Come, Lord!
2 Peter 3 (NRSV)
This is now, beloved, the second letter I am writing to you; in them I am trying to arouse your sincere intention by reminding you that you should remember the words spoken in the past by the holy prophets, and the commandment of the Lord and Saviour spoken through your apostles. First of all you must understand this, that in the last days scoffers will come, scoffing and indulging their own lusts and saying, ‘Where is the promise of his coming? For ever since our ancestors died, all things continue as they were from the beginning of creation!’ They deliberately ignore this fact, that by the word of God heavens existed long ago and an earth was formed out of water and by means of water, through which the world of that time was deluged with water and perished. But by the same word the present heavens and earth have been reserved for fire, being kept until the day of judgement and destruction of the godless.
But do not ignore this one fact, beloved, that with the Lord one day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years are like one day. The Lord is not slow about his promise, as some think of slowness, but is patient with you, not wanting any to perish, but all to come to repentance. But the day of the Lord will come like a thief, and then the heavens will pass away with a loud noise, and the elements will be dissolved with fire, and the earth and everything that is done on it will be disclosed.
Since all these things are to be dissolved in this way, what sort of people ought you to be in leading lives of holiness and godliness, waiting for and hastening the coming of the day of God, because of which the heavens will be set ablaze and dissolved, and the elements will melt with fire? But, in accordance with his promise, we wait for new heavens and a new earth, where righteousness is at home.
Therefore, beloved, while you are waiting for these things, strive to be found by him at peace, without spot or blemish; and regard the patience of our Lord as salvation. So also our beloved brother Paul wrote to you according to the wisdom given to him, speaking of this as he does in all his letters. There are some things in them hard to understand, which the ignorant and unstable twist to their own destruction, as they do the other scriptures. You therefore, beloved, since you are forewarned, beware that you are not carried away with the error of the lawless and lose your own stability. But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. To him be the glory both now and to the day of eternity. Amen.
Our second reading (shown in blue above) for this morning, Advent 2, is taken from the third chapter of Second Peter. This is a pseudonymous letter that many scholars believe dates from well into the second century, even perhaps as late as 150 to 160 AD. Chapter 3 talks with some apologia, rationalization, about the delayed but nevertheless event of the Day of the Lord, by which is meant the Second Coming of Christ in Judgment. Earliest generations of Christians, including Saint Paul, had believed that the Second Coming was imminent, even so immediate that some folks quit work and stopped bothering to earn a living.
It didn’t happen of course, and hasn’t happened yet. Twenty-first century cosmologists date the eschaton, the end of time, the end of the universe, to untold trillions of years hence; and modern Christians may set the idea of the Second Coming aside as an archaic notion, patiently and peacefully repeat what the early church Fathers put in the Creeds, and go on with life as usual. From a universal point of view this seems reasonable.
From an individual, personal viewpoint though, it may be different. We do not know except by faith what comes next for each of us after this life. And whatever that may be, something or nothing, oblivion or glory, it’s the Creator’s business, isn’t it, not ours. Yet the theology of our Church is clear, and nowhere more clearly set out than in a petition in the liturgy for the Burial of the Dead. “Give courage and faith to those who are bereaved, that they may have strength to meet the days ahead in the comfort of a reasonable and holy hope, in the joyful expectation of eternal life with those they love.” It’s faith, of course, not knowledge. But for those and their loved ones who are facing a personal eschaton it’s comforting and assuring. Looking back a year, quite honestly, when I was waiting for my surgery date at Cleveland Clinic, I know the feeling, know it well; thoroughly conscious and aware as, at the end of each day, I popped a nitroglycerin or two and walked down to My Laughing Place under the cedar tree by the Bay, peacefully not fearfully mindful that it was not unlikely to be my last sunset!
And after all, when all is said and done, though we may not care to think about it and others may not be willing to discuss it with us, we are all of us, each and every one, facing our own personal eschaton. And as Second Peter says, the Day may come like a thief in the night, when least expected.
Even so, come, Lord. Maranatha! Come!
TW+
Special thoughts, prayers and love this morning for Joy, and for Jeremy and all our family in England.