pass through time and space. The things that we experience are connected to everything else and all of these things come together for our salvation.

 

The ‘fullness of time’ is the finalization of the new era. It is the point at which we find our deepest purpose and significance – reconciliation with our creator and the completion of our tasks in this age.

Conclusion:

As one commentator once said, “Lord Jesus Christ, you stretched out your arms of love on the hard wood of the cross that everyone might come within the reach of your saving embrace.” Christ is in the business of reconciliation. He does this by reconciling us with God, but also with ourselves. In our relationship with Christ and the Church we can find purpose by participating in the Kingdom Christ’s resurrection heralded. In doing so, we touch the phantoms of our more perfect human selves – as they are in the ‘fullness of time.’ We draw closer to the people that God had intended us to be before we became so difficult. In doing so, we proclaim messages of the Gospel – of forgiveness, of fulfillment, and of justice and compassion for all people everywhere. For in the ‘fulfillment of time’ everything that is in heaven and on earth will find its perfection and fulfillment in Christ.

We have something to rejoice about! We don’t have to fear the Chronophage – because we’re in Christ – a mysterious, life-giving, breathing way of being. There’s beautiful strangeness in this freedom. There’s hope. In the future and in today. Before all things, in all things, after all things, there is Christ and we are in Christ. We can find our purpose in Christ. And, it is in this, that greatness of God’s grace appears. God rescues us from the pit of despair and takes us to heights we can just barely perceive.