Friday 22 September 2023

Psalm 121

Background

Today's passage is referring to the second coming of Jesus, which is an aspect of Christian faith about which there is a considerable range of understanding and interpretation. It would appear that the false teachers who feature in the second letter of Peter were teaching that such a thing would never happen and neither would there be any future judgement by God. The letter writer was keen to counter this and clearly had a passionate and vivid belief in how these events were going to occur. And the reason for any apparent delay was due not to slowness on the part of God, but patience.

Within the diversity of belief about these articles of faith there are few who would disagree with the wise assertion that "with the Lord one day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years are like one day." (v. 8) And this reminds us that much of our thinking about any future, definitive encounter with God is conjecture, and we are encouraged by Jesus himself not to get caught up in such things (eg Mark 13:32; Acts 1:7). And this probably applies not just to the timings but to the actual nature of what might happen. In this passage the imagery is quite detailed and reflects something of the cosmology of the time and hence maybe feels somewhat removed from our thought processes.

Of course, part of the motivation for these graphic images was to keep people on the straight and narrow, especially when communities were insecure and under threat. Many a carving on a cathedral wall had the same aim. Leading lives of holiness and godliness was thought to keep you safe when these catastrophic events would take place. If we return to the range of understanding, however, there is much in the New Testament that allows us to adopt a different approach. Love, generosity and grace are some of the hallmarks of God as revealed in Jesus Christ and we are assured that these know no bounds. Following Jesus offers us the opportunity to share in the abundant life of God, here and now. What might happen at some ill-defined future judgement, to those who don’t follow, is best left in the hands of God.

To Ponder:

• It is written of God elsewhere in the Bible, "For as the heavens are higher than the earth so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts." (Isaiah 55:9) How might this be helpful when we consider any future judgement?
• Whether or not you are a person of faith, what motivates you to live well, be kind, and do the right thing?
• What images of judgement do you have in your head? Where have they come from? How consistent are they with the God of love revealed in Jesus Christ?

Prayer

Loving, generous and gracious God, we thank you for revealing yourself to us in and through the life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Help us to measure all our beliefs against what we learn of Jesus in the gospels. Amen.