From: Acts 2:14a, 36-41
Peter’s Address (Continuation)
Many Baptisms
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Commentary:
14. In his commentaries St. John Chrysostom draws attention to the change
worked in Peter by the Holy Spirit: “Listen to him preach and argue so boldly,
who shortly before had trembled at the word of a servant girl! This boldness is a
significant proof of the resurrection of his Master: Peter preaches to men who
mock and laugh at his enthusiasm. [...] Calumny (’they are filled with new wine’)
does not deter the Apostles; sarcasm does not undermine their courage, for the
coming of the Holy Spirit has made new men of them, men who can put up with
every kind of human test. When the Holy Spirit enters into hearts He does so to
elevate their affections and to change earthly souls, souls of clay, into chosen
souls, people of great courage [...]. Look at the harmony that exists among the
Apostles. See how they allow Peter to speak on behalf of them all. Peter raises
his voice and speaks to the people with full assurance. That is the kind of cou-
rage a man has when he is the instrument of the Holy Spirit. [...] Just as a bur-
ning coal does not lose heat when it falls on a haystack but instead is enabled
to release its heat, so Peter, now that he is in contact with the life-giving Spirit,
spreads his inner fire to those around him” (”Hom. on Acts”, 4).
36. During His life on earth Jesus had often presented Himself as the Messiah
and Son of God. His resurrection and ascension into Heaven reveal Him as
such to the people at large.
In Peter’s address we can see an outline of the content of the apostolic procla-
mation (”kerygma”), the content of Christian preaching, the object of faith. This
proclamation bears witness to Christ’s death and resurrection and subsequent
exaltation; it recalls the main points of Jesus’ mission, announced by John the
Baptist, confirmed by miracles and brought to fulfillment by the appearances of
the risen Lord and the outpouring of the Holy Spirit; it declares that the messia-
nic time predicted by the prophets have arrived, and calls all men to conversion,
in preparation for the Parousia or second coming of Christ in glory.
37. St. Peter’s words were the instrument used by God’s grace to move the
hearts of his listeners: they are so impressed that they ask in all simplicity what
they should do. Peter exhorts them to be converted, to repent (cf. note on 3:19).
The “St. Pius V Catechism” explains that in order to receive Baptism adults
“need to repent the sins they have committed and their evil past life and to be
resolved not to commit sin henceforth [...], for nothing is more opposed to grace
and power of Baptism than the outlook and disposition of those who never decide
to abjure sin” (II, 2, 4).
38. “Be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ”: this does not necessarily mean
that this was the form of words the Apostles normally used in the liturgy, rather
than [the] Trinitarian formula prescribed by Jesus. In the “Didache” (written a-
round the year 100) it is stated that Baptism should be given in the name of the
Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, but this does not prevent it, in other
passages, from referring to “those baptized in the name of the Lord.” The expres-
sion “baptized in the name of Christ” means, therefore, becoming a member of
Christ, becoming a Christian (cf. “Didache”, VII, 1; IX, 5).
“Like the men and women who came up to Peter on Pentecost, we too have
been baptized. In baptism, our Father God has taken possession of our lives,
has made us share in the life of Christ, and has given us the Holy Spirit” (St. J.
Escriva, “Christ Is Passing By”, 128). From this point onwards, the Trinity be-
gins to act in the soul of the baptized person. “In the same way as transparent
bodies, enlightened by the Holy Spirit become spiritual too and lead others to
the light of grace. From the Holy Spirit comes knowledge of future events, un-
derstanding of mysteries and of hidden truths, an outpouring of gifts, Heavenly
citizenship, conversation with angels. From Him comes never-ending joy, per-
severance in good, likeness to God and—the most sublime thing imaginable —
becoming God” (St. Basil, “On the Holy Spirit”, IX, 23).
