From: Titus 3:1-7
Respect for Lawful Authority
[1] Remind them to be submissive to rulers and authorities, to be
obedient, to be ready for any honest work, [2] to speak evil of no one,
to avoid quarreling, to be gentle, and to show perfect courtesy toward
all men.
Renewal of the Christian Life in the Holy Spirit
[3] For we ourselves were once foolish, disobedient, led astray, slaves
to various passions and pleasures, passing our days in malice and envy,
hated by men and hating one another; [4] but when the goodness and
loving kindness of God our Savior appeared, [5] he saved us, not
because of deeds done by us in righteousness, but in virtue of his own
mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewal in the Holy Spirit,
[6] which he poured out upon us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior,
[7] so that we might be justified by his grace and become heirs in hope
of eternal life.
Commentary:
1-8. In the last part of the epistle St Paul deals with the way
believers conduct themselves in society at large (vv. 1-8); he warns
Titus to see that the Church does not become a place where people argue
(vv. 9-11); and finally he gives him some little personal commissions
and messages (vv. 12-14) and ends with the usual words of farewell (v.
15).
The scheme of the first section (vv. 1-8), like the previous chapter,
is as follows: first he describes the requirements of Christian living,
specifically the attitude towards civil authority and one's
fellow-citizens (vv. 1-2); then he gives the theological reasoning
behind it (vv. 3-8): for a Christian, moral behavior is a consequence
of faith.
1-2. Respect for lawful authority (cf. Roman 13:1-7; Tim 2:2; 1 Pet 2:
13-14) was particularly difficult and meritorious in the situation in
Crete, where the local population (many of them Jews) were not at all
happy with their Roman overlords. However, the freedom of the children
of God (cf. Rom 8:21) which the Christian acquires at Baptism does not
mean he has to be opposed to existing structures: the main thing it
leads him to is personal improvement: "The acute need for radical
reforms of the structures which conceal poverty and which are
themselves forms of violence, should not let us lose sight of the fact
that the source of injustice is in the hearts of men. Therefore it is
only by making an appeal to the moral potential of the person and to
the constant need for inner conversion, that social change will be
brought about which will truly be in the service of man. For it will
only be in the measure that they collaborate freely in these necessary
changes through their own initiative and solidarity, that people,
awakened to a sense of their responsibility, will grow in humanity"
(SCDF, "Libertatis Nuntius", 11, 8).
Gentleness and courtesy are expressions of the new commandment of love;
they show that a person is spiritually mature, and they are very
effective in drawing souls closer to Christ. "To criticize, to destroy,
is not difficult; any unskilled laborer knows how to drive his pick into
the noble and finely-hewn stone of a cathedral. To construct: that is
what requires the skill of a master" ([St] J. Escriva, "The Way", 456).
3-7. The main subject of the chapter is the theological basis of social
obligations (vv. 1-2); every Christian should bear witness to salvation
history, to the change from sin to grace, and the change from an era of
slavery and error to the era of freedom and rebirth ushered in by
Christ.
The "old regime" is sketched out in a very vivid way (v. 3), showing
the effects of sin on man in his three dimensions: in relation to
himself, sin makes a person foolish, rebellious, wayward, a slave; in
respect of God, he becomes hateful in his rebellious pride; and as far
as others are concerned he becomes their enemy--"hating one another".
However, the coming of Christ has opened up a new panorama (vv. 4-7).
As elsewhere in these letters (cf. 1 Tim 3:15; Tit 2:11-14), we have
here a hymn to Christ which may well have come from primitive Christian
liturgy or from a confession of faith. It summarizes Christian teaching
on the Incarnation, the Redemption and the application of salvation to
the individual.
According to this text, the Incarnation is the revelation of God our
Savior, who makes known his goodness ("benignity", a word which often
occurs in the Old Testament and sometimes in the New: cf. Rom 2:4; 11:
22; Gal 5:22; Eph 2:7) and "loving goodness" (literally "philanthropy",
a word taken from Greek). The Redemption is referred to in Old
Testament language: "he saved us in virtue of his own mercy."
Finally, the Christian's access to salvation is something gratuitous:
without any prior merit on our part, God's mercy has sought us out (v.
5; cf. note on Rom 3:27-31); Baptism is the door to salvation, for it
is the sacrament of "regeneration and renewal" (cf. Eph 5:26); the Holy
Spirit sent by Christ (cf. Jn 14:26) makes the waters of Baptism
effective; his grace gives life to the soul and entitles it to eternal
life (cf. Gal 4:7; Rom 8:16-17). The Council of Trent specified that
"justification is not only the remission of sins, but sanctification
and renovation of the interior man through the voluntary reception of
grace and gifts whereby a man becomes just instead of unjust and a
friend instead of an enemy, that he may be an heir in the hope of life
everlasting" ("De Iustificatione", chap. 7).
The magnificent resume of faith in Christ contained in Titus 3:3-7 also
helps Christians see how to approach their work and social involvement;
the Second Vatican Council has reminded us once again that "the
promised and hoped-for restoration has already begun in Christ. It is
carried forward in the sending of the Holy Spirit and through him
continues in the Church in which, through our faith, we learn the
meaning of our earthly life, while we bring to term, with hope of
future good, the task allotted to us in the world by the Father, and so
work out our salvation" ("Lumen Gentium", 48).
Source: "The Navarre Bible: Text and Commentaries". Biblical text
taken from the Revised Standard Version and New Vulgate. Commentaries
made by members of the Faculty of Theology of the University of
Navarre, Spain. Published by Four Courts Press, Kill Lane, Blackrock,
Co. Dublin, Ireland.
Daily Mass Bump.
Chris and I went to Eugene (all day trip) WC clinic last week and it has flipped my days over.
Bed at 9pm up at 3am.
Usaully bedtime is 9am-1:30pm and 3am-6am two sleep times a day.
So this is nicely different, ran into morning people at the local store and Chris' old Catechism teacher was shocked to see a grown man. LOL
The local clerks brought up the fact that we were up and out early, however Chris looked very sleepy. : )
About six years ago, when I was still Anglican, I paid a visit to the Washington National Cathedral book store (holding my nose, of course). Amidst all the New Agey Unitarian episcopagan dreck, I found a treasure (which must have gotten by their inspectors) - St. Leo the Great's "Be Friends of God." What a find! It is one of my favorites. I couldn't figure how such a Christian book wound up in a place/diocese/denomination notorious for being a hot bed of New Agey Unitarian episcopaganism, but God certainly does have a sense of humor, as I also found a few other real Christian (albeit Anglican, but at least not New Agey Unitarian episcopagan) items during the same expedition. There was something deliciously underground and "naughty" in walking up to the cashier with St. Leo's book, and the few other Christian works I found, having the cashier turn rather pale, and ask me if I was clergy! :) Heeheehee. In contrast, the Basilica Shrine of the Immaculate Conception's book store has tons of solid and orthodox Catholic books, a treasure chest of good and edifying things. I haven't found a rad-lib-revisionist-wreckovation anything in the Shrine's book store. The contrast is stunning!
THE PING!