Reading of the Word of God

Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia

This is the Gospel of the poor,
liberation for the imprisoned,
sight for the blind,
freedom for the oppressed.

Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia

2 Peter 3,11-15.17-18

Since everything is coming to an end like this, what holy and saintly lives you should be living while you wait for the Day of God to come, and try to hasten its coming: on that Day the sky will dissolve in flames and the elements melt in the heat. What we are waiting for, relying on his promises, is the new heavens and new earth, where uprightness will be at home. So then, my dear friends, while you are waiting, do your best to live blameless and unsullied lives so that he will find you at peace. Think of our Lord's patience as your opportunity to be saved; our brother Paul, who is so dear to us, told you this when he wrote to you with the wisdom that he was given. Since you have been forewarned about this, my dear friends, be careful that you do not come to the point of losing the firm ground that you are standing on, carried away by the errors of unprincipled people. Instead, continue to grow in the grace and in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. To him be glory, in time and eternity. Amen.

Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia

The Son of Man came to serve,
whoever wants to be great
should become servant of all.

Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia

There were those who doubted because Christ's return was delayed. The apostle reminds them that God measures time differently. Peter writes: "With the Lord one day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years are like one day." The apostle is saying that for each Christian generation the end times are the ones they are living. In fact, each believer lives his or her own end times, and is called to live them with the responsibility required of every disciple of the Gospel. This is why the apostle adds: "The Lord is not slow about his promise." Indeed, whoever welcomes Jesus' Gospel in his or her heart already lives the end times, that is as part of the family of those saved by the Lord who was risen from the death precisely for our salvation. We know that our final passage--death--will come to all, and will come "like a thief." This is why Peter calls everyone to keep in mind God's judgement and to conform our lives to the will of the Lord. It is through this life of the Gospel that Christians slow down evil works and speed up the coming of the kingdom. By participating in the Liturgy, living in fraternal communion, serving the poor with love and urging for universal solidarity, believers do not just foresee and wait for "a new heavens and a new earth" of which Revelation speaks, they live it already now. The apostle invites us to not live in a disordered way, as if the end of time were always far away. The time of the kingdom's entrance has already begun. This is why the apostle calls on Christians to grow in love and knowledge of the Lord Jesus. Because when we will see his face, he will find us, "at peace, without spot or blemish."