Waiting as Salvation
Today’s Readings:AM Psalm 18:1-20; PM Psalm 18:21-50; Amos 4:6-13; 2 Pet. 3:11-18; Matt. 21:33-46
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. – 2 Peter 3:14-15a
One of my favorite sayings is “God may love you just the way you are, but he also refuses to leave you that way.” I love the idea that we are all beautifully made in the image of God, and yet at the same time that God is up to something profound in our life and that we are in the process of growing and changing and becoming the person that God created. We don’t have to dwell in the shame of the past but be open to each new day and new possibility. God’s grace is always the defining ethic, but it means there is a trajectory for our lives.
The organizers of our daily lectionary were intentional in the logic behind reading 2 Peter at Advent. It’s concerned with the coming of God’s kingdom, a new heaven and earth being made manifest here. It addresses questions such as how we should live our lives if God’s return is on the horizon and what to do with the time in between. The second coming of Christ is taking longer than the earlier followers expected and the author is inviting them to see waiting as God’s salvation. “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.”
One of the gifts of growth and our own social evolution has been the time required for nearly every part of our lives, really the growth of leisure time. We can get books as instant downloads, groceries delivered to our homes, and movies streamed to our televisions. I read recently about a business model to deliver essential items to your home within two hours (not in our market yet)! I think we expect the same with our own lives that we can instantly learn and grow to be the people that we want to be.
So, it’s a shift for us to see waiting as God’s salvation, time to grow into the people that God has called us to be. There are a lot of things I’d like God to fix right this very minute, and so the author of Peter is challenging us to this gift of waiting as an opportunity to grow. When we see the world in pain, suffering, injustice, and inequality, we likely want God to fix it all and it can be challenging to reconcile ourselves with the present reality lived by so many. And yet, 2 Peter gives us hope in suggesting we (and the world) aren’t supposed to be perfect because Christ hasn’t returned. But instead to see God’s patience as salvation, an opportunity to prepare for the return of our Lord.
What are you supposed to be doing with your life? Well, “grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To him be the glory both now and to the day of eternity. Amen” (2 Peter 3:18). We all have some homework, and we get the rest of our lives to work on it.
Faithfully,
John+
Questions for Self-Reflection: How do you see yourself continuing to grow? What steps do you take to practice growth? Consider what plans to make in the coming year to grow in your faith.
Daily Challenge: The irony of this reflection, is you are hopefully growing if you read a daily reflection each day. Consider attending a class, lecture, or small group discussion at Saint Stephen’s as well. A list can be found here.