Patient Endurance (4th Sunday of Easter)

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In this Sunday’s epistle reading, St. Peter encourages believers who are in the midst of adversity on account of their faith, encouraging them to persevere in faith despite what they are going through, in the hope that God will look upon them favourably and reward them for their patient endurance.

This reading comes right after a section where Peter talks about the necessity of submitting to the authorities that have been placed over believers for God’s sake, whether these be political rulers, or masters of slaves (1 Peter 2:13-19). Even if these authorities treat believers cruelly or unjustly, as long as they have done nothing to deserve the unjust treatment they receive, they will not lose their reward. As Christ taught in Matthew 5:12, “Blessed are you when people revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.”

Further on, Peter puts forth Christ as the supreme example of this type of patience. As the sinless Son of God, nobody was less deserving of punishment than Him. Yet, despite His total innocence, He willingly suffered without protest or desire for retribution, even going so far to pray for the forgiveness of His executioners. Peter cites Isaiah 53:9 in reference to Him, identifying Christ as the Suffering Servant whose sins provide redemption for His people.

Similarly, the last part of the reading references verse 6, which refers to the people as straying sheep: “All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned—every one—to his own way; and the LORD has laid on him the iniquity of us all.” Jesus, as the Good Shepherd, willingly lays down His life for His sheep, as He Himself states in our Gospel reading (John 10:1-10).

We should look to the Good Shepherd as our example, and strive to imitate His meekness in the face of suffering, in the hope that we will receive the prize of eternal life.

J. Luis Dizon