Just as all the readings for this week are about waiting, so is the season of Advent. In this passage, readers are admonished to wait for the day when there will be a new heaven and a new earth, when the world will be fully restored and reconciled to God.
And how should we wait? We should wait with intentionality. We should strive to live peaceably. We should strive to bear the fruit of the Spirit in our lives and in our relationships. My sense is that the closer we come to enacting that reality in our lives, the closer that restoration and reconciliation becomes.
What words, actions, and attitudes in your life lead to peace? Which lead to strife? How does living in right relationship with your neighbor affect your ability to live in right relationship with God? Is it possible to live a righteous life without becoming self-righteous? How does this passage hold the tension between faith and works?
Offer an honest prayer to God about what it is you are waiting for in this Advent season.