1 Peter 1:10-16 / Mark 10:28-31
We know that God is loving and compassionate and merciful, and He will always bless us and provide for our needs.
Yes, we know that, and yet do we really believe in it?
When the sun is shining on us, we walk confidently and happily in the brightness of the light.
Yet when darkness envelops us, even our shadow seems to desert us, and we begin to wonder where God is.
We begin to ask serious faith questions like "Why is this happening to me?" and "When will this dark period of my life be over?"
Why things happen in our life, especially negative and unhappy things, that will be revealed to us in the course of time, but it will happen only in the appointed time, meaning, in God's time.
As we heard in the 1st reading, the prophets of old longed to find out the time of the coming of the Saviour and in what circumstances all that was to be expected. Even the angels long to catch a glimpse of those things.
But it was only at the appointed time that the Saviour came and the prophesies fell into place.
As for ourselves, we might ask like Peter did in the gospel, "What about us?"
Jesus would only say that there will be " persecution" but there will also be an eternal reward.
As we take hold of the promise of Jesus, let us also adhere to the instructions given in the 1st reading: Free your minds of encumbrances; control them, and put your trust in the grace that will be given to you. Be holy in all you do, since it is the Holy One who has called you to be holy just as He is holy.