Ad Majorem Dei Gloriam (To the Greater Glory of God)
First Reading:
From: Acts 3:13-15, 17-19
Peter's Address in the Temple
------------------------------------
[13] The God of Abraham and of Isaac and of Jacob, the God of our fathers, glorified His servant Jesus, whom you delivered up and denied in the presence of Pilate, when he had decided to release Him. [14] But you denied the Holy and Righteous One, and asked for a murderer to be granted to you, [15] and killed the Author of Life, whom God raised from the dead. To this we are witnesses. [16] And His name, by faith in His name, has made this man strong whom you see and know; and the faith which is through Jesus has given the man this perfect health in the presence of you all.
[17] "And now, brethren, I know that you acted in ignorance as did also your rulers. [18] But what God foretold by the mouth of all the prophets, that His Christ should suffer, He thus fulfilled. [19] Repent therefore, and turn again, that your sins may be blotted out, that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord.
*********************************************************************************
Commentary:
13. "Servant": the original Greek word ("pais") is the equivalent of the Latin "puer" (slave, servant) and "filius" (son). By using this word St. Peter must have in mind Isaiah's prophecy about the Servant of Yahweh: "Behold, My servant shall prosper, He shall be exalted and lifted up, and shall be very high. As many were astonished at Him--His appearance was so marred, beyond human semblance, and His form beyond that of the sons of men--so shall He startle many nations" (52:13-15).
Peter identifies Jesus with the Servant of Yahweh, who, because He was a man of suffering and sorrow, the Jews did not identify with the future Messiah. That Messiah, Jesus Christ, combines in His person suffering and victory.
14. St. Peter, referring to Jesus, uses terms which Jews can readily understand in a messianic sense. The expression "the Holy One of God" was already used of Jesus as referring to the Messiah in Mark 1:24 and Luke 4:34. It is reminiscent of Old Testament language.
The "Righteous One" also refers to the Messiah, whom the prophets described as a model and achiever of righteousness (cf. Acts 7:52). "Holy", "righteous" and "just" all have similar meaning.
15. When St. Peter reminds his listeners about their choice of a murderer (Barabbas) in place of Jesus, the Author of Life, we might usefully consider that he was referring not only to physical life, but also to spiritual life, the life of grace. Every time a person sins--sin means the death of the soul -- this same choice is being made again. "It was He who created man in the beginning, and He left him in the power of his own inclination. If you will, you can keep the commandments, and to act faithfully is a matter of your own choice. He has placed before you fire and water: stretch out your hand for whichever you wish. Before a man are life and death, and which he chooses will be given to him" (Sirach 15:14-18).
16. The original text, structured in a very Jewish way, is difficult to understand. One reason for this is the use of the word "name" instead of simply identifying who the person is. In this passage "name" means the same as "Jesus". Thus the verse can be interpreted in this way: through faith in Jesus, the man lame from birth, whom they know and have seen, has been cured; it is Jesus Himself who has worked this complete and instantaneous cure.
17-18. The Jewish people acted in ignorance, St. Peter says. Indeed, when He was on the cross Jesus had prayed, "Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do" (Luke 23:34). The people did not know that Jesus was the Christ, the Son of God. They let themselves be influenced by their priests. These, who were familiar with the Scriptures, should have recognized Him.
God's pardon is offered to one and all. St. Peter "tells them that Christ's death was a consequence of God's will and decree. [...] You can see how incomprehensible and profound God's design is. It was not just one but all the prophets who foretold this mystery. Yet although the Jews had been, without knowing it, the cause of Jesus' death, that death had been determined by the wisdom and will of God, who used the malice of the Jews to fulfill His designs. The Apostle does not say, "Although the prophets foretold this death and you acted out of ignorance, do not think you are entirely free from blame"; Peter speaks to them gently: 'Repent and turn again.' To what end? 'That your sins may be blotted out'. Not only your murder but all the stains on your souls" (Chrysostom, "Hom. on Acts", 9).
The Second Vatican Council tells us how Christians should treat Jewish people and those who follow other non-Christian religions--with respect and also a prudent zeal to attract them to the faith. "Even though the Jewish authorities and those who followed their lead pressed for the death of Christ (cf. John 19:6), neither all the Jews indiscriminately at that time, nor Jews today, can be charged with the crimes committed during His Passion. It is true that the Church is the new people of God, yet the Jews should not be spoken of as rejected or accursed. [...] Jews for the most part did not accept the Gospel; on the contrary, many opposed the spreading of it (cf. Romans 11:28-29). Even so, the Apostle Paul maintains that the Jews remain very dear to God, for the sake of the Patriarchs, since God does not take back the gifts He bestowed or the choice He made" (Vatican II, "Nostra Aetate", 4). We must not forget this special position of the Jewish people (cf. Romans 9:4-5) and the fact that from them came Jesus as far as His human lineage was concerned, and His Mother, the Blessed Virgin Mary, and the Apostles—the foundation, the pillars of the Church--and many of the first disciples who proclaimed Christ's Gospel to the world.
Moved by charity, the Church prays to our Lord for the spiritual conversion of the Jewish people; "Christ, God and man, who is the Lord of David and his children, we beseech You that in keeping with the prophecies and promises, Israel should recognize You as Messiah" ("Liturgy of the Hours", Morning Prayer, 31 December).
