In The Christian Life, Karl Barth conceptualizes God’s future as an interruption of the present while also attesting its advanced presence as “first fruits” in the life of the community. This paper examines the tensions at play in these two conceptualities and demonstrates how Barth’s exposition of the petition for the hallowing of God’s name among those to whom God is presently both “known and unknown” participates in this tension. While acknowledging instabilities in Barth’s account, the paper argues that a productive tension between these two themes is vital to the fullness of Christian witness, mitigating against both quietism and triumphalism. Finally, the paper highlights certain dispositions appropriate to the Christian life this side of the eschaton, among them lament and humor.
