Anticipation of Renewal: A Reflection on the Day of the Lord
June 4, 2024 - Tuesday of the Ninth Week in Ordinary Time
2 Peter 3:12-15a, 17-18
Yesterday, we listened to a portion from the beginning of the second letter of Peter; today, we hear its conclusion. The apostle speaks about "the Day of God," when "the heavens will be set on fire and dissolved, and the heavenly bodies will melt as they burn" (2 Peter 3:12). Scientists predict that the sun will burn out in 5 billion years, but our planet will become uninhabitable in 1 billion years if we, through wars and unecological living, bring destruction upon ourselves much earlier. However, was this, what the apostle had in mind when writing about the Day of God?
Any biblical dictionary will inform us that the Day of the Lord or the Day of God refers to God's final triumph over His enemies. Saint Peter brings it into the context of his discussion about the Second Coming of Christ, which some of his contemporaries were beginning to doubt would ever happen. "Where is the promise of his coming?" they asked. And then they commented, "For ever since the fathers fell asleep, all things are continuing as they were from the beginning of creation" (2 Peter 3:4). Today, after two thousand years, we do not even ask that question. The thought of Jesus' Second Coming rarely, if ever, crosses our minds.
However, for ancient Israel, the Day of the Lord held great significance. It was the day when the Lord would manifest His power and authority to all the inhabitants of the earth. It was supposed to be the Day of God's wrath, marked by a cosmic catastrophe. According to the prophet Joel, only those who put their trust in the Lord will survive it (see Joel 3:4-5). Yet, the purpose of the Day of the Lord is not destruction but renewal. A glimpse of its aim can be seen in the story of the Flood - the sinful world is purged away, and a new world emerges (see Gen 6-8).
In the New Testament, the Day of the Lord refers to the Day of Christ. On the one hand, as Peter highlights in his letter, it is linked with the Second Coming of Christ in glory to judge both the living and the dead. But on the other hand, this Day has already dawned on Easter morning when Christ rose from the grave, defeating sin and death. In Chinese culture, the number eight is considered lucky. The Day of the Lord is the everlasting eighth day, a day that knows no end and slowly brings the grace of Christ's resurrection to the hearts of believers and the fabric of the universe.
Peter says that "We await new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness dwells" (2 Peter 3:13). Regarding this promise, the Church states that "We do not know the time for the consummation of the earth and of humanity, nor do we know how all things will be transformed". What we, however, know is "that God is preparing a new dwelling place and a new earth where justice will abide, and whose blessedness will answer and surpass all the longings for peace which spring up in the human heart (Gaudium and Spes, 39).
The Bible begins with the story of creation and ends with a vision of a new heaven and a new earth. Let us patiently await the fulfillment of that promise while caring for this earth disfigured by sin and yet remaining stunningly beautiful. Let us imagine, then, how beautiful a new heaven and earth will be, purged from all the traces of sin and death.