In the Fullness of Time
What a beautiful phrase. ‘In the Fullness of Time.’ The Fullness of Time.
Paul dreamed it up and wrote it down to inspire us in Galatians 4. The Fullness of Time. Lovely.
It’s as if time were a container, gradually being filled until it can take no more. At that moment there is completeness.
My dad was a keen gardener, and something of a groundbreaker. He was passionate about finding ways to conserve energy. (In all humility, I should point out that this had almost nothing to do with a concern for the stewardship of creation, and everything to do with being cheap – a trait inherited by me. Actually, he did demonstrate one big act of compassion for God’s creation when he was a lawyer in the government’s Department of the Environment. It was he who drafted the legislation that saved the natterjack toad – a cute but threatened inhabitant of the British countryside. Yay, Dad! The toad world salutes you.)
Anyway, that groundbreaking environmental thing … The house I grew up in was one of the first in the UK to have a solar panel on the roof (in the 1970s, no less – and in a country where the sun never shines.) He also installed some hardware behind our coal fireplace, so that when we lit a fire, we’d make hot water for the whole house and not need to run the gas.
And then there was his water barrel. He built a small, wooden structure in the back garden, with a sloping corrugated roof. The roof fed into a downpipe, and the downpipe took all the rain that landed on the roof into his barrel. It had a tap on the bottom, so that he could use the water to nourish his vegetables and flowers.
‘The fulness of time’ makes me think about the fulness of dad’s water barrel. Over the space of a few weeks, the English weather would ensure that the barrel would soon become full. Complete. Sated. Mission accomplished; purpose served. The ground will drink, the plants will thrive, and fruit will grow. There’s a moment when it all comes together, and we see God’s perfection birthed.
One of Advent’s strongest themes is Hope. “But when the fullness of time had come, God sent his Son, born of a woman… so that we might receive adoption as children.” (Gal 4:4). Clearly Paul is referring to the first coming of Christ 2000 years ago in Bethlehem. He uses this past tense. However, in Advent we anticipate the final coming of Christ to complete God’s reign. Let the barrel fill.
We’re weary and fatigued; but when the fullness of time comes, God will refresh us and renew us.
We are angry and disgruntled; but when the fullness of time comes, God will cascade peace.
We are confused and doubtful; but when the fullness of time comes, God will lead us all into Truth.
We’re anxious, fearful, and imagining the worst if global politics fails to create a lasting and just peace in the Middle East; but when the fullness of time comes, God will renew the earth and all its people.
We are dangerously polarized: but when the fullness of time comes, God will join all things together under the headship of Christ.
We are nearing the end of our mental, physical, and financial resources; but when the fullness of time comes, God will lavish abundance on us.
The final ‘fulness of time’ is not today. It forms the substance of the Advent hope. The water barrel is not full, but it’s filling – slowly but steadily. Come, Lord Jesus.
Duncan