It has been a couple thousand years. Peter thought it might be weeks, or months,
maybe a couple of years. There is the pressure of immediacy in Peter's words because he expected a relatively immediate return of Jesus.
Preparing their minds for action, disciplining
themselves, setting their hope on the grace revealed in Jesus, these were not
activities that the apostles assumed would have to be continued on through
fifty generations or more. The
assumption was that all would be made complete when He is revealed.
How do we account for the immediate action demanded by
Peter and the delayed action we are living to see in this generation? How does this passage speak to us across that
gap? This faith has gone from a
fad to a lifestyle.
Our hope has not changed. It is still dependent on the grace given to
us in Jesus. While He is not revealed to
us in person, He is revealed to us in the New Testament. Each
generation has the benefit of Peter’s words to introduce us to the Christ, and
the promise that surrounds Him. Each
generation can live the life that Jesus lived, sharing the grace and the love
that He did with the world in need. To
each generation, he is revealed afresh.
The Second Coming is not so much about the physical return of Jesus as much as it is about the recognition of the Christ within each of us - this is what illumination, enlightenment or realization is all about - it is attaining the highest consciousness of Unity -
ReplyDeleteThe power of the Second Coming is that it holds different meanings for different people. The physical return and the achievement of a 'higher self' as we allow Jesus to form us and inform us is one of many tensions to be held in our faith.
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