A Reflection for Tuesday, December 10, 2024 by Rev. Corenna Boucher Hoyt
Lectionary reading for 12/10/2024: Psalm 126; Isaiah 19:18-25; 2 Peter 1:2-15
Selected passage for reflection: 2 Peter 1:2-15
Read
2 Peter 1:2-15 NRSVUE
2 May grace and peace be yours in abundance in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord.
3 His divine power has given us everything needed for life and godliness, through the knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and excellence. 4 Thus he has given us, through these things, his precious and very great promises, so that through them you may escape from the corruption that is in the world because of lust and may become participants of the divine nature. 5 For this very reason, you must make every effort to support your faith with excellence, and excellence with knowledge, 6 and knowledge with self-control, and self-control with endurance, and endurance with godliness, 7 and godliness with mutual affection, and mutual affection with love. 8 For if these things are yours and are increasing among you, they keep you from being ineffective and unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. 9 For anyone who lacks these things is blind, suffering from eye disease, forgetful of the cleansing of past sins. 10 Therefore, brothers and sisters, be all the more eager to confirm your call and election, for if you do this, you will never stumble. 11 For in this way, entry into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ will be richly provided for you.
12 Therefore I intend to keep on reminding you of these things, though you know them already and are established in the truth that has come to you. 13 I think it right, as long as I am in this body, to refresh your memory, 14 since I know that my death will come soon, as indeed our Lord Jesus Christ has made clear to me. 15 And I will make every effort so that after my departure you may be able at any time to recall these things.
Reflect
One of the things my first ministry mentor taught me is that it’s OK, even necessary, to cry. Our tear ducts are (at least one of) our God-given pressure release valves. Because of this, it is common for me to be teary during worship. Despite the commonality of this, one time as I was navigating a crisis and my eyes filled with tears during worship, a worship leader sent me a note after church that said, “I wanted to reach out to you today as I saw tears in your eyes at service today. I just wanted to let you know that you will be in my prayers tonight. Sending you much love!!!” Of the dozens, maybe hundreds, of people I interacted with that month, this one person, who only knew me in passing, noticed that I was not OK. I want to be like her! I want to be a person who is in touch with what God is doing and the things going on with the people around me, able to notice things others don’t see, and acting in mutual affection, love and effectiveness.
Growing up 2 Peter 1: 5-7 was often quoted to me, and I started to believe that how I became a person of God was by my own efforts to achieve goodness, knowledge, self-control etc. When I failed at one, all progress was lost. In this way, I was engaged in a constant revolving effort to achieve love and effectiveness. This worship leader modeled something different, something the entirety of this passage shows us.
Reading a Scripture repeatedly, emphasizing a different word lends insight. Read verse 3, “HIS divine power has given us everything we need for a godly life…” Friends, it is by God’s power, not by your own! You do not have to muster the power or fortitude to obtain goodness or knowledge or any other godly attribute.
“His DIVINE power…” This power is not human, it is beyond the scope of our imagination. On those days that the ability to get through one more hour is beyond comprehension, on the days we have no vision for what goodness or perseverance could possibly look like, it is DIVINE power that makes the next step possible.
“His divine power HAS given us…” ‘Has” is such a small and common verb, but it stopped me in my tracks. It’s done! You already have everything you need. You don’t earn or find or create what you need, it is right now being poured into you, often in places and ways you have yet to see. As tears filled my eyes in worship that morning, this was beyond my ability to conceive of, yet this deeper, unseen truth carried me through.
And still, my heart cries, “But how?!” How is it that I use this power? God does not leave us to wonder but shows us the next good step toward everything we need. “THROUGH our knowledge of him” (v3).
Today, the question this begs for me is, “How am I?” How am I developing my knowledge of God? Praying? Listening? Learning? This verse isn’t a slogan for stickers to help us feel better when times are rough. It is inviting us to take action now in preparation for those days when the tears come unbidden and the path ahead is blurred beyond recognition.
Respond
Take some time to day to read verses 3-4 repeatedly emphasizing a different word each time, considering what God is revealing to you. (Do not skip the seemingly inconsequential words.)
It is God’s “very great and precious PROMISES” through which we “may PARTICIPATE” (v. 4) in God’s divine nature. What promises of God are meaningful to you? What are those things that bring you life? Where do you most profoundly experience God? Create a plan to include these things in your life regularly as you grow in your knowledge of God.
Rest
Provider God, it may take time, a lot of time, to attune our lives to all you have already given us, and it will look different for each of us. Meet us as we walk in nature, listen to music, pray with art, read Scripture; meet us in short breath prayers and in our long diatribes. Attune our hearts to you with the assurance that you have given us everything we need so that we may engage in mutual affection and love in fruitful, reconciling ways as this worship leader so beautifully embodied. Amen.
About the Author
Rev. Corenna Boucher Hoyt is a pastor living in Smithfield, RI where she participates with her two teenage sons in outdoor activities and martial arts. With a life-long passion for justice, reconciliation, restoration and healing, she has served in a variety of vocational ministries, and specializes in empowering people through speaking, building community and teams, coaching, as well as equipping and visioneering ministries. https://www.linkedin.com/in/corenna-hoyt-18278973/
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