This divinization which occurs in the baptized person shows how important it is
for Christians to cultivate the Holy Spirit who has been infused into their souls,
where He dwells as long as He is not driven out by sin. “Love the Third Person
of the Blessed Trinity. Listen in the intimacy of your being to the divine motions
of encouragement or reproach you receive from Him. Walk through the earth in
the light that is poured out in your soul. [...] We can apply to ourselves the ques-
tion asked by the Apostle: ‘Do you not know that you are God’s temple and that
God’s Spirit dwells in you?’ (1 Corinthians 3:16). And we can understand it as
an invitation to deal with God in a more personal and direct manner. For some,
unfortunately, the Paraclete is the Great Stranger. He is merely a name that is
mentioned, but not Someone—not one of the three Persons in the one God—with
whom we can talk and with whose life we can live. No: we have to deal with Him
simply and trustingly, as we are taught by the Church in its liturgy. Then we will
come to know our Lord better, and at the same time, we will realize more fully
the great favor that was granted us when we became Christians. We will see the
greatness and truth of this divinization, which is a sharing in God’s own life” (St.
J. Escriva, “Christ Is Passing By”, 133-134).
39. The “promise” of the Holy Spirit applies to both Jews and Gentiles, but in the
first instance it concerns the Jews: it is they to whom God entrusted His oracles;
theirs was the privilege to receive the Old Testament and to be preached to di-
rectly by Jesus Himself. St. Peter makes it clear that this promise is also made
“to all that are far off”—a reference to the Gentiles, as St. Paul explains (cf. Ephe-
sians 2:13-17) and in line with Isaiah’s announcement, “Peace, peace to the far
and to the near” (Isaiah 57:19). Cf. Acts 22:21.
40. “This crooked generation” is not only that part of the Jewish people who re-
jected Christ and His teaching, but everyone who is estranged from God (cf.
Deuteronomy 32:5; Philippians 2:5).
41. St. Luke here concludes his account of the events of the day of Pentecost
and prepares to move on to a new topic. Before he does so he adds a note, as
it were, to say that “about three thousand souls” became Christians as a result
of Peter’s address.
St. Luke often makes reference to the numerical growth of the Church (2:47; 4:4;
5:14; 6:1, 7; 9:31; 11:21, 24; 16:5). Interesting in itself, this growth clearly shows
the effectiveness of the Gospel message boldly proclaimed by the Apostles. It
proves that if the Gospel is preached with constancy and clarity it can take root
in any setting and will always find men and women ready to receive it and put it
into practice.
“It is not true that everyone today—in general—is closed or indifferent to what our
Christian faith teaches about man’s being and destiny. It is not true that men in
our time are turned only toward the things of this earth and have forgotten to look
up to Heaven. There is no lack of narrow ideologies, it is true, or of persons who
maintain them. But in our time we find both great desires and base attitudes, he-
roism and cowardice, zeal and disenchantment—people who dream of a new
world, more just and more human, and others who, discouraged perhaps by the
failure of their youthful idealism, take refuge in the selfishness of seeking only
their own security or remaining immersed in their errors.
“To all those men and women, wherever they may be, in their more exalted mo-
ments of in their crises and defeats, we have to bring the solemn and unequivo-
cal message of St. Peter in the days that followed Pentecost: Jesus is the cor-
nerstone, the Redeemer, the hope of our lives. ‘For there is no other name under
Heaven given among men by which we must be saved’ (Acts 4:12)” (St. J.
Escriva, “Christ Is Passing By”, 132).
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Source: “The Navarre Bible: Text and Commentaries”. Biblical text from the
Revised Standard Version and New Vulgate. Commentaries by members of
the Faculty of Theology, University of Navarre, Spain.
Published by Four Courts Press, Kill Lane, Blackrock, Co. Dublin, Ireland, and
by Scepter Publishers in the United States.
