A Letter or Sermon from Peter
Fr. Lawrence Jagdfeld, O.F.M., Administrator
We find ourselves back in Ordinary Time, named for the fact that we count the Sundays of this "season" with ordinal numbers (8th, 9th, 10th, etc.). As we begin this 8th week of Ordinary Time, we pick up the First Letter of St. Peter. In order to read this "letter" with some understanding, we have to remember that it really is not a letter at all; it is, rather, a baptismal homily or sermon given by Peter and recorded by one of his scribe-secretaries, perhaps Silvanus who is mentioned in chapter five of this letter. Consequently, it helps to read this letter and imagine that you are hearing it preached from a pulpit.
Because of its baptismal character, it contains many moral imperatives, imperatives that are enjoined on the baptized by virtue of the fact that they are entering into a new form of life. They are now believers, followers and disciples of, members of the Lord Jesus.
There are several references in this letter to the fact that part of the vocation of the Christian is to "suffer" with the crucified Savior. The letter appears to have been written shortly before Peter's own martyrdom in Rome. The letter is addresses to the communities of Asia Minor, the communities evangelized by Paul, who was also martyred in Rome at the same time. Perhaps this letter or sermon was an effort on the part of Peter to prepare the Christian communities for the first of what would be many persecutions at the hands of the great Babylon, a code word which refers directly to Rome.
Because of the baptismal character of the letter, it is used on the Sundays of the Easter Season in the A Cycle of the Lectionary. Coming in the daily lectionary immediately at the end of Paschaltide, it serves as a reminder to us of the great mysteries we have just celebrated.
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