Uplook - April 4, 2026
It is Saturday and the sun is shining. The trees are in bloom and daffodils dot the yards in our neighborhood. And yet this particular Saturday, the one between Good Friday and Easter, brings a bit of melancholy and introspection to the forefront. I am struck with a couple of thoughts which I will share with you today.
The first is what I call "in between" which is the kind of feelings this day perhaps evokes for us. The horror of the cross with all of its suffering and pain grieves us almost to the point of physical sickness. Such brutality and disregard for human life in general and in particular toward the innocent and perfect life of Jesus. This is what the early disciples were overwhelmed by along with a dashing of their now understood as somewhat shallow hope that Jesus would deliver Israel. In some years past we have celebrated a Tenebrae service on Good Friday to emphasize just how dark it was on that particular day with what seemed to be all hope extinguished. And yet... in that service the final solitary candle representing Jesus is not extinguished but rather carried out of the room as we contemplate the darkness. I wonder if sometimes we also feel as if our hope has been extinguished by the pain and brutality of our world or even our particular current situation. And yet, be reminded that while it may seem that the light of Jesus has been "taken out of the room" and things are terribly dark, that we now know that light returns in glorious brightness on the third day with the resurrection. May we learn the lessons of Saturday; the day "in between", Lessons of grieving, waiting, wondering, trying to understand, frustration, tears, and weariness that leave us in between. And yet, may we also remember that the light has not been extinguished but only removed from the room for a while.
This all gives rise to what some theologians call "the already but not yet". This phrase was developed in the early 20th century and made popular later in the century reminding us that God's kingdom is both present now but also a future kingdom which will fully fulfill God's promises. With Jesus' arrival at the incarnation, the kingdom of God was now present as the king had arrived but it was also not yet. It was further revealed in Christ's live, death, and resurrection culminating with the astounding words "It is finished" and "He is not here, He is risen." but even then, what was "already" had not come to complete fruition because Jesus had not yet ascended to the Father or sent the Holy Spirit to empower believers to spread the news of the kingdom to the whole world. And with that there is also the matter of Jesus' promised return to set up a literal kingdom judging the nations. Only then will what we "already" have experienced in our hearts and know by faith to be true be fully realized and the "not yet" will become complete and full reality.
So today on the Saturday "in between" grasp tightly to the "already" knowing that "the not yet" is still coming. Dear saints, that is the hope of the resurrection for each of us.
God bless you all.
BB
Rev. William E. McKibben
Senior Pastor
The first is what I call "in between" which is the kind of feelings this day perhaps evokes for us. The horror of the cross with all of its suffering and pain grieves us almost to the point of physical sickness. Such brutality and disregard for human life in general and in particular toward the innocent and perfect life of Jesus. This is what the early disciples were overwhelmed by along with a dashing of their now understood as somewhat shallow hope that Jesus would deliver Israel. In some years past we have celebrated a Tenebrae service on Good Friday to emphasize just how dark it was on that particular day with what seemed to be all hope extinguished. And yet... in that service the final solitary candle representing Jesus is not extinguished but rather carried out of the room as we contemplate the darkness. I wonder if sometimes we also feel as if our hope has been extinguished by the pain and brutality of our world or even our particular current situation. And yet, be reminded that while it may seem that the light of Jesus has been "taken out of the room" and things are terribly dark, that we now know that light returns in glorious brightness on the third day with the resurrection. May we learn the lessons of Saturday; the day "in between", Lessons of grieving, waiting, wondering, trying to understand, frustration, tears, and weariness that leave us in between. And yet, may we also remember that the light has not been extinguished but only removed from the room for a while.
This all gives rise to what some theologians call "the already but not yet". This phrase was developed in the early 20th century and made popular later in the century reminding us that God's kingdom is both present now but also a future kingdom which will fully fulfill God's promises. With Jesus' arrival at the incarnation, the kingdom of God was now present as the king had arrived but it was also not yet. It was further revealed in Christ's live, death, and resurrection culminating with the astounding words "It is finished" and "He is not here, He is risen." but even then, what was "already" had not come to complete fruition because Jesus had not yet ascended to the Father or sent the Holy Spirit to empower believers to spread the news of the kingdom to the whole world. And with that there is also the matter of Jesus' promised return to set up a literal kingdom judging the nations. Only then will what we "already" have experienced in our hearts and know by faith to be true be fully realized and the "not yet" will become complete and full reality.
So today on the Saturday "in between" grasp tightly to the "already" knowing that "the not yet" is still coming. Dear saints, that is the hope of the resurrection for each of us.
God bless you all.
BB
Rev. William E. McKibben
Senior Pastor
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