For it is commendable if a man bears up under the pain of unjust suffering because he is conscious of God. But how is it to your credit if you receive a beating for doing wrong and endure it? But if you suffer for doing good and you endure it, this is commendable before God. (1Pe 2:19-20 NIV)

If I speak of the pilgrims patience, then I do that being conscious that this virtue is not mentioned explicitly by St. Peter in this context. However it is very well understood throughout. If one considers a faithful conduct of Christians among the pagans which is supposed to be God pleasing then this conduct would naturally include patience too. If the Christians are to obey human ordinances for God’s sake so that they would thus silence the false accusations of their adversaries, then this would only be possible with a considerable amount of patience.

The necessity of patience becomes most clear in the demands set for slaves. “But if you suffer for doing good and you endure it, this is commendable before God.” Here suffering is addressed – more than patience – yet the one goes hand in hand with the other. Can you suffer without being patient? I doubt it. In this enduring suffering patience is included. That is why I think that patience summarizes our epistle quite well. Patience crowns all suffering and enduring – and is a vital prerequisite for the life of pilgrims.

You, o Lord, grant strength to your people – as you especially empower the weak to endure suffering patiently. Grant me a rich measure of your pure, good and quiet Spirit, so that I can bear what needs to be borne when and where you demand it. In peaceful rest, but also in stormy seas your will be done. You can grant rest in peace and quite, but you can also sustain and carry us safely through the most tempestuous times and ages.  Grant that I find sure hold and anchor in you – my Lord and my God. (Karl Rudolf Hagenbach, 1801-1874)

This is a rather free translation of Wilhelm Löhe’s devotion for Thursday after the third Sunday after Easter: Jubilate. It is found on Pg. 184 in Lob sei Dir ewig, o Jesu!   (Eternal Praise to you o Jesus!) edited by A. Schuster and published in the Freimund Verlag, Neuendettelsau 1949.