From: 1 Peter 2b:20-25
Duties Towards Masters—Christ’s Example
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Commentary:
18-25. The sacred writer now addresses all domestic servants (the Greek word
means all who work in household tasks). He exhorts them to obey their masters,
even if they are harsh (verse 18), because God is pleased if they put up with un-
fairness for His sake (verses 19-20); in doing so they are imitating the example
of Jesus (verses 21-25). St. Paul, when addressing slaves in his letters (cf. Ephe-
sians 5:5-9; Colossians 3:22-24), never encourages them to rebel. Christian tea-
ching on social issues is not based on class struggle but on fraternal love: love
eventually does away with all discrimination, for all men have created in the im-
age of God and are equal in His sight. This peaceable policy gradually made for
the suppression of slavery, and it will also lead to the solution of all social prob-
lems (cf. “Gaudium Et Spes”, 29).
The fact that St. Peter addresses only servants and does not go on to say any-
thing to masters (as St. Paul usually does: cf. Ephesians 6:5-9; Colossians 3:
23ff) has led some commentators to suggest that most of the Christians addres-
sed in this letter must have been people of humble condition.
21-25. This passage is a beautiful hymn to Christ on the cross. Christ’s suffe-
rings, which fulfill the prophecies about the Servant of Yahweh contained in the
Book of Isaiah (52:13-53:12), have not been in vain, for they have a redemptive
value. He has taken our sins upon Himself and brought them with Him on the
cross, offering Himself as an atoning sacrifice. This means that we are free of
our sins (”dead to sin”) and can live “to righteousness”, that is, can live for holi-
ness with the help of grace.
The example of the suffering of Christ is always a necessary reference point for
Christians: however great the trials they experience, they will never be as great
or as unjust as those of our Lord. Reflecting on Christ’s suffering led St. Bernard
to comment: “I have come to see that true wisdom lies in meditating on these
things [...]. Some have provided me with wholesome, if bitter, drink, and I have
used others as gentle and soothing unction. This gives me strength in adversity
and helps me to be humble in prosperity; it allows me to walk with a sure step
on the royal road of salvation, through the good things and the evil things of this
present life, free from the dangers which threaten to right and left” (”Sermons on
the Song of Songs”, 43, 4).
25. The messianic prophecy about the Servant of Yahweh includes the image
of the scattered flock (cf. Isaiah 53:6), to which Jesus alludes in His allegory of
the Good Shepherd (cf. John 10:11-16). St. Peter, to whom our Lord had given
charge of His flock (cf. John 21:15-19), would have had a special liking for ima-
gery connected with shepherding.
Jesus Christ is “the Shepherd and Guardian of your souls” and “the chief Shep-
herd” (1 Peter 5:4). The etymology of the Greek word—”episcopos” (guardian) —
means “overseer”; the word was used in civic life to designate those who were
responsible for seeing that the law was kept. In the Dead Sea manuscripts the
Hebrew equivalent (”mebaqqer”) is used to designate the religious leaders of
the schismatic community of Qumran. Whatever might be the origin of the term,
in the New Testament the word “episcopos” (bishop) is often used to mean the
pastor of the Church (cf., e.g., Acts 20:28; see the note on 1 Peter 5:1-4). Here
St. Peter applies to Christ the words the prophet Ezekiel places on the lips of
God: “I will seek out My sheep and I will rescue them from all places where they
have been scattered” (Ezekiel 34:12). Our Lord founded the Church as a sheep-
fold “whose sheep, although watched over by human shepherds, are neverthe-
less at all times led and brought to pasture by Christ Himself, the Good Shep-
herd and prince of shepherds (cf. John 10:11; 1 Peter 5:4), who gave His life for
His sheep (cf. John 10:11-16)” (Vatican II, “Lumen Gentium”, 6).
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Source: “The Navarre Bible: Text and Commentaries”. Biblical text from the
Revised Standard Version and New Vulgate. Commentaries by members of
the Faculty of Theology, University of Navarre, Spain.
Published by Four Courts Press, Kill Lane, Blackrock, Co. Dublin, Ireland, and
by Scepter Publishers in the United States.