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Stirring
Have you ever misplaced or lost something, and it stirs little worry? You just know that Read More
Michelle Shrader | Read 2 Thessalonians 2:1-5, 13-17
The year 2000 brought with it the end of the 1900s. Many people believed that it would be the end of time as well. The Y2K computer bug was anticipated to wreak havoc in computers that had not been programmed to roll to 2000. It may have seemed like the end was imminent, but the world continued after 1999. Today anxiety arises with the increased occurrence of natural disasters and superstorms. The question emerges again, “Are we near the end?”
Rather than live in worry over whether or not we are near the end, we can spend our energy disciplining ourselves to hold fast in any circumstance. We will experience times of devastation, but we serve a God who is with us in life, in death, and in life beyond death. As for the day of the Lord, Augustine shared, “So what is this day which the Lord has made? Live good lives and you will be this day yourselves.”* And what is good? Micah 6:8 says, “He has told you, O mortal, what is good; and what does the Lord require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?”
We submit ourselves to the sanctifying work of the Holy Spirit so that we can become more alive in Christ. To wait for Jesus is to meet Jesus in the eyes, the ears, and the faces of others who cross our path today. Jesus is clear on his concern for the poor and the oppressed. We must remember what he teaches—that the poor will be with us to the end. It is better for us to spend our time waiting for Jesus with them.
*Peter J. Gorday, ed., Ancient Christian Commentary on Scripture: New Testament IX: Colossians, Thessalonians, 1–2 Timothy, Titus, Philemon (Downers Grove, IL: IVP Academic, 2000), 92.
Spirit of the living God, shape us in our very being, that we may have love enough for all the world. Amen.
Following the return from exile to Babylon, the people of God have much work to do to restore the city of Jerusalem. Haggai is one of the prophets sent by God to encourage them. God promises future material blessings for the people and a time of peace. The psalmist praises God and declares that future generations will pass on the stories of God’s wonderful works. In Second Thessalonians, Paul addresses a group that is disturbed because they think they have missed the return of Christ. He assures them that they have not missed the time and admonishes them to persevere in their faith. In Luke, Jesus is asked about marriage in the resurrection, but he focuses on God as the God of the living.
Read Haggai 1:15b–2:9. When have you had to rely on God’s promises for the future? How did your faith in God’s provision keep you focused on the long-term goal?
Read Psalm 145:1-5, 17-21. How do you share God’s majesty and justice with the next generations?
Read 2 Thessalonians 2:1-5, 13-17. How do you live a disciplined life, trusting in the Lord whether or not the end is near?
Read Luke 20:27-38. How can you be open to the ways God will answer your questions in unexpected ways?
Respond by posting a prayer.
I join many of those who will pray for you as you seek to discern what you are called to be at this moment. May God grant you the courage to fulfill that calling. May we all open our eyes and see the misery, open our ears and hear the cries of God’s people, and, like God through the Lord Jesus Christ, be incarnate amongst them.”
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