The Already/Not Yet Story

a reflection on Luke 3-4

by Serena Lee

I had coffee recently with our pastor, Ken. We discussed difficult questions about pain, suffering, and darkness. We dove in the deep end of why questions, and asked about the theology that is embedded in our lives. As I reflect on this conversation that Ken and I had during this Advent season, I am reminded by the way Jesus began his ministry conveyed in the Gospel of Luke.

Ken spoke to me about the on-going cycle that we humans go through, which begins as an orientation, transitions to disorientation, and resolves in reorientation. This is a cycle we see throughout the Bible, like in the story of Israel when time and time again they are in dire need of prophets to reorient them back to Yahweh. We see this cycle in the psalms where David laments and hopes in the same prayer. And we see this in the beginning of Jesus’ ministry: Baptism (orientation), Temptations (disorientation), Declaration of Jubilee (reorientation).

What is beautiful about Jesus’ baptism is that before Jesus even began his work, God already proclaimed Jesus as beloved. That is the orientation, the foundation of all the work that Jesus did. Jesus as the beloved son of God, sharing the most intimate bond through the Holy Spirit, shows us that the work that we do does not sum up who we are. Rather, we are beloved, first and foremost loved by God, not because of what we can offer, but because of what God offers to us: love.

After the baptism of Jesus, he is led by the Holy Spirit to the wilderness and tempted for 40 days. It seems odd to me that this desert scene precedes Jesus’ ministry and follows the baptism. Jesus has just been validated by God the Father in the most obvious and tremendous way. Why would Jesus be compelled to go to the wilderness, knowing he would suffer from loneliness, hunger, and spiritual temptations? Though we might guess that Jesus, the son of God, would experience the temptations and pass the tests like a walk in the park, I think it is important to believe that Jesus was truly tempted in the way we experience temptation. We can trust that Jesus knows our human experiences, and has complete empathy and compassion on us. The desert is a place of disorientation, of pain, suffering, and hopelessness. It represents seasons of loneliness, depression, and darkness. It is where sin breeds, and the place that makes everything appear meaningless. I can’t imagine what Jesus was experiencing in the desert place, but I do know that he understands disorientation and how much it hurts.

Finally, when Jesus leaves the wilderness, he immediately goes to the temple and reads about Jubilee from the book of Isaiah. His proclamation of the Truth that all things will be made new is reorientation. Jesus declares that the poor will hear the good news, the prisoners will be free, and the blind will see because the Spirit of the Lord is upon him. After experiencing the disorienting pain, Jesus taps into the foundation of his baptism to recall the compelling Truths. God is faithful. God keeps his promises. God is love, and God loves his people.

I think that the beginning of Jesus’ ministry foreshadows Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection- another story of orientation/disorientation/reorientation. As Christians constantly going through this cycle, it can feel hopeless and frustrating to ride the waves of belief/unbelief, joy/depression, hope/lament, and peace/chaos. But, as Brenda put it beautifully in her message, God is in the business of transformation. The truth is that we are in a state of transition, the “already-not yet.” So cycles can seem like they never end, but I think those experiences actually help us practice theology in life, in that we get to participate in the meta-narrative of Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection. In the bigger story of God, we are currently in disorientation, waiting and praying and experiencing bits and pieces of reorientation. We are waiting for Jubilee, and at the same time encounter glimpses of Jubilee everyday.

During this Advent season, I pray that you experience hope, peace, joy, and love through a new understanding that God is transforming us. He is not done yet, but the ending of this narrative is clearly set. Will you participate in his story?

artwork: Christ in the Desert, Ivan Kramskoi (1837 – 1887)