Today’s Scripture lesson offers us a glimpse into what Peter was thinking when he knew that his death was imminent. Like John Wesley, Peter intended to praise his maker for as long as he was alive. There is a notation in Wesley’s journal recorded on March 2^nd, 1791, written by “one who was present” that records his last words. In his final hours, Wesley sang a hymn:

I’ll praise my Maker while I’ve breath, 

And when my voice is lost in death, 

Praise shall employ my nobler pow’rs; 

My days of praise shall ne’er be past, 

While life, and thought, and being last, 

Or immortality endures.

And at the end, Wesley proclaimed these hopeful words: “The best of all, God is with us.” Amen, Brother John! Amen. 

Here is what was on Peter’s mind in his last days on earth:

2 Peter 1:12-21

¹² So I’ll keep reminding you about these things, although you already know them and stand secure in the truth you have. ¹³ I think it’s right that I keep stirring up your memory, as long as I’m alive. ¹⁴ After all, our Lord Jesus Christ has shown me that I am about to depart from this life. ¹⁵ I’m eager for you always to remember these things after my death.

¹⁶ We didn’t repeat crafty myths when we told you about the powerful coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. Quite the contrary, we witnessed his majesty with our own eyes. ¹⁷ He received honor and glory from God the Father when a voice came to him from the magnificent glory, saying, “This is my dearly loved Son, with whom I am well-pleased.” 

It was going to be up to the people to carry the mission of the church forward. Peter’s message focused on reminding his followers about the words of his testimony. He was an eye-witness to many of the things that Jesus said and did, and he sought to stir their memory of all of the truths he had passed along to them so that they could pass it along to others.

It was important that the Apostolic teachings continued as the apostles died out. Their firsthand, eye-witness accounts were central to the traditions of the church and needed to be passed from generation to generation. We base our faith on these truths and our hope for the future that these traditions promise informs the choices we make today. Peter understood that congregations need to be systematically informed of their heritage. 

 ¹⁸ We ourselves heard this voice from heaven while we were with him on the holy mountain. ¹⁹ In addition, we have a most reliable prophetic word, and you would do well to pay attention to it, just as you would to a lamp shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts.²⁰ Most important, you must know that no prophecy of scripture represents the prophet’s own understanding of things, ²¹ because no prophecy ever came by human will. Instead, men and women led by the Holy Spirit spoke from God.

We hear an echo of Wesley’s thinking in what Peter was saying. Scripture is the foundation of everything we say and do, so the Old Testament prophecies give us that direction. Tradition guides our faith and preserves our understanding of God’s activity through the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ, so passing that along is vital. Peter used his own Experience of the transfiguration to give his listeners a vision of the nature of Christ. Thus it stands to Reason that the church would logically accept the charge to bring the Apostolic teachings forward and make them primary to the mission of the church.

All of this is especially important to us today in this post-Christian world where the assumptions and social values are increasingly non-Christian in popular culture and mass media. Our struggle today is against the pervasive secularism that teaches our children that God, Jesus, and the church are irrelevant and ineffective. It is important that Scripture, tradition, experience, and reason continue to be a conscious part of our lives.

This is a serious challenge for today’s church and today’s parents. Are you raising your children and your grandchildren in the faith? Do they know their Bible stories? Can they pray? Do they understand what your denomination teaches about God?

It’s never too late to start until it is. Best get at it.

Time is Running Out