Opening Prayer
Gracious God, I put myself before you in this moment with waiting heart, expectant desire. Open my eyes that I may see your promise fulfilled; open my ears that I may hear your word whispered to my deepest being.
Amen.
Passage
2 Peter 3:8-15
But do not forget this one thing, dear friends: With the Lord a day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years are like a day. The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. Instead he is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance.
But the day of the Lord will come like a thief. The heavens will disappear with a roar; the elements will be destroyed by fire, and the earth and everything done in it will be laid bare.
Since everything will be destroyed in this way, what kind of people ought you to be? You ought to live holy and godly lives as you look forward to the day of God and speed its coming. That day will bring about the destruction of the heavens by fire, and the elements will melt in the heat. But in keeping with his promise we are looking forward to a new heaven and a new earth, where righteousness dwells
So then, dear friends, since you are looking forward to this, make every effort to be found spotless, blameless and at peace with him. Bear in mind that our Lord’s patience means salvation, just as our dear brother Paul also wrote you with the wisdom that God gave him.
Reflection - Katie Ignatowski
I’m struck by how often two words appear in this passage: “promise” and “wait”.
As we enter into the advent season, we enter into a season of waiting. We await the birth of a baby who will come to offer salvation and a new way of living and being in the world. But while our savior was born over 2,000 years ago, we still today await the full realization of the promises of God: that all things will pass away and a new heaven and a new earth will come.
In this day we live between the “already” and the “not yet”: the already of a living savior and the not yet of the new creation we're still waiting for. We must cling to the hope that God’s timing is perfect and we partner with him in his work by living out the new creation and bringing the good news to all.
Pause to consider how you might live into this good news today.
Closing Prayer
My Lord, may all that I have seen of you and all that I have heard from your word now enflesh itself in me. Send me from this place as the incarnate promise of life to all whose life I will touch this day.
Amen.