In the Fullness of Time
(Jeremiah 33: 14-16; Galatians 4:4; Luke 21:25-36)
The image on the screen before you is titled Annunciation.
The artist is John Collier (USA, contemporary). At first glance,
it’s a strange depiction of the angel Gabriel announcing to Mary
that she is going to conceive in her womb the son of God.
John Collier’s work of art is very theological. Like many
artists throughout the ages, I think Collier is more theologian
than artist. His painting The Annunciation is about spirit-time.
In the Greek language of the New Testament it is Kairos-time.
The Greeks had two words for time: Kairos and Chronos.
Chronos denotes a space of time or the measurement of time or
the duration of a period. This Chronos-time will end, and be no
more (the one hundred year old steeple clock, ticking away
before your eyes on the altar rail this morning, measures
2
Chronos-time. And when it strikes at 12 noon it will remind me
that you have heard enough).
Chronos-time is man-made. It is the human measurement
of seconds, minutes, hours, days, weeks, months, years.
Kairos-time denotes a period of time possessed of certain
characteristics. Like the Scripture I read earlier this morning: In
the fullness of time God sent his son—(Galatians 4:4). Broadly
speaking, Chronos-time expresses the duration of a period;
Kairos-time stresses that the period is marked by certain
features. Chronos-time marks quantity time; Kairos-time marks
quality time.
Chronos-time is limited and finite. It has a beginning point
and an ending point—a point of completion and consummation.
This kind of time is surrounded by, or encircled by existence in
eternity. It is surrounded by God. God is eternal. God existed
3
before time; God exists above time, in time, and beyond time.
That is what it means to say that God is eternal. Unlike human
beings, God is not bound to man-made time, and if we will let
God, God will make our Chronos-time Kairos-time. God will
give meaning and significance to our days.
Having said that, an understanding of Collier’s
Annunciation begins to take place. Kairos—spirit-time differs
from chronological time, which moves in a straight line from
beginning to end. Kairos-time weaves and undulates, captures
bits of before and later and mixes them with now.
Kairos is when all time comes together—past, present, and
future. It is a time between the times; a time without time, a
moment that exists for its own sake and for the sake of what
God is doing. It is, then, a transcendent moment—time that
4
can’t be measured at all—time that is characterized by what
happens during it.
Frederick Buechner, in his book Wishful Thinking,
describes time and eternity:
Eternity is not endless time or the opposite of time. It is the
essence of time. If you spin a pinwheel fast enough, then all its
colors blends into a single color—white—which is the essence of
all the colors of the spectrum combined. If you spin time fast
enough, then time-past, time-present, and time-to-come all blend
into a single timelessness, which is the essence of all times
combined.
God, in Jesus Christ, is the creator of the cosmos, and is the
Spinner of Time; and in the spinning of time, God sent God’s
Son…
5
We experience Kairos-time each Advent season as we wait
for the birth of Jesus, who has already been born, while at the
same time we await his second coming.
John Collier’s Annunciation perfectly captures Kairos-time.
When you think of Kairos-time, think about time upon time.
Look at the image again. Can you see in the image time upon
time? The building in the background seems to be a simple
suburban tract home, not seen until the mid-twentieth century.
The pilasters, common in the Renaissance, on the foreground
building are not so common in modern architecture. Look at
Mary, the mother of Jesus, her style is contemporary, down to
the saddle oxford shoes and pony tail. Look at the angel Gabriel,
his clothing resembles a Byzantine (or Byzantium) garment. But
a close look at Gabriel’s garment suggests a multi-colored fabric
6
popular in the mid-1960’s—tie-dye. The lily, a symbol of purity
in early Christian art, is prominent in the image.
In the third chapter of Ecclesiastes, verse fifteen reads: That
which is, already has been; That which is to be, already is; and
God seeks out what has gone by.
I am, and I hope you are, intrigued by this convergence of
periods of time in Collier’s painting, because it speaks of a truth
I often consider during Advent. There is no time like now for
God. The God of the past, the present and the future bestows the
greatest gift of love on us now. God expects my love and yours
now. God expects my service and your service to others in
God’s name now. In the Annunciation story from the Gospel
according to Luke, Mary responded to God’s message from the
angel Gabriel in her now, and 2,000 years later, we wait each
year for Mary’s extraordinary sacrificial service—the birth of
7
Jesus. Consider this: What is God giving to us—and asking from
us now?
Because there are two ways of looking at time, there are
two ways of looking at history. Many today, like the ancient
Greeks, look at history as repeating itself. They see history as
moving in a circular fashion. History, they say, forever moves
through reoccurring cycles. That is where the idea of
reincarnation comes from. They interpret history in terms of
present and past events.
However, the Christian views history through the eyes of
faith and imparts to it a significant interpretation based on an
ultimate meaning which is undergirded and directed toward a
purposeful goal by Almighty God. For the Christian, God gives
history meaning, and God directs history toward God’s
purposeful goal.
8
The principle by which history derives its meaning is in a
redemptive interpretation of history. Such is the story of the
Bible. From Genesis to Revelation, the Bible is the story of God
revealing God’s self to humankind for the purpose of redeeming
God’s people. And in the fullness of time, God sent his Son…to
redeem…, to suffer and die on the cross for you and me. The
word redeemed means bought with a price. Paul tells us that we
have been bought with a price (1 Corinthians 7:20). The price
God paid to forgive you of your sins and give you everlasting
life was his son Jesus Christ crucified. We are indeed bought
with a price!
All time and history, including your personal history—the
living of your days, has meaning and purpose and fulfillment
only in Christ.
9
History is moving in a straight line toward ultimate
meaning and fulfillment according to God’s will, and the cross
of Christ stands mid-way on that line. History is not reoccurring
in cycles. It is moving in a straight line toward consummation. I
am speaking of salvation history, not an abstract ideal or
principle of cause and effect, but concrete in time and space. In
contrast with human history, that finds fulfillment in manmade
time, salvation history only finds fulfillment in God in Christ.
Secular history is the drama of men and women in bondage
to their own vicious cycle of sin, rebellion against God, pride,
prejudice, selfishness, and the havoc which ensues from such
bondage. But in the fullness of time God sent his son! Through
the eyes of faith, salvation history, redemptive history can be
seen behind, within, and around, secular history.
10
What about your personal life and history? Can you say
that in the fullness of time God sent his son into your life and
you were born again?
Maybe the fullness of time has come for you this hour.
Maybe the risen Christ, through his Holy Spirit, is revealing
himself to you even now. Perhaps, then, your personal history
will be drastically altered, beginning this moment.
Amen.
Charles Lee Hutchens, D.Min.
Bethlehem United Methodist Church
Climax, North Carolina
December 6, 2015