When I was much younger, The Goodies (remember them?) sang about being ‘inbetweenies’: “Too old to be a teenager, Too young to be a mother’s pet / Are we just the inbetweenies, that everyone tries to forget?” In the song they complained: “nobody wants us today just because we’re middle aged”. As a forty-something myself now, I suppose I qualify!

As Christians we are all ‘inbetweenies’. The theologian Walter Brueggemann reminds us that ‘the way to Easter is Good Friday. The victory of resurrection requires the vulnerability of crucifixion’, and that ‘Jesus and his people always live between the banishment of Friday and the gathering of Sunday, always between the exile of crucifixion and the new community of resurrection.’

In other words, we already know the wonder and glory of the resurrection, but we must live in the light of its power in the midst of suffering and a fallen world. That’s a difficult balance. We stand in the gap between heaven and earth, being in the world not of it, allowing those around us to encounter God in us, and being part of the heavenly task force initiated by Jesus and called the church. It’s not easy being an ‘inbetweeny’.

During the Stephen Lawrence inquiry, some years ago, Archbishop of York, John Sentamu, agreed to go and calm down a very angry crowd who were ready to give the five suspects a good hiding: “Amongst the throng I noticed four angry young men with iron bars concealed down their trousers, waiting their chance . . . I said to them, “It’s understandable that you are angry, but violence isn’t the answer.” They replied, “Bish, we don’t believe in God.” And I said, “It doesn’t matter. God believes in you.” They laughed and eventually walked away. They didn’t use their iron bars. I admit that I was scared.  But God has no-one except you and me.”

That’s a good example of what it means to be an ‘inbetweeny.’ I want to pray that I will have the courage to ‘stand in the gap’ for the sake of the world that God loves, remembering that Jesus ‘stood in the gap’ for me on Calvary. I am glad that my Christian faith has less to do with my belief in Jesus, than his belief in me.