In the New Testament, there are two Greek words translated “time.” The first word is chronos, which refers to measured time, or what can be called “Tick-Tock” time. It’s the normal flow of time that’s a natural part of creation — hours, days, months, seasons, years.



The second word is kairos, which refers to a special moment in time, or what can be called “Ta-Da!” time. You know, like a special moment — “Ta-Da!”



A little girl was asked in Sunday school, “What did Jesus say when he was resurrected from the grave?” She replied, “Ta-Da!”



There’s some truth to that little joke. Jesus’ resurrection isn’t simply a dead man coming back to life. It’s the first day of God’s future New Creation.



For the Jews at that time, God’s New Creation was waiting for them sometime in the future. It was the consummation of God’s Story and purposes at the end of time.



But God catches them by surprise. He pulls his future New Creation into the present. And as God’s future New Creation breaks into the present Creation through Jesus’ resurrection, you can almost hear him saying, “Ta-Da!”



God’s future pulled into the present. It’s the kairos “Ta-Da!” embedded in the chronos “Tick-Tock.” And when that happens, heaven and earth meet and time and space are flooded with new meaning.



Listen to Jesus’ words as he begins his ministry in Mark 1:14-15, “Jesus went into Galilee, proclaiming the good news of God. ‘The time (kairos) has come,’ he said. ‘The kingdom of God is near. Repent and believe the good news!'” The good news is that God’s special moment has finally come!



N.T. Wright summarizes Jesus’ conflict with the Pharisees by stating that Jesus lived in a different “theological time zone” than those around him. While others lived by the order of the present creation, Jesus lived within God’s new order; while others lived in the Old Creation, Jesus lived in the beginning moments of the New Creation.



Jesus is God’s good news that the “Ta-Da!” — God’s New Creation of the future — has broken into and continues to break into the “Tick-Tock” of the Old Creation of the present. Jesus embodied the meeting of heaven and earth, embedding the future into the present.



But it doesn’t stop there. Paul uses different metaphors to communicate the fact that we, as Jesus’ students, continue this reality. We are Christ’s body (Eph 1:23), God’s temple (1Cor 3:16), and Christ’s icon (2Cor 3:18). In other words, our lives are to become more and more immersed in the “Ta-Da!” as we live our daily lives in God’s future kingdom now. We too must live in Jesus’ “theological time zone’ reorienting every detail of present life around the Reality of God’s future kingdom.



That’s Paul’s meaning in Ephesians 5:15-17, “Be very careful, then, how you live — not as unwise but as wise, making the most of every opportunity (kairos), because the days are evil. Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the Lord’s will is.” We are to live wisely, aligning our lives around God’s will or Story. The more we do, the more the kairos naturally breaks into the chronos.



Ta-Daaa!