Today, we begin reading the first epistle written by Peter. We should remember that Peter was a fisherman in Galilee in the north. He might have had exposure to Greek, probably enough for his trade as a fisherman. But it would be rather difficult for him to pen a letter such as this epistle in Greek. Of course, such argument would deny the gifts of the Holy Spirit given to the believers on the Pentecost. But such an argument is favoured by critical biblical scholars who try to build up a rational basis for Christianity. They would suggest that the speeches recorded in the Acts were in fact composed by Luke. It was impossible for Luke to record them verbertim. In order to defend the traditional position, other scholars would argue that though Peter was not the real author, he must be the authority behind the text. Though he did not write the epistle in his own hand, the contents must have been endorsed by him. Similarly, the second gospel was written by Mark. Evidences show clearly that Peter was the main source of information behind this gospel. In this sense, the gospel of Mark could also be regarded as the gospel of Peter. After mumbling so long about authorship, it is time we turned to the contents of the epistle.
We begin reading 1 Peter 1:3-9.
Among this seven verses, only once does the author identify himself with the readers. This is found in the third verse. The rest is directed to the readers.
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! By his great mercy we have been born anew to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead (1 Peter 1:3).
Therefore, all of us have been born anew to a living hope. What sort of hope is this? Peter followed up with
and to an inheritance which is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you (1 Peter 1:4).
Well, is this "inheritance in heaven" an explanation of the concept of "living hope"? Or have we been born anew into two different things: a living hope and an inheritance in heaven?
Inheritance is an Old Testament concept. A search in the RSV uncovered 200 occurrences in 169 verses. Only 16 or 10% of the verses are located in the New Testament. Half of the occurrences are found in 3 books: Numbers (34), Deuteronomy (20) and Joshua (45). The concept is best summarized as followed:
And when he had destroyed seven nations in the land of Canaan, he gave them their land as an inheritance, for about four hundred and fifty years (Acts 13:19).
Therefore, for the Jews, inheritance is a piece of land given by God. Now, Peter extends the concept to heavens above. Through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, we have been born anew in a living hope and into piece of space (land) in heaven. All this is achieved through faith. But then, what is faith?
First of all, faith enables us to go through trials and temptations (the same word in Greek).
In this you rejoice, though now for a little while you may have to suffer various trials πειρασμοῖς (1 Peter 1:6).
But what exactly is faith?
Without having seen him you love him; though you do not now see him you believe in him and rejoice with unutterable and exalted joy (1 Peter 1:8).
So for Peter, faith means, without seeing Jesus, we still believe in him and love him. This is a very balanced view. We don't just believe in him in our head, we love him in our heart. Many of us can only do it in either way. Some devote themselves superstitiously without using their common sense. Others reason all their way through without opening their hearts. Both are not to be admired, though very likely I fall into the second category.
My Advocate, You are not just the Spirit of Truth. You are also the Spirit of Love. I am afraid my head is already big enough. It is high time I tamed my heart. May Your grace descend on me to make my heart glow. Our Lady, your Immaculate Heart is the purest and there is nothing to impede the love of your heart. May we, your wailing children, take temporary refuge in your Immaculate Heart from the trials and temptations of this life. Amen.
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