NOTES for Pe1 1:3-9
3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, which according to his abundant mercy hath begotten us again unto a lively hope by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, |
4 To an inheritance incorruptible, and undefiled, and that fadeth not away, reserved in heaven for you, |
5 Who are kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. |
6 Wherein ye greatly rejoice, though now for a season, if need be, ye are in heaviness through manifold temptations: |
7 That the trial of your faith, being much more precious than of gold that perisheth, though it be tried with fire, might be found unto praise and honour and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ: |
8 Whom having not seen, ye love; in whom, though now ye see him not, yet believing, ye rejoice with joy unspeakable and full of glory: |
9 Receiving the end of your faith, even the salvation of your souls. |
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Today's reading from the Letter of the holy apostle Peter is at once a prayer of praise and a sermon. Because Peter begins his letter with prayer, this prayer becomes communal, for the addressees, reading it, also pray together with the apostle. The apostle Peter glorifies the Lord, who has given us a special inheritance: the inheritance of salvation. The remarkable feature of this inheritance is that all of us can make use of it already on earth, for we all receive the grace of God, and at the same time, although we are free to renounce it, we cannot accidentally lose it or squander it, for it is kept for us in heaven!
The apostle calls us to rejoice. One can, of course, snort and say: "It is easy for you to rejoice if you grieve 'a little'! But I grieve a lot, so I have no time for joy." Yet the sufferings that Peter and all believers endured in those times were clearly no less than ours, for Christians were persecuted almost everywhere, and the living conditions of many of them were far from comfortable. Peter says that we grieve "a little" only in comparison with the joy that awaits us in heaven and has already been given to us here, in communion with the Living Lord. This joy, "inexpressible and full of glory," is greater than any suffering of ours.
Readings for 25 May 2026
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