DYNAMIS!
A publication of St. George Orthodox Christian Cathedral
Wichita, KS
1 Peter 1:1-2, 10-12; 2:6-10 (01/20 or 02/02) Friday, Thirty-second Week
after Pentecost
Also
(01/27 or 02/09)
Friday, Thirty-third Week after Pentecost
Searching the Scriptures: 1 Peter 1:1-2,10-12; 2:6-10, especially vs. 1:10: “Of this salvation the prophets have inquired and
searched carefully, who prophesied of the grace that would come to
you.” Saint Theophan the Recluse offers
two ‘prescriptions’ for overcoming the disease of ignorance in the
heart: “...first and most necessary is prayer by which we must implore
the Holy Spirit to pour His divine light into our hearts.” Second, we must probe “...deep for
the knowledge of [truths], in order to see clearly which of them are good and
which bad. We should judge them not
as the world and the senses do, but as they are judged by...the Holy
Spirit...the word of the divinely-inspired Scriptures, or that of the holy
fathers and teachers of the Church.”
Reading the Scriptures with the Church heals, if we search
them, praying the Spirit to bestow right judgment to us through the divine
texts. In these verses, Saint Peter
reveals three aspects of the disease of ignorance that may be healed by
searching the Scriptures: 1) restoration of true perspective, 2) correction of
ingratitude, and 3) relief of forgetfulness.
Searching the Scriptures can restore right perspective on
life. Consider this: the humanists
assure themselves by referring to a world-view devoid of God, or by
marginalizing God as an idea of people with a particular interest or bent
toward religion. Scripture, on the
other hand, approaches God as The primary Actor amidst all human
activity and history; He is the One Who offers salvation to all nations, and He
alone makes sense of all that bewilders.
How these two views differ! Saint Peter, speaking to fellow
Christians from the perspective of Scripture, calls us ‘sojourners’
or ‘pilgrims’ (vss. 1:1; 2:11), for he accepts, as fact, that the
faithful belong to a kingdom “not of this world” (Jn. 18:36). He sees us as an ‘elect’
people (1 Pt. 1:2; 2:9), brought into existence by the actions and love of God
(vs. 1:2). We never are an
accidental group of individuals who happened to come together for religious
purposes. Rejoice, Beloved of the
Lord, for we are not a chance gathering, but integrally a part of the plan by
which God is addressing all the sin, sickness, ignorance, and confusion in
history.
Christians are not the first people to whom God disclosed
His plan to restore all things to Himself; the Old Testament Prophets received
many foresights. As Saint Peter
says: they “...inquired and searched carefully...” into the plan of
God (1 Pt. 1:10). Further, by the
“...Spirit of Christ Who was in them...,” they were able to
foretell “...the sufferings of Christ and the glories that would
follow” because of His Resurrection-triumph over death (vs. 1:11). We have been taught that the revelations
to Prophets are fulfilled (vs. 1:12 and 1 Cor. 10:11).
Think of it! As
Christians, we are the first to know the ‘whole’ truth. Generations of people before us were not
privileged to know Jesus Christ.
Countless people glimpsed, through the ancient prophecies, truths now
known to us in detail. It humbles
the mind; it fills the heart with gratitude to God, for He has graciously made
us into His people with every reason to “...stand aright” and offer
“...a sacrifice of praise.”
Scripture heals ingratitude!
Finally, as Saint Peter says: we are a “...chosen
generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special
people...,” for we have been called “...out of darkness into
[God’s] marvelous light” (vs. 2:9). Saint Peter’s reminder encompasses
the historical truth that ancient Israel, who was called to be the people of
God, is now “...cast away...” by God (Rom. 11:15); and we,
“who once were not a people...are now the people of God...” (1 Pt.
2:10). So, read the Scriptures, be
healed of forgetfulness, and remember that we “...have obtained
mercy” (vs. 2:10). Come to
Holy Scripture for perspective, and discover mercy!
Illumine our hearts, O Master, with the pure light of Thy
divine knowledge.
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