Candle Lighting: Come, Lord Jesus.
Opening Prayer:
Stir up our hearts, Lord God
To prepare the way of your only Son
By his coming, nurture our growth
As a people of repentance and peace.
Today’s reading is from II Peter 3:1-10
The Day of the Lord
1 Dear friends, this is now my second letter to you. I have written both of them as reminders to stimulate you to wholesome thinking. 2 I want you to recall the words spoken in the past by the holy prophets and the command given by our Lord and Savior through your apostles.
3 Above all, you must understand that in the last days scoffers will come, scoffing and following their own evil desires. 4 They will say, “Where is this ‘coming’ he promised? Ever since our ancestors died, everything goes on as it has since the beginning of creation.” 5 But they deliberately forget that long ago by God’s word the heavens came into being and the earth was formed out of water and by water. 6 By these waters also the world of that time was deluged and destroyed. 7 By the same word the present heavens and earth are reserved for fire, being kept for the day of judgment and destruction of the ungodly.
8 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. 9 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.
10 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.[a]
Many believe this is Peter’s “farewell speech “or dying testament in the form of a letter. Peter emphases that waiting seems to take a long time, by our standards, but perhaps not by God’s standard. The time of Advent is a time for waiting and a time for preparing. We wait and watch for the coming of the Lord, which is perhaps the longest wait of all.
It is the church’s time to wait together with those who wait behind bars, beside hospital beds, and buried in bunker holes. We wait together along with those who wait for a piece of bread, a sip of water, a shelter from the storm. And we wait together along with those who wait for an end to the pain, for release from the demons, for a balm for the wounds they cannot seem to bind. Waiting is holy work, the call of the faithful.
From around and within we hear the scoffing, “Where is the promise of his coming? For ever since our ancestors died, all things continue as they were from the beginning of creation!” It seems a foolish practice to wait for this One. But even so wait, and watch. “For with the Lord one day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years are like one day.” And we know that we do not wait in vain for “the One who will come is the One who has long since come before (Dietrich Bonhoeffer).”
Dear Lord,
Give us the patience to wait and believe. Help us in our unbelief! Move us to seek your holy word in the scriptures, in the preaching from the pulpit and in the words of those we meet in our daily journey. We know that you are with us and around us in those who need to hear your healing words thru us. As you said to Jeremiah, say also to us: “You shall go to all whom I send you. And you shall speak whatever I command you. Do not be afraid of them. For I am with you to deliver you.” Amen
Called as God's people;
Equipped by the Holy Spirit;
Sent to boldly proclaim the love of Jesus Christ to all people
Thanks to: The Lutheran Theological Seminary of Philadelphia, ELCA
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