2 Peter 3:1-10
“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 2that you should remember the words spoken in the past by the holy prophets, and the commandment of the Lord and Savior spoken through your apostles.” (2 Peter 3:1-2)
This past Sunday I asked the question, “Why is Advent?” Sometimes when a thing becomes routine – a tradition even – we take for granted why it even exists. We just know that we did it last year and the year before that and the years before that, so we better do it this year. Tradition, of course, is a beautiful thing; it helps keep us moored to a history and a people with a gravitas that can weather whatever the frantic urgencies are of this moment or that. But a tradition that has gone hollow in its middle will leave us just as empty as it is. So, in the interest of making sure we have a full and robust Advent, we do well to pause and answer the question “Why is Advent?”
In his own way, Peter is answering this question to the church he writes to in 2 Peter. Our selection today begins with Peter reminding his audience that he is writing to them… again. And his interest remains the same, namely “to arouse your sincere intention.” Which sincere intention? Well, as we read on, we discover our sincere intention of hoping in the second coming of the Christ.
This past week, I was talking with a pastor-friend of mine who confessed that he feels awkward talking about the second coming (or, in a similar fashion, talking about the resurrection of the body during funeral services). We both acknowledged that such talk has been usurped by other Christian traditions who use language like “rapture” to try to frighten people into believing in Jesus. (Side note: No one has ever believed in anything because of fear. Where fear is used, all people ultimately believe in is their own fears).
Yet our current diversion into such loose theological talk is a momentary blip in what is clearly a long history of the Church talking about, trusting, and hoping in the return of its Lord and King. Again, Peter is on his second letter in which he talks about this.
The second coming is the reason the early church created Advent. Originating in the fifth century, we even have liturgical aids used by priests with Advent liturgies that date back to the eighth century. And throughout its long history, it was always regarded as a season of waiting and anticipation. Logically enough, the waiting was not for the birth of Christ – which clearly happened 2,000 years ago – but for return of Christ.
Of course, as is evidenced by my pastor-friend’s dis-ease in talking about the second coming, embodying the holy hopes of Advent is far from second nature. It takes training and discipline to learn to hope in a future in which God’s shalom (Hebrew for an all-encompassing peace) rules the world and all our relationships in it.
This is all why I hope each of you are earnestly and authentically engaging the meaning and purpose of Advent. I can assure you that it is what you will hear and learn in our worship services. I have every confidence it will be part of Dick Mickley’s Advent Sunday School (for which there is still time to join this Sunday!). It will probably be a theme that bubbles back up in future First Thoughts devotions. Whatever the means, I hope that you will take this season as an opportunity to learn the spiritual discipline of hoping in Christ’s return. Indeed, I hope that by the end, the answer to the question “Why is Advent?” can be found in your life. Amen.
