Peacemaking Before the Parousia
I preached from 2 Peter 3:8-15 last Sunday. The passage ends, "Therefore, beloved, while you are waiting for these things, strive to be found by him at peace, without spot or blemish, and regard the patience of our Lord as salvation." My sermon focused on the last bit, God's patience for our salvation, but this week I kept thinking about the part about peace.
The author of 2 Peter encourages the early churches to align their present lives with their Lord's one-day return. For these Christians, the parousia was not theology to debate or dates to predict; it was a compass around which to orient their agendas and ethics. And one of these practical implications was the call to work actively for peace.
My sense is that, while the peace in view in these verses may include inner peace, the author has something comprehensive in mind. This is a peace that needs to struggled for. I hear echoes of Jesus' blessing over those who make peace. Many of these Christian communities had been ostracized; some had probably known persecution. The peace they needed was more than a state of mind or an emotional experience. They also certainly knew how unlikely it was they could quickly bring about the peace they longed for.
Enter the thief-like day of the Lord. It was the anticipation of Christ's return which compelled these little communities to strive for peace in their neighborhoods and, for a couple of reasons, it can do the same for us.
First, remembering Christ's return keeps from being overwhelmed by the lack of peace in our world. A lot of us aren't striving for peace in our communities because we're overwhelmed by its opposites: war, exploitation, polarization, etc. The conviction that the Prince of Peace will return to renew all things is the antidote we need. The foes of peace are very real but their influence is not total, their reign is not endless. Those who follow the returning King cannot help but prepare his way today.
Second, the parousia provokes hope when others might despair. Christ's return cannot be remembered without also rejoicing in his resurrection. "God proves his love for us," writes Paul, "in that while we still were sinners Christ died for us." (Romans 5:8) Which is to say, peace has already been won! What greater desperation has the world known than our collective captivity to sin, death, and the devil? And yet, God's shalom has prevailed. We are already at peace with our Creator. How can we, when remembering this liberating peace, not strive for the same with a profound sense of hope?
The opportunities to make peace are endless, aren't they? Let the returning Christ protect you from becoming overwhelmed and provoke your hope, that it might be said of us, "Blessed are the peacemakers."
The View From Here
Book Updates
It looks like we've got a title and a publication date! I'll share both in a few weeks once I've finished with revisions. A huge thanks to the early readers - you know who you are - whose suggestions will make this project much better.