Wednesday, November 30, 2011

Advent - November 30

Psalm 119:1-24, 12, 13, 14

Amos 3:12-4:5

2 Peter 3:1-10

Matthew 21:23-32

A beauty of the daily readings from the Book of Common Prayer or other source is the connection between scriptures from various portions of the Bible. The readings from the Psalms and Amos recall judgment that comes, in its time from failure to follow God’s laws. The passage in 2 Peter reminds the Church that God’s promises, too, will come in His own time.

The beauty of God’s delayed judgment was that it gave the Israelites an opportunity to turn from idolatry and return to following the law as it was given. Equally beautiful in the 2 Peter text is the promise that God wants to give as many people the chance to receive Christ’s promise as possible before He delivers on the promises made by Christ to His followers.

Recently the movie In Time came out presenting the idea of time as a commodity – something limited and valuable. The passages today reinforce the idea that time is indeed limited and valuable, but our ways of measuring it do not hold up in the scope of eternity. We know and evaluate time based on our limited view bound by the limits of mortality, but God’s plans exceed anything we can imagine and a central part of our faith is being able to accept that we cannot imagine all the parts of God’s works. We must learn patience to see it in the fullness of time, trusting that it will, in the end be for the good only God can create.

The  psalmists, prophets, and apostles all had to address the question of time. We still consider it today. When we move past it to do those things commanded of us, though, it ceases to be the commodity we make it and becomes another tool to build blessings.

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