Word for the day

In the fullness of time

In one of his letters, Paul writes that God sent his Son when the fullness of time had come. Which makes me wonder, what is the fullness of time? How do we know that time is full or fulfilled?

We know very well from experience that good timing can be everything. It makes a huge difference if you know when to buy a stock for example. If you buy or sell stocks at the right time you can maximize your profit. Our bodies and nature work with time too. It makes a difference when you take medication. In the morning, or at night, after or before a meal.  It makes a difference if you pick fruit when it is just ripe or too early before it has a chance to develop its peak flavors. 

Sometimes we agonize about the right timing. One of the most difficult decisions that people must make is end-of-life decisions when to discontinue life support. If we decide too early, we might take away a chance for recovery from our loved one, but if we wait too long, we might expose them to unnecessary suffering. When is the right time? Often there is no way to know for sure. And we must trust what our heart is telling us.

I guess we all imagine that God does not have such an issue with figuring out when the right time is. Apostle Paul says, that when the fullness of time had come, God sent his Son. And we would imagine that God would send his son with perfect timing, so he could come into the best circumstances and maximize the effect of his mission. But if we read the gospels, it seems that it was not very good timing at all. Jesus was born when Israel was occupied by the Romans, king Herod felt that the baby born in Bethlehem was a threat and wanted to kill him. Jesus begins his life as a refugee in Egypt. And then his life is full of challenges and ends in imprisonment and death on the cross.  

What does the fullness of time mean then? It probably does not mean a perfect alignment of every possible detail for a smooth execution of a plan. If this was what God had intended, then God would have sent his Son to be born to a powerful royal couple. But God did not do that. As Madeleine L’Engle writes in her poem First Coming: 

God did not wait till the world was ready,

till…nations were at peace.

God came when the heavens were unsteady

and prisoners cried out for release.

 Perhaps for God time gets fulfilled differently. Let us think again about those end-of-life decisions. When it comes to end-of-life decisions we realize that what matters most is if we make our decision out of love and care. I wonder if that is also what Paul means when he says that in the fullness of time, God sent his Son. Maybe it means that God sent his Son when people need him the most. Maybe it means that any time God decides to act in love the time is ripe and full. And because we are created in God’s image it is the same with us. When we act in love it is always the right time for action. When we act in love it means that our heart is ready to do the loving thing and that creates fullness of time. 

So let us see what it was that God did when the fullness of time had come. In his letter to the Galatians Pula writes, “God sent his Son,

born of a woman, born under the law, in order to redeem those who were under the law so that we might receive adoption as children. And because you are children, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying, “Abba! Father!” So you are no longer a slave but a child, and if a child then also an heir, through God.” 

God chose to receive us as God’s children not based on law but on God’s love and free, unmerited grace. By law, Paul means all the things, rules, and conditions that rule our lives and often divide us into those who are in and those who are out. Those who belong and those who are excluded in our private and public life, but also in the life of faith. Paul implores us not to fall back into old ways of thinking and not to become enslaved by old divisions. Do not fall back into living in fear that God loves you only when you belong to the right group or say the right things. Do not fall back into fear that you do not deserve love. In the fullness of time, God decided out of pure grace to send God’s son so that everyone would know God’s love for us. For Paul, this is the message of Christmas and for us a good message to remember throughout the new year.

––––– 

Rev. Tomas Pistora is pastor at Trinity United Presbyterian Church, Kenton.