The Second Sunday of Easter (NTA)

1 Peter 1:1-9

Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ,

To those who are elect exiles of the Dispersion in Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia, ² according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, in the sanctification of the Spirit, for obedience to Jesus Christ and for sprinkling with his blood:

May grace and peace be multiplied to you.

³ Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, ⁴ to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you, ⁵ who by God’s power are being guarded through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. ⁶ In this you rejoice, though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been grieved by various trials, ⁷ so that the tested genuineness of your faith—more precious than gold that perishes though it is tested by fire—may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ. ⁸ Though you have not seen him, you love him. Though you do not now see him, you believe in him and rejoice with joy that is inexpressible and filled with glory, ⁹ obtaining the outcome of your faith, the salvation of your souls.

Have you seen Jesus? Where is he? What has happened to him? One might even asked, where is the line to see Jesus? Saint Peter has seen Jesus. Saint Peter knows the truth of which he confesses. He even saw as Jesus spoke so boldly to Thomas. But he knows that he is writing to people who have not seen, nor in our case can track down someone who has seen.

The old saying is, Seeing is believing! But our faith is not in things that we have seen but things that are unseen. Believe in Jesus Christ who is now risen from the dead. He has died for your sins. But we have been taught throw many tricks over the years that we can not always trust our eyes. We can not trust our ears. We can not even trust the word of a stranger. It is difficult to believe in something without proof.

St Peter would give you those who are believers in something unseen. These people, unknown to us, believe and love someone in some sense they do not know. It is easy for people to say they have a personal relationship with Jesus, but they have not seen him, nor conversed with him. 

Is this why you should believe? No, the reason we believe is because we have faith in the promise of God to forgive sins, and redeem us from our wickedness. Christ who is risen will also fully reveal the new creation, in your faith and Christ's life.