In the homily on this passage for this week, our priest presented something that stuck with me and I want to expound on it to call you into this text as well. He reflected on our intentionality when we have something that we perceive as important coming up. When we have a job interview, we take all the steps necessary to get things in order. We invest ourselves in getting to know the company in and out, as far as we are able so that we can present ourselves as one fit to be an employee for that company. We invest ourselves in doing our research when we are meeting the family of a significant other to identify points of connection that we can make to begin to build strong relationships and a strong impression. How much more care should we take for the coming day in which Christ will come again to judge the living and the dead? This coming day we will see him face to face and the one in whom we have placed our hope will be revealed to us. This coming day we will be like him because we will see him, no longer in a mirror dimly, but in the fullness of glory. How should we prepare for this coming day that far overshadows any potential interview or meeting of a future in-law?
It’d be helpful to take a moment and reflect on this. What is something that you have dedicated both intentionality and seriousness to prepare for? Perhaps it was a coming presentation for work or executing a project for which you put in overtime hours to be sure that all the pieces were coming together. Perhaps it was a child’s birthday party or a wedding shower in which you toiled to bring together decorative themes and coordinate a meaningful experience and celebration. Perhaps it was an athletic competition in which you forewent the pleasures of food, rest, and even physical comfort to maximize the opportunity of participating well. When you think of this situation for you, ask yourself, what was your level of focus, dedication, and commitment to preparing for this situation? How does it compare to your level of focus, dedication, and commitment to preparing for this coming day in which Christ will be revealed and we will see Him face to face?
If there is a significant difference between these two for you, there are two important questions that you should ask yourself. The first question is, what should your work of preparation look like for this day? As we look at this text in the lectionary, in v.3 it says that those who have this hope in Him purify themselves, just as Christ Himself is pure. What lingering sin remains in your life that ought to be met with a daily, even hourly, commitment to mortification? What does it look like to mortify this sin in your life and what would your life look like if these deeds of the flesh were put to death? The second question is, why aren’t you in preparation for that coming day? Why is it easier for you to convince yourself to give yourself over to preparing for that which is passing away, and not prepare for that which is eternal? For many of us, I think it can be explained by a misplaced love, a deep affection for the things below. Our love is caught up in that which we believe we will receive from our preparation for that which is temporal.
If we are to turn our attention to preparing for the eternal, our affections must first be untangled and rightly placed. Awoken in us must be such a love for the Lord and for the grace that we have received that walking in righteousness becomes our heart’s deepest desire. Our affection for our Lord must be so strong that to find ourselves not abiding in Him for even a moment is to be met with a deep longing and pang for return. But this affection is not stirred from a mere extension of our will but a reflection of the works and mercies of the Lord in which He has made His goodness and love to us. In the general thanksgiving of the daily office, the prayer says “give us such an awareness of your mercies, that with truly thankful hearts we may show forth your praise, not only with our lips, but in our lives” and it is this awareness that will stir us to a greater love and affection for Him.
I’d encourage you to take time to meditate deeply on the grace in which you have received and the reality in which you stand. Do not let yourself be distracted by that which is designed to avert your gaze but instead dwell on that which is true, that which is honorable, that which is just, that which is pure, that which is pleasing, and that which is commendable. Let your love for the Lord grow through communion with Him in word, sacrament, and prayer so that you can turn with fervor to preparation for that day.
Now may the God of peace himself sanctify you completely, and may your whole spirit and soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.