From: 1 Peter 1:10-16
Praise and Thanksgiving to God (Continuation)
[10] The prophets who prophesied of the grace that was to be yours
searched and inquired about this salvation; [11] they inquired what
person or time was indicated by the Spirit of Christ within them when
predicting the sufferings of Christ and the subsequent glory. [12] It was
revealed to them that they were serving not themselves but you, in the
things which have now been announced to you by those who preached the
good news to you through the Holy Spirit sent from heaven, things into
which angels long to look.
Christians Are Called To Be Saints
[13] Therefore gird up your minds, be sober, set your hope fully upon the
grace that is coming to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ. [14] As
obedient children, do not be conformed to the passions of your former
ignorance, [15] but as he who called you is holy, be holy yourselves in
all your conduct; [16] since it is written, "You shall be holy, for I am
holy."
Commentary:
10-12. These verses of thanksgiving (vv. 3-12) end with a reference to
the role of the Holy Spirit in salvation: he acted in the Old Testament
through the prophets by announcing salvation, and now, through preachers
of the Gospel, he reveals that it has come about.
The passage is a clear acknowledgment of the unity and continuity of the
Old and New Testaments: in the Old the sufferings and subsequent
glorification of Christ are proclaimed, in such a way that "what the
prophets predicted as future events," says St Thomas, "the Apostles
preached as something which had come true" ("Commentary on Eph" 2:4).
"The economy of the Old Testament was deliberately orientated to prepare
for and declare in prophecy the coming of Christ, Redeemer of all men,
and of the messianic Kingdom (cf. Lk 24:44; Jn 5:39; 1 Pet 1:10) [...].
God, the inspirer and author of the books of both Testaments, in his
wisdom has so brought it about that the New should be hidden in the Old
and that the Old should be made manifest in the New. For although Christ
founded the New Covenant in his blood (cf. Lk 22:20; 1 Cor 11:25), still
the books of the Old Testament, all of them caught up into the Gospel
message, attain and show forth their full meaning in the New Testament
(cf. Mt 5:17; Lk 24:27; Rom 16:25-26; 2 Cor 3:14-16) and in their turn,
shed light on it and explain it" (Vatican II, "Dei Verbum", 15-16).
These verses show the Holy Spirit's role as cause and guide of the
evangelizing activity of the Church. In the early days of the spread of
Christianity, as described in Acts, the action of the third Person of the
Blessed Trinity was palpable.
12. The Greek word translated at the end of this verse as "look" contains
the idea of bending over carefully in order to get a better look. This
metaphor, then, depicts the angels in heaven contemplating with joy the
mystery of salvation. St Francis de Sales, referring to this passage,
exclaims: "Now in this complacency we satiate our soul with delights in
such a manner that we do not yet cease to desire to be satiated [...].
The fruition of a thing which always contents never lessens, but is
renewed and flourishes incessantly; it is ever agreeable, ever desirable.
The perpetual contentment of heavenly lovers produces a desire
perpetually content" ("Treatise on the Love of God", 5, 3).
1:13-2:10. Having focused their attention on the sublimity of the
Christian calling, St Peter exhorts the faithful to a holiness in keeping
with it. He provides some reasons why they should strive for
holiness--the holiness of God (vv. 13-16) and the price paid for their
salvation, the blood of Christ (w. 17-21). He then goes on directly to
refer to the importance of love (vv. 22-25); and he encourages them to
grow up in their new life (2:1-3) so that as "living stones" they can
form part of the spiritual building of the Church, which has Christ as
its cornerstone (vv. 4-10).
13-16. Israel was chosen by God from all the peoples of the earth to
implement his plan of salvation: he set the people of Israel free from
the slavery of Egypt, established a covenant with them and gave them
commandments about how to live. These commandments in their highest form
tell them to be holy as God is holy (cf. Lev 19:2). However, those events
in the life of Israel were only an imperfect foreshadowing of what would
happen when Jesus Christ came: Christians constitute the new chosen
people; by Baptism they have been set free from sin and have been called
to live in a fully holy way, with God himself as their model.
The Second Vatican Council solemnly declared that all are called to
holiness (cf., e.g., "Lumen Gentium", 11, 40, 42). Monsignor Escriva, who
anticipated the Council's teaching on this and other points, had
constantly preached about this universal call to holiness: "Christ bids
all without exception to be perfect as his heavenly Father is perfect.
For the vast majority of people, holiness means sanctifying their work,
sanctifying themselves in it, and sanctifying others through it--thereby
finding God as they go about their daily lives [...]. Since the
foundation of the Work in 1928, my teaching has been that sanctity is not
the reserve of a privileged few; all the ways of the earth, every state
in life, every job, every honest occupation, can be divine" (Bernal,
"Monsignor Josemaria Escriva de Balaguer", III, 3).
13. "Gird up your minds": a metaphor based on the custom of the Jews, and
Middle Easterners in general, of gathering up their rather full garments
prior to setting out on a journey, to let them walk with greater ease. In
the account of the Exodus we are told that God laid it down that when the
Israelites celebrated the Passover they should do so with their loins
girt, their sandals on and a staff in their hand (cf. Ex 12:11), because
they were about to start on the journey to the promised land. St Peter
evokes this image (which our Lord also used: cf. Lk 12:35ff), because
Baptism, the new Exodus, marks the start of the Christian pilgrimage to
heaven, our lasting home (cf. 1:17; 2:11); and he applies it to sobriety:
we need to control our feelings and inclinations if we are to walk with
joy along the route which will take us to the glorious coming of the
Lord.
"The revelation of Jesus Christ": this is a reference, above all, to his
eschatological coming at the end of time. The revelation of Jesus began
with his incarnation and will reach its climax at the end of this world.
Therefore, the "grace" mentioned should be understood not only as
sanctifying grace but also the whole ensemble of benefits the Christian
receives at Baptism, which will find their full expression in heaven.
14. "Your former ignorance": the sacred writer contrasts his hearers'
present position with their former one. He does not mean that prior to
Baptism they were perverse and ignorant, but that the Christian vocation
brings such clear knowledge of God and so many aids to practise virtue
that their previous position can be viewed as one of concupiscence and
ignorance. "The followers of Christ, called by God, not in virtue of
their works but by his design and grace, and justified in the Lord Jesus,
have been made sons of God in the baptism of faith and partakers of the
divine nature, and so are truly sanctified" (Vatican II, "Lumen Gentium",
40).
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.