St. Boniface
Fr. Philip Neri Powell, OP
9th Provincial
Chapter, Navasota, TX
Brothers,
who or what are we
waiting on? Who or what are you
waiting on? One way of answering this question goes something like
this: “I'm waiting on Popeye's to reintroduce its all-you-can-eat
Spicy Fried Chicken Buffet.” This sort of answer is all about what
I'm wanting and waiting on for the Here and Now. You might say
instead, “I'm waiting on funding for my ministry project, or a
medical breakthrough for my mom, or for my stingy prior to give me
permission to replace my 2011 laptop.” We want and wait on things
for the Here and Now. Nothing wrong with that. But if Peter is right,
we also want and wait on more than just what we think we need Right
Now. He writes, “. . .we await new heavens and a new earth. . .”
We await something and Someone greater than ourselves, a time, a
place. . .a person “where righteousness dwells.” How does this
sort of wanting and waiting move us day-to-day? How does this sort of
wanting and waiting move us during this chapter? Are we thinking and
deciding in four year increments? Or, are we “waiting [on] and
hasten[ing] the coming of the day of God”?
Now,
given what Peter says about the Day of God we might not be all that
eager to hasten its arrival – “the heavens will be dissolved in
flames and the elements melted by fire.” That might interfere with
any plans Popeye's has on expanding their menu! Even more so, it sets
our own plans for the Province within an “End Times” context.
This does not mean that everything we do and say here is useless.
Quite the opposite! It means that everything we do and say here takes
on the flavor of that most Christian spice – the eschaton,
our final goal as men vowed to preach and teach the Good News of
Jesus Christ. When Peter says that we as Christians “await new
heavens and a new earth” he means that while we live and move and
have our being right here and right now, we also look toward a
horizon sharply drawn by the Father's promise of eternal life. Christ
has fulfilled that promise for
us. Now it's our turn
– daily, hourly, in everything we say and do in this chapter –
it's our turn to live out that promise. Yes, we see with our own eyes
and hear with our own ears. . .BUT we discern and come to understand
with the mind of Christ. Therefore, Peter encourages us “to grow in
grace and in the knowledge of our Lord and savior Jesus Christ.”
Follow HancAquam or Subscribe ----->