19. One result of sorrow for sin is a desire to make up for the damage done. On the day of Pentecost many Jews were moved by grace to ask the Apostles what they should do to make atonement. Here also St. Peter encourages them to change their lives and turn to God. This repentance or conversion which Peter preaches is the same message as marked the initial proclamation of the Kingdom (cf. Mark 1:15; 13:1-4). "This means a change of outlook, and it applies to the state of sinful man, who needs to change his ways and turn to God, desirous of breaking away from his sins and repenting and calling on God's mercy" (Pope Paul VI, "Homily", 24 February 1971).
On another occasion [Pope] Paul VI explained that the word "conversion" can be translated normally as "change of heart". "We are called to this change and it will make us see many things. The first has to do with interior analysis of our soul [...]: we should examine ourselves as to what is the main direction our life is taking, what attitude is usually to the fore in the way we think and act, what is our reason of being. [...] Is our rudder fixed so as to bring us exactly to our goal or does its direction need perhaps to be changed? [...] By examining ourselves in this way [...] we will discover sins, or at least weaknesses, which call for penance and profound reform" (Pope Paul VI, "General Audience", 21 March 1973).
From: 1 John 2:1-5a
-----------------------------
[1] My little children, I am writing this to you so that you may not sin; but if any one does sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous; [2] and he is the expiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the sins of the whole world.
[3] And by this we may be sure that we know him, if we keep his commandments. [4] He who says "I know him" but disobeys his commandments is a liar, and the truth is not in him; [5a] but whoever keeps his word, in him truly love for God is perfected.
***********************************************************************
Commentary:
1-2. In order to make sure that no one makes a wrong appeal to divine mercy so as to justify their continuing to sin, St John exhorts all to avoid sin. It is one thing to acknowledge that we are sinners and to be conscious of our frailty- it is a very different matter to become completely passive or pessimistic, as if it were not possible to avoid offending God. "Jesus understands our weakness and draws us to himself on an inclined plane," St. Josemaria Escriva explains.
"He wants us to make an effort to climb a little each day. He seeks us out, just as he did the disciples of Emmaus, whom he went out to meet. He sought Thomas, showed himself to him and made him touch with his fingers the open wounds in his hands and side. Jesus Christ is always waiting for us to return to him; he knows our weakness" ("Christ Is Passing By", 75).
"My little children": it is difficult to translate this and other similar expressions in St John, charged as they are with tenderness and a sense of pastoral responsibility. They express a deep, strong love, like that of Jesus at the Last Supper (cf. Jn 13:33). This same Greek term appears six more times in this letter (2:12, 28; 3:7, 18; 4:4; 5:21); at other times he uses words equivalent to our "my little ones" (cf. 2:14, 18) or "dearly beloved" (2:7; 3:2, 21; 4:1, 7, 11; 3 Jn 2, 5, 11). All these expressions reflect how very close St John was to the faithful.
"We have an advocate with the Father": Jesus Christ, who is the only Mediator (cf. 1 Tim 2:5), intercedes for us. He, who has died for our sins (he is "the expiation"), presents his infinite merits to God the Father, by virtue of which the Father pardons us always. The Holy Spirit is also called Paraclete or Advocate insofar as he accompanies, consoles and guides each Christian, and the whole Church, on its earthly pilgrimage (cf. note on Jn 14:16-17).
"St John the Apostle exhorts us to avoid sin", St Alphonsus says, "but because he is afraid we will lose heart when we remember our past faults, he encourages us to hope for forgiveness provided we are firmly resolved not to fall again; he tells us that we have to put our affairs in order with Christ, who died not only to forgive us but also (after dying) to become our advocate with the heavenly father" ("Reflections on the Passion", chap. 9, 2).
3-6. "By this we may be sure": a phrase that occurs often in this letter (cf., e.g., 2:5, 18; 3:19, 24), usually to preface clear criteria for distinguishing doctrinal and moral truth from error. In this instance, it has to do with keeping the commandments being a sign of true knowledge of God.
For St John, knowing God is not a merely intellectual exercise nor does he mean that the immensity of God can be grasped by man's limited understanding. It refers to something much simpler and more important: knowing God means being united to him by faith and love--by grace. If this letter puts so much emphasis on knowing God (cf., e.g., 2:14; 3:1; 4:6-8; 5:20) or knowing Jesus Christ (cf. 2:13-14; 3:6), it may be because the heretics (particularly the Gnostics) were boasting of having attained special knowledge of God, superior to that of ordinary faithful. And so the Apostle describes what true knowledge of God consists in, using expressions which complement one another--knowing him (v. 4); in him who knows God "truly love for God is perfected" (v. 5); abiding in him (v. 6).
"Keeping his commandments" (vv. 3 and 4), "Keeping his word" (v. 5),"walking in the same way in which he walked" (v. 6): keeping the commandments is absolutely necessary, because there is no room for faith without works (cf. 1 Jn 3:17-18; Jas 2:14ff; Gal 5:6). Similarly, one must keep the word of God, that is, accept all revelation docilely (an idea found very often in John: cf., e.g., Jn 5:38; 8:31, 51; 1 Jn 2:14). But, above all, Christians must identify their life with Christ's; St Prosper comments: "Walk as he walked: does that not mean giving up the comforts he gave up, not being afraid of the kind of trials he bore, teaching what he taught [...], persevering in helping even those who show no appreciation, praying for one's enemies, being kind to evildoers, serenely tolerating the proud?" ("De Vita Contemplativa", 2, 21).