Our Venerable Father Boucolus, Bishop of Smyrna; The Holy Hieromartyr Sylvanus, Bishop of Emessa and those with him.
Post-feast of the Encounter.
1 Peter 4:12-5:5; Mark 12:38-44.
Read 1 Peter 4:12-5:5
Peter instructs the early Christians not to let their suffering be the result of sinful behaviours but rather come as a consequence of following Christ. The sufferings we endure for the sake of Christ prove us and should not come as a surprise (1 Pet. 4:12). In the Old Testament, we encounter the story of Job who suddenly came to endure horrific tragedy and suffering. In all that happened to him, he never cursed God. Job acknowledged God’s power and the limitations of human understanding (see Job 42:1-3). St. Paul reminds us: “Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? . . . For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we shall certainly be united with him in a resurrection like his” (Rom. 6:3, 5). As baptized Christians, we share in Christ’s death and resurrection. However, we also become sharers of Christ’s sufferings. In today’s reading, Peter tells us to “rejoice in so far as you share Christ’s sufferings, that you may also rejoice and be glad when his glory is revealed” (1 Pet. 4:13). After Christ’s sufferings and death, we know His Resurrection came about. We are waiting for when Christ’s glory shall be revealed in its fullness.