From the UCC Network - Devotional 9/14 "Wake, My Soul"

Wake, My Soul

Excerpt from 2 Peter 3:8-13 

“But do not ignore this one fact, beloved, that with the Lord one day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years are like one day.” 

Reflection by Paul Tellström 

The writer of 2 Peter reminds people living day-to-day with a sense of wonder in a time of persecution to, “Be here now.” 

“The heavens will pass away with a loud noise, and the elements will be dissolved with fire, and the earth and everything that is done on it will be disclosed.”

Driving home on the Golden State Freeway from my pastorate in Southern California, I pass Disneyland during their closing fireworks.  The top is always down on my convertible unless it is raining or cold, which is almost never.  The night sky explodes with display after display of light and color, falling in grandeur over the freeway.  I look to my right and left, hoping that the people driving all around me aren’t as distracted as I feel from the sense of wonder that appears to fall and touch me through my open roof.  Some have pulled over to the side to watch, while others slow down or slightly drift across lanes in the astonishment that has broken in through the routine of the Southern California commute.  The greens, reds and bright golds, the flashes of pattern that boom and crash down upon me elevate and fill me with awe.  Are the drivers around me, insulated as they are behind tinted glass, as filled with the spirit of this moment as I am?

Then we pass by…the fire from heaven stops…and we are plunged back into habit.  I turn up the radio to get the news.  The traffic continues, we fall into the clockwork commute that is California, and the wonder ceases; only to be replaced with the rote and routine.  The cars drive on to their scheduled destinations and my thoughts turn to my work, family and duties.

The wonder of God’s creation continues to cascade around us in tremendous displays, and we lose sight…and focus instead on the mundane, the adequate, and the acceptable.  Like the writer of 2 Peter’s audience, we should instead be reminded that the wonder of each day never ceases to be present. 

Prayer

O God, in the words of the old hymn, "Heaven and earth, and sea and air all their Maker’s praise declare.  Wake, my soul, awake and sing, to your Maker praises bring.”  Amen. 

About the Author Paul Tellström is the Senior Pastor of the Irvine United Congregational Church, UCC, in California.