{"id":54262,"date":"2018-12-22T16:04:04","date_gmt":"2018-12-22T16:04:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.augsburg.edu\/ccv\/?p=54262"},"modified":"2021-10-13T20:04:17","modified_gmt":"2021-10-13T20:04:17","slug":"waiting-for-what-we-are-already-becoming","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.augsburg.edu\/ccv\/2018\/12\/22\/waiting-for-what-we-are-already-becoming\/","title":{"rendered":"Waiting For What We Are Already Becoming"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"riverside
Hub staff visits the headwaters of the Mississippi River<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u201cThe rivers flow not past, but through us, thrilling, tingling, vibrating every fiber and cell of the substance of our bodies, making them glide and sing.\u201d <\/strong><\/em>\u2014 John Muir<\/strong><\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

On Friday December 14<\/span>th,<\/span> the Riverside Innovation Hub staff visited the headwaters of the Mississippi River at Itasca State Park in Park Rapids, Minnesota. The Mississippi River has been an important conversation partner for us throughout our project. It serves as a reminder of the depth and breadth of God\u2019s mercy flowing into our world <\/span>(see Ezekiel and the Public Church: Everything will live where the River Flows)<\/span><\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n

It takes a drop of water at the headwaters 90 days to reach the Gulf of Mexico. That means the water we saw while we were there will be flowing through the Mississippi River valley until March 14<\/span>th<\/span>, the second week of Lent. That is a long time for these lovely drops of water to wait before they meet the warm waters of the Gulf. But Advent is all about waiting. And it is strange to think about Lent during Advent. But Advent is strange. Anticipatory waiting is strange.<\/span><\/p>\n

Christian theologians use the phrase \u201cthe already-not-yet\u201d to describe the era in which we live. God\u2019s deep and wide mercy has already begun flowing into our world, but the fullness of the life and healing this mercy brings has not yet been fully realized. We wait for it, with anticipation. It is this anticipatory, strange waiting that our project is experiencing right now. We are in the already-not-yet. We are already experiencing the challenges and blessings of the slow work of innovation \u2013 the journey through the river\u2019s valley – but we have not yet fully seen its fruits. This feels strange to many of us. We are not good at waiting. We prefer to control and initiate.<\/span><\/p>\n

This is where I think John Muir might have something to offer us. God\u2019s mercy is not something we sit next to and observe. It is something that flows \u201cthrough us, thrilling, tingling, vibrating every fiber and cell of the substance of our bodies, making them glide and sing.\u201d We long for every drop of God\u2019s mercy to reach its destination. But it does not make its journey through a river valley, it makes its journey through us, through our bodies.<\/p>\n

Mary, the Theotokos (God-bearer), teaches us how to carry God\u2019s mercy in our bodies.<\/span>
\n46\u00a0<\/sup>And Mary\u00a0said,<\/span>
\n\u201cMy soul magnifies the Lord,<\/span>
\n<\/span>47\u00a0<\/sup>and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior,<\/span>
\n<\/span>48\u00a0<\/sup>for he has looked with favor on the lowliness of his servant.<\/span>
\n<\/span>\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Surely, from now on all generations will call me blessed;<\/span>
\n<\/span>49\u00a0<\/sup>for the Mighty One has done great things for me,<\/span>
\n<\/span>\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0and holy is his name.<\/span>
\n<\/span>50\u00a0<\/sup>His mercy is for those who fear him<\/span>
\n<\/span>\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0from generation to generation.<\/span>
\n<\/span>51\u00a0<\/sup>He has shown strength with his arm;<\/span>
\n<\/span>\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0he has scattered the proud in the thoughts of their hearts.<\/span>
\n<\/span>52\u00a0<\/sup>He has brought down the powerful from their thrones,<\/span>
\n<\/span>\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0and lifted up the lowly;<\/span>
\n<\/span>53\u00a0<\/sup>he has filled the hungry with good things,<\/span>
\n<\/span>\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0and sent the rich away empty.<\/span>
\n<\/span>54\u00a0<\/sup>He has helped his servant Israel,<\/span>
\n<\/span>\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0in remembrance of his mercy,<\/span>
\n<\/span>55\u00a0<\/sup>according to the promise he made to our ancestors,<\/span>
\n<\/span>\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0to Abraham and to his descendants forever.\u201d (Luke 1:46 \u2013<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>55).<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Innovation is the same.\u00a0The work of accompaniment, interpretation, discernment,<\/em> and proclamation<\/em> are not things that flow past us. They flow through us. We carry this work in our bodies. It becomes incarnate when we show up and engage a person, a place, an idea. We carry it in awe, and gratitude, and humility. And we wait. We wait for God\u2019s good work that has already begun but is not yet complete.<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Written by Jeremy Myers, PhD<\/a><\/p>\n

Photo credit: Ha (Cassie) Dong<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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