It happens that people discussing a certain issue may not agree on one point or another.
Then, one person may say with conviction: “It’s a question of… perspective!”
This expression came to my mind as I read the 2nd reading of today’s celebration (2 Peter 3:8-14).
The apostle Peter writing to the first Christians tells them:
“With the Lord a day is like a thousand years,
and a thousand years are like a day”.
The words are clear, but we may need some time to realize what they mean.
The saying itself is not obscure, but our minds may not find it easy to grasp fully what it involves.
We may need some… adjustment – adjustment to God’s perspective!
His way of appraising time, yes, but more still appraising reality.
His way of considering life and how it unfolds, and what it allows us to become…
The period of Advent is described as a period of waiting.
It may be the ideal time for us to adjust ourselves to God’s measurements of –
what is real,
what has meaning,
what human experience is about,
what is our destiny… in this life and… the life after this…
The apostle Peter reminds the first Christians:
“The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness.
Instead, he is patient with you…”
Perhaps we need to learn to be patient also…
Patient with life’s unfolding – disturbing situations, shocking events, unfulfilled expectations…
Patient with ourselves – our limitations, our failures and failings…
Patient also… with God! Yes, for we know him so little… and he is so patient with us!
Note: Another text is available on a different theme, in French, at: https://image-i-nations.com/2e-dimanche-de-lavent-annee-b-2023-2024/
Source: Image: Scripture Images