Dr. Steven P. Eason
"Hurry Up and Wait"
2 Peter 3:8-15a
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8But 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.
9The 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. 10But 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.
11Since all these things are to be dissolved in this way, what sort of persons ought you to be in leading lives of holiness and godliness, 12waiting 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? 13But, in accordance with his promise, we wait for new heavens and a new earth, where righteousness is at home. 14Therefore, beloved, while you are waiting for these things, strive to be found by him at peace, without spot or blemish; 15and regard the patience of our Lord as salvation. So also our beloved brother Paul wrote to you according to the wisdom given him,
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I’m not very good at waiting. I don’t like airports, doctors’ offices, traffic jams, or restaurants where I have to wait. I don’t like those little pagers with the blinky lights either. Doesn’t help. I don’t like being put on hold, standing in line, or taking a number. I just don’t like to wait.
I’ve noticed that other people don’t like to wait either. And we all seem to have different waiting techniques. Some people stay glued to their Smartphone or iPad while they’re waiting. I love the fellow who talks on his cell phone so loud that 200 people around him can hear the entire conversation. I once heard every detail of a marital argument. I was tempted to put on my counselor hat and fix them before the plane left but we only had 20 minutes! (She was right, by the way.)
Kids aren’t very good at waiting. “Are we there yet? Are we there yet? Are we there yet?” “No, and if you ask me one more time, I’m going to turn around and start all over again! “ Try taking a kid with you to the DMV! They’ll pay for all your sins!
I’m sure nobody likes to wait. Some are better at it than others. The people to whom Peter is writing didn’t like to wait either. Folks in the early Church had an expectation that Christ was coming back in their lifetime, before the apostles died. (John 21:23-23) But when that didn’t happen, they became disillusioned. So Peter writes,
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. (2 Peter 3:9)
In other words, God is waiting too! I’ve never thought of it that way. God is waiting for us?
Here we are on this blue ball, revolving around the sun, in the midst of a vast universe. Supposedly, we are the only form of life in our solar system. Depending on who you ask, the earth is approximately 4.5 billion years old, plus or minus. Some argue that humans have only occupied the earth for about the last 200,000 years. Again, it depends on who you ask.
So when you put all of that into perspective, it would only be logical to deduce that we are of some value to God. We live on a planet in a solar system which is in a galaxy, which is within the universe…which is really, really big. And we are really, really small, and yet here we are – apparently of some significance to God. God is waiting for us? Can you even begin to get your head around that?
The early church was waiting for the second coming of Christ. The Bible writers all agree that there will come a final day but they disagree on what that will look like. Peter has the heavens passing away with a loud noise. (Not sure where he got that idea.) There will be fire and it will consume everything on earth. So is he painting a picture of the future or is he making a point. The point being, there will come a day when God’s reign will overcome evil in the world. There will come a day when it’s over, and yet, it will have just started. In the meantime, we live as a people who know that ultimately, God will prevail over all. In the meantime, God waits for us to get it – to turn from our foolish ways and to submit our will to his.
Tim LaHaye and Jerry Jenkins are authors of the New York Times bestselling Left-Behind series. Their new book is entitled, Are We Living in the End Times? Many people think we are. But there have always been people who think we are. In their promotion they write,
God in His mercy may wait one more day, which in His economy of time is a thousand of our years. But we are instructed to watch and wait for Christ’s imminent return as if it could be today. Because it could! (leftbehind.com)
I don’t live thinking that Jesus is going to come back on Thursday or Friday. I don’t live with an expectation of a cataclysmic, apocalyptic ending. I don’t want to live in fear of God, that if I don’t behave myself, somehow I will be eternally punished. That’s not a reason to love God, to be grateful to God, or to offer God praise.
We’re not called to live out of fear, but out of faith. And faith is not mere belief, as if one is trying to believe in something they’re not sure is true.
- Faith is a way of knowing, that whether we live or whether we die, we belong to God.
- Faith is a way of living without fear, but with hope that regardless of the circumstances, God loves us and knows where we are in the vastness of this universe.
- Faith is a life lived in response to the grace of God – all of life, all the time – no matter how long time may be.
So, on this second Sunday of Advent, we wait. And God waits with us. And while we wait, we hope. And while we hope, we have faith. And in our faith, we have peace.
As we come in repentance to the Table of Christ, let us pray for the world that needs this faith, this hope, this peace as we all wait together for Christ to come again.
In the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.
Congregation: Amen
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