Readings for Lent and Easter

Christian Suffering

¹² Dear friends, don’t be surprised when the fiery ordeal^[a] comes among you to test you as if something unusual were happening to you.^{(A) 13} Instead, rejoice as you share in the sufferings of the Messiah,^(B) so that you may also rejoice with great joy at the revelation^(C) of His glory. ¹⁴ If you are ridiculed for the name of Christ,^(D) you are blessed, because the Spirit^(E) of glory and of God rests on you.^{[b] 15} None of you, however, should suffer as a murderer, a thief, an evildoer, or a meddler.^{[c] 16} But if anyone suffers as a “Christian,” he should not be ashamed but should glorify God in having that name.