The Mercy of God refines us (1 Pt 1:3-9)
“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ,
who in his great mercy gave us a new birth to a living hope
through the resurrection of Jesus Christ…”
1. The early Christian converts that Peter addresses in his letter are those “Blessed… who have not seen and have believed.”
Those words also apply to us. Like them, we do not see Christ, yet we love him, and we experience an inner joy because we see our own salvation coming about.
2. Like these early Christians, we suffer “various trials” and these give us a chance to prove that we really do love Christ. One part of this proof is “to give convincing evidence” by our way of life in obedience to his commandments. Another way is to draw inspiration from the refiner of gold. When the refiner begins, he has ore that contains gold and impurities. His fire reveals the gold and burns away the dross. Similarly, when Christ begins with us, we are a mixture of virtues and vices. The “various trials” reveal and strengthen the virtues and root out the vices. Seen in this light, we can say thank you Lord for these “trials,” including that of Corona virus!
3. In his mercy, God not only stoops down to the very bottom to save us, but he also draws us up as high as we can go to make us refined children of God (cf. Doctrinal homily outline, 2020)
May the mercy of God refine and surround us always, Amen.