Psalm 36:5-11, Isaiah 42:1-9, Hebrews 9:11-15, John 12:1-11

Lent always occurs in the late winter and early spring. This is the time of year when the weather vacillates between warm and cold, sun and rain. We wake up to the crisp morning air, reminded that winter hasn’t left only to experience the warmth of the afternoon sun, reminding us that spring knocks on the door.

This time of year reminds me that I live between winter and spring. I have good days and bad days. Most days include elements of both struggle and growth.

I think we all live between winter and spring. We live between Christ’s first and second coming. The trajectory for the redemption of all things is set, but we have yet to arrive. Just as we experience glimpses of what’s to come in the trees budding and birds singing, we experience glimpses of what comes when one day everything broken will be healed, but we aren’t fully there yet.

I don’t do well living in between. I want to live in either winter or spring. I can lose sight of God’s faithfulness and lose hope. I can also totally ignore the brokenness in myself and the world around me.

These words from the Psalm and Isaiah provide a way for us to live in between, to live in that awkward space between winter and spring. They remind us that God’s love is steadfast and that evildoers persist. We see that God’s servant, embodied in the person of Jesus, doesn’t ignore what is broken and will not grow faint until all is made whole. There is dark and light. There is brokenness and healing. We experience despair and hope. God’s rule of peace, love, justice, and grace is now and not yet.

So as the rain drizzles and the sun peeks through the clouds, as the cold lingers and the trees start to bud, I hope that we can be reminded of God’s faithful presence with us in the in between. May we remember that God’s love is just as real on the days when we feel overwhelmed by living in a broken world and on the days when joy springs forth like an endless fountain. May we remember God’s goodness and steadfast love in the now and not yet, in between winter and spring.

Josh TenHaken-Riedel, Assistant Director of Spiritual Formation

University Ministries