In Between Times

This Sunday I’m focusing on the baptism of Jesus which, apparently up until a few hundred years ago, was also celebrated as Epiphany Sunday. I’m a week behind the lectionary but still wanted to delve into this as I look at what John the Baptist did in that story - getting out of the way to point everyone to Jesus. In this blog, though, I want to look at what happened in the in between time.

There are so few stories about Jesus growing up. We go from His circumcision to the presentation in the temple to the magi to the escape to Egypt and then Him turning up in the temple at twelve years old. All but the flight to Egypt had to do with fulfilling Jewish obligations and customs. His going to Passover at twelve was significant - He was becoming a man in the eyes of the community.

But then we have hear nothing about Him until He shows up at the Jordan River, perhaps watching His cousin John baptizing people for a while and witnessing him in action as the one preparing the way for Him. We can guess at what those eighteen in between years entailed - apprenticing His father Joseph’s trade as a carpenter, going to synagogue, learning the scriptures and the politics and the people. We know that He was to be a high priest and you couldn’t become one until you were thirty, hence the wait. He needed to be blessed and anointed to take on that role. His baptism, with the audible voice of God saying amazing words He probably longed to hear, certainly did that.

Those eighteen years in between may have seemed a waste of God not capitalizing on His own Son being on earth with abilities beyond human comprehension. But God opted to have Jesus follow the customs of the time to earn a voice and to be taken seriously, at least by some. Eighteen years of waiting. I wonder if He ever grew impatient, felt useless and frustrated, or worried if He would live up to His calling when the day finally arrived. He’d anticipated it for so long. By that point was He at all anxious or, being God, was He confident that all would go as planned?

I saw a facebook post that talked about times of waiting not being wasted but being used by God as times of preparation. We are not meant to race into the next big thing but to savour the in between time and use it wisely, attuned to what God may be showing or teaching us. Part of that may be getting rest so that we are able to serve at full capacity when transition comes. It may be listening, because when our plates are less full we have more time to pay attention to what is happening and being said around us. We gain wisdom when our pace slows and we can think and process more fully what is going on inside and outside of us.

I wrote last week about how January can seem dull and sad compared to the anticipation and excitement of Christmas. An article I saw today talked about returning to the idea of the long Christmas. It suggested that January should be about gathering with friends and eating well and talking and sharing without all the pressure holidays. In these shorter days and long nights, gathering with the warmth of others and trading stories and re-calibrating may be more healthy than that new gym membership that’s quite possibly going unused. As the author of the piece wrote, Lent is a great time for another kind of reflection and of cutting back and eating less, with the intent being to make more space to feed on God. But January lends itself to good food and friendship to help us survive those dark nights and the anticipation of spring and new beginnings and more light.

You may be in between secure jobs and financial stability, in between mental health and recovery, in between tough conversations with loved ones, in between the intensity of Advent and of Lent. You may be in between feeling secure and safe or known and cared about. It’s important to remember that this in between time doesn’t last forever. Both its gifts and struggles will end, and like any time of life we need to make the most of them to prepare us for what is coming next.

If we are listening, we will take in important information and inspiration that will help us on our next step. If we are watching, we will see clues to how to better honour ourselves and our Creator as things change around us and something new comes into our lives. This is not a time to flake out on the couch, although good rest is important. This is a time to be aware and attentive so that we are ready to go to our own Jordan river when it’s time and to dive into that new experience, looking for the one to walk us through it and for the voice of God to call us beloved, belonging and blessed as a child of God.

Don’t worry about this in between time but ask God to bless it and to show you what you will need so that when change comes you will walk into it with confidence and grace, hearing God’s voice echoing in your ears that you are beloved, chosen, called and blessed.