The third and final chapter goes apocalyptic. It still speaks directly to our age. Peter the eye witness to Jesus prepares the church for a very long period of wondering if it was real.
Paul was similar as his death loomed, very aware of the many ways the church could lose its message. Aware of the threat of self serving false teachers as Peter was in chapter 2. Also, as here, aware of fatigue, when the promises of justice and the true perspective of god’s rule gets lost and seems increasingly irrelevant as years roll by and the concerns of everyday life seem bigger. It’s like Jesus’ parable of the weeds. Some things steal the word and others strangle it.
Peter reminds them of god’s time scale …1000 years are like a day to God… Then vividly describes the day of the lord in terms straight from the prophets. The promise of a new heaven and a new earth implies the destruction of the old.
This day of the lord is such a powerful concept, a constant reminder that God is in control, with the harsh irony that chaos can reign. The best and worst day of your life is a day of the lord. When disasters strike, they are days of the lord, and we take encouragement in that to believe we can get past them.
But it is also the end of time. To describe the day of the lord, the prophets hold in unresolved tension dread and a joyous time in which there is no more fear. They are both always present. It is terrible and wonderful.
It is the eternal truth that God loves all of us even when it does not seem so. Believers are on the side of the angels: be sure you stay there for the long haul, Peter is saying.
Amen!
Kelly’s mediation at work was epic (5 hours!), and not very satisfactory. They listened to her, seemed to really understand what the issues were, but in their attempt to negotiate a win for all they effectively demoted her. She was recruited as the assistant manager. That role, it turns out, doesn’t really exist. It’s more a tradition.
Kelly did question why she would want to be assistant manager if it doesn’t pay any more, back when she started. Her boss said no one is ever a manager unless they have been an assistant manager. It’s meant she has the second set of keys to the shop and could open up, close up, and run it to relieve the manager.
End result: Kelly complains of bullying, she gets demoted. Then told to carry on working with her bullies as an equal, stripped of the authority she has had for a year. She also got what she wanted: sharing of work on the till, which she had been made to do all day every day, except a strict half hour for lunch. So everyone gets a win. Good result?
We’ve had a bad run. But they are days of the Lord, right? It certainly does help, regular contact with god’s word. Peter is right about that. The scriptures, the prophets, constantly in drip feed, in church, at home group, in this blog. It does help counter the constant pull in the other direction to get lost in the plans, problems, temptations and immediacy of this world.
Praying for Kelly, walking into a workplace where her bullies are doing a victory dance.