Usually, our first readings come from the Old Testament. Last week, however, we heard from a book in
the New Testament in the first readings: the Letter of James. Today, we hear the beginning of the first
letter of Peter, another New Testament book. In
the Early Church, this letter was ascribed to the Apostle Peter, but most
modern scholars do not think that this is the case. This letter, written originally in Greek,
probably dates from the end of the first century or the beginning of the second
century, many years after the Apostle Peter died. It was written to a group of Christian
communities in Asia Minor in present-day Turkey. Perhaps it was written by one of Peter’s
associates after his death in the tradition of Peter, or perhaps it was written
by a learned Christian leader in the early Christian community who was outside
of the circle of Peter and his associates. No
matter what it’s origin, the first letter of Peter contains a lot of sound
moral teachings and catechetical instruction, in addition to a plea for the
followers of the way of Jesus to remain faithful in spite of persecutions and
sufferings. Our
passage of scripture today ends with the exhortation – “Be holy yourselves in
every aspect of your conduct, for it is written: “Be holy because I am holy.” What
does it mean to be holy? I saw this
quote from Protestant Minister Rick Warren of Saddleback Church in
California: “God does not want you to
become a God; he wants you to become godly – taking on his values, attitudes,
and character.” When
I was on the Camino in Spain, I spent the night in the parish where the Founder
of Opus Dei, St. Jose Maria Escriva, went to mass as a youth, the Church of
Santiago the Apostle in the city of Logroño, in the small province of La Rioja
in northeastern Spain. Father Escriva
says that “great holiness consists of carrying out the ‘little duties’ of each
moment.” Mother Teresa and Therese of Lisieux carry that message in their spirituality
as well, that holiness does not consist of aspiring to greatness, but rather in
how we live in the ordinary moments of life, how we reflect God and the values
of our faith in those moments. That
is easier said than done, right? Our
impatience, our pride, our whims, our temptations, the material values of our
world, and our anger can all get the best of us and can get us off the path to
holiness. We need to find the method that works for us
to get us back on the road to holiness, which can vary from person to person
and can vary depending upon where we are on at the moment in our journey of
faith. Lord, please lead us to be more holy and
incorporate the values of our faith in our lives.
No comments:
Post a Comment