Whenever anyone bears the pain of unjust suffering because of consciousness of God, that is a grace. 20 But what credit is there If you are patient when you suffer for doing what is good, this is a grace before God. 21 For to this you have been called, because Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example that you should follow in his footsteps. 22 “He committed no sin, and no deceit was found in his mouth.” 23 When he was insulted, he returned no insult; when he suffered, he did not threaten; instead, he handed himself over to the one who judges justly. 24 He himself bore our sins in his body upon the cross, so that, free from sin, we might live for righteousness. By his wounds you have been healed. 25 For you had gone astray like sheep, but you have now returned to the shepherd and guardian of your souls.
St. Peter explains in this section the patient suffering that is expected of slaves (vv. 18-20) but it also applies to Christians, especially those in the early Church. Christians are called to suffer patiently for doing what is good as did Christ who, during his passion, suffered greatly (Jn. 19:1-3), “though he had done no wrong, nor was deceit found in his mouth (Is. 53:9).” This is a grace before God (v. 20). Those who are baptized into Christ (Gal. 3:27) are living a new converted life and should imitate Christ willingly sharing even in his suffering and death. The call to new life in Christ is a call from God (1 Pt. 1:15).
As the Prophet Isaiah said about the suffering servant, “It was our pain that he bore, our sufferings he endured. We thought of him as stricken, struck down by God and afflicted, but he was pierced for our sins, crushed for our iniquity. He bore the punishment that makes us whole, by his wounds we were healed. We had all gone astray like sheep, all following our own way; But the Lord laid upon him the guilt of us all (Is. 53:4-6).” The innocent lamb in whom there was no deceit, and who did not open his mouth when he suffered, loved his enemies for whom he was suffering and entrusted himself to the Father who judges justly (v. 2:23). Through his death upon the cross, which was a curse by God (Deut. 21:23), he paid the debt for our sins so that we may be justified before God and receive salvation. They had gone astray like sheep without a shepherd (Mt. 9:36) but after their conversion, they returned to the shepherd, Jesus, who is the guardian of their souls.
Almighty God, you did not spare your only begotten Son but gave him up for the salvation of all. Help us to be obedient to your commands so that through prayer and supplication, our sins may be remitted and we can receive the reward of eternal happiness in your kingdom. This we pray through Christ our Lord. Amen!
Chiu, José Enrique Aguilar, et al. The Paulist Biblical Commentary. Paulist Press, 2018.
Brown, Raymond Edward, et al. The New Jerome Biblical Commentary. Upper Saddle River, NJ, United States, Prentice Hall, 1990.
Comments