On Monday within the Octave of Easter our Church invites us to first read and reflect on a passage from the beginning of the first letter of Saint Peter (1;1-21) entitled "Greetings and thanksgiving". Our treasure, which follows, is from an Easter homily by Saint Melito of Sardis.
Sardis was the capital of the Kingdom of Lydia (in modern-day Turkey), which continued as an important trade, administrative, and cultural center for over 2000 years. Saint Melito of Sardis was a late second-century bishop of Sardis near Smyrna in western Anatolia, and who held a foremost place among the early Christian bishops in Asia due to his personal influence and literary works, most of which have been lost. His rediscovered theological treaties on Easter, "The Lord's Passion ", verifies his reputation as a notable early Christian spokesperson.
Saint Melito is best known for his Easter homily On Pascha wherein he explains that Christ is the true Paschal Lamb whose death and resurrection accomplish the definitive victory over sin, death, and evil, bringing salvation to humanity.
He presents this with striking clarity and poetic force:
In essence, Melito's message is that the Paschal Mystery is the turning point of all history: Christ, by dying and rising, destroys death and restores life to us.
The first letter of Saint Peter begins with an address by Peter to Christian communities located in five provinces of Asia Minor, including areas evangelized by Paul. Christians there are encouraged to remain faithful to their standards of belief and conduct despite threats of persecution. Numerous allusions in the letter suggest that the churches addressed were largely of Gentile composition, though considerable use is made of the Old Testament.
The central teaching of the First Letter of Saint Peter is that Christians, as "sojourners and exiles" in the world, are called to live in steadfast hope, holiness, and faithful endurance amid suffering by keeping their eyes fixed on the saving work of Jesus Christ.
Saint Peter encourages believers who are experiencing trials and persecution to remain faithful, because suffering for Christ is not meaningless but shares in Christ's own paschal suffering and leads to glory. The letter emphasizes a new identity rooted in baptism: Christians are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, and a holy nation called to proclaim God's mercy through lives of moral integrity, mutual love, and humble submission to God's will.
