Simon Peter, servant and apostle of Jesus Christ,
to those who have received a faith
as precious as ours ...
May Grace and Peace be yours in abundance
through the knowledge of God and Our Lord ...
Many years later the passionate fisherman from Galilee is still in awe at the newness and the marvel he found in Jesus of Nazareth, the Rabi who spoke with words of everlasting life. Peter's experience evolved from curiosity to engagement, to commitment, to discipleship, to a whole new self identity, mission, and life that he could never have dreamed of in his most wild dreams.
The Letter continues in verses 3 and 4:
His divine power has granted us everything that leads to life and devotion through the true knowledge of Him who called us by His own glory and power. For by these He has granted to us His precious and magnificent promises, so that by them you may become partakers of the divine nature.
This is Peter, the fisherman become first Pope, and what he is saying in a nutshell, what he is offering, what he is inviting others is that which he himself still hardly can fully grasp or find words to speak about. In very few words the Christian faith, the treasure he discovered, is about becoming partakers of the divine nature. Nothing less.
This blog is about our transformation into who we are called to be, partakers of the divine nature, in Christ. I will be reflecting on this core truth of our faith again and again, because it seems to me that somewhere in the twenty centuries of development of Christianity we have -if not lost completely, at least buried the essence of our life under layers of things to do and -too human- goals to achieve.
