Advent 2 – Do not forget the Lord’s time

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Do Not Forget The Lord’s Time

It is not fun being out of control. Many years ago, when I was in high school, I was in a play. And I remember one day we were in rehearsal. And I was waiting in the wings for my cue to enter onto the stage. But someone talked to me and I missed my cue. The director, after a couple of minutes, got up and slowly walked back stage and had a nice conversation with me and then finally let me know that I had missed my cue. And I was shocked. And from that time on I have always lived in fear of time—missing the right time. And still today, there are times when I’m up here presiding over the liturgy and I miss my cues and details. But that’s how we are as humans. That’s what happens when we do not own time. We did not create it. And far more often than we’d like to admit, it seems to own us. But this morning we see the opposite side of the coin. We get to step into God’s shoes and see how he looks at time. In 2 Peter, we read these words: “⁸ Dear friends, don’t overlook this one fact: With the Lord one day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years like one day. ⁹ The Lord does not delay his promise, as some understand delay, but is patient with you, not wanting any to perish but all to come to repentance.” (2 Pet. 3:8–9 CSB17)

In these words Peter introduces a problem. The problem is that we’ve been in the last days and it seems as if the finish line is not in sight. We’ve been waiting for the end of this world for close to 2000 years now and it still hasn’t come. What’s up? Did God miss his cue? In such bold words Peter lets us know that that is not the case. God is the creator and master of time. He is not the one who is misusing time. Instead, we are the ones who don’t understand it. And in this beautiful way, Peter lets us know why the Lord is seemingly so slow. He says the words, “because of you!”¹ It is for our sake that he is so slow. He wants you to reach repentance. He wants each of us to take stock of our lives every day and see our sins, stack them up, repent of them, and throw them on Jesus. But, my friends there’s even more to consider. He wants all people to reach repentance. What this shows us is that there can be this lack of love and lack of care in us. We can be tempted to conclude to ourselves that the time we are living in, the world we are living in, and our hearts too are so messed up. And since they are so corrupted, can’t God just come along and end it all? And Peter here reminds us that the world doesn’t revolve around each one of us. God wants all people to reach repentance.

Years ago, I was called by one of my members in a previous congregation. They had a relative who was in the hospital and wanted me to visit him. And when I got there I found out why. He had cancer and only had days to live. But, even more than this, he had left his church many decades ago. And so I shared God’s word with him. He repented. He returned to his Savior. But still to this day there are times I ask myself, “what if Jesus came before that guy repented?” This cautions us to not be so picky with the Lord. He owns time. And he owns it perfectly. And he wants us to know that it is because of us that he is seemingly slow. And he urges our focus then to be on repenting.

And this is a task we can take on because we know the one to whom we are repenting. Look at our Savior Jesus who didn’t just experience time, but also mastered it. Whether you’re looking at his first miracle at the wedding in Cana or his final miracle before he died on the cross, isn’t it amazing to see how, at just the right time, he got all of his work done? There were no missed cues for him. He is the perfect master and keeper of time for us, in our place. And because of that we can be sure and confident that our times of second-guessing God’s use of time are forgiven. But, my friends in Christ, these words continue: “¹⁰ But the day of the Lord will come like a thief; on that day the heavens will pass away with a loud noise, the elements will burn and be dissolved, and the earth and the works on it will be disclosed. ¹¹ Since all these things are to be dissolved in this way, it is clear what sort of people you should be in holy conduct and godliness ¹² as you wait for the day of God and hasten its coming. Because of that day, the heavens will be dissolved with fire and the elements will melt with heat.” (2 Pet. 3:10–12 CSB17)

Look at the Lord’s perfect understanding and use of time, and don’t forget it. For he is seemingly slow. But he is that way for our sake. But these words take us in the opposite direction. His focus was on us in the previous section. Now his focus is on The Day.² Here the picture is that, there are times when you commit, you cannot take it back. When you pull the trigger, you cannot put it back in the chamber. When Judgment Day happens, these are the events that will be set in motion: The sky above your heads will pass away. The elements and building blocks of the earth will be melted down. On that day the Lord’s focus will be on that day and every detail that will take place in it.

But the world does not understand this. For, to them, it will come like a thief in the night. The universe will come to an end. And their focus will be on this world. And when it is torn apart, all their hopes and dreams will be torn apart too.

Since this is the case, where does our Lord want us to focus? We read: “¹³ But based on his promise, we wait for new heavens and a new earth, where righteousness dwells. ¹⁴ Therefore, dear friends, while you wait for these things, make every effort to be found without spot or blemish in his sight, at peace.” (2 Pet. 3:13–14 CSB17)

Our focus is to be on what happens after. After the universe is dismantled with fire, where will we be? We will reach our heavenly home where righteousness dwells. What an amazing thought. There in heaven there will be no. There will be no covid, death, disease, pride, pain, punishment—all of that and so much more will be gone. And in its place will be righteousness, completeness, and perfection.

So my dear friends in Christ, there is nothing wrong with looking forward to Christmas. But, as Peter reminds us, do not forget the Lord’s time. He is the one who created time and owns it. So let us focus on what he wants us to focus on. Let us reach repentance in our hearts. And let us look ahead to righteousness in heaven. Amen.