RSV
From: Acts 12:1-11
Persecution by Herod. Peter’s Arrest and Deliverance
[6] The very night when Herod was about to bring him out, Peter was sleeping between two soldiers, bound with two chains, and sentries before the door were guarding the prison; [7] and behold, an angel of the Lord appeared, and a light shone in the cell; and he struck Peter on the side and woke him, saying, “Get up quickly.” And the chains fell off his hands. [8] And the angel said to him, “Dress yourself and put on your sandals.” And he did so. And he said to him, “Wrap your mantle around you and follow me.” [9] And he went out and followed him; he did not know that what was done by the angel was real, but thought he was seeing a vision. [10] When they had passed the first and the second guard, they came to the iron gate leading into the city. It opened to them of its own accord, and they went out and passed on through one street; and immediately the angel left him. [11] And Peter came to himself, and said, “Now I am sure that the Lord has sent his angel and rescued me from the hand of Herod and from all that the Jewish people
were expecting.”
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Commentary:
1-19. This is an account of persecution of the Church by Herod Agrippa (37-44), which took place before the visit of Paul and Barnabas to the Holy City(cf. 11:30).
The information given in this chapter about the latest persecution of the Jerusalem community—more severe and more general than the earlier crises (cf. 5:17; 8:1)—gives an accurate picture of the situation in Palestine and describes events in chronological sequence. Prior to this the Roman governors more or less protected the rights of the Jerusalem Christians. Now Agrippa, in his desire to ingratiate himself with the Pharisees, abandons the Christians to the growing resentment and hatred the Jewish authorities and people feel towards them.
This chapter brings to an end, so to speak, the story of the first Christian community in Jerusalem. From now on, attention is
concentrated on the church of Antioch. The last stage of the Palestinian Judeo-Christian church, under the direction of James “the
brother of the Lord”, will not experience the expansion enjoyed by other churches, due to the grave turn which events take in the Holy
Land.
1. This Herod is the third prince of that name to appear in the New Testament. He was a grandson of Herod the Great, who built the new temple of Jerusalem and was responsible for the massacre of the Holy Innocents (cf. Mt 2:16); he was also a nephew of Herod Antipas, the tetrarch of Galilee at the time of our Lord’s death. Herod Agrippa I was a favorite of the emperor Caligula, who gradually gave him more territory and allowed him to use the title of king. Agrippa I managed to extend his authority over all the territory his grandfather had ruled: Roman governors had ruled Judea up to the year 41, but in that year it was given over to Herod. He was a sophisticated type of person, a diplomat, so bent on consolidating his power that he had became a master of intrigue and a total opportunist. For largely political motives he practiced Judaism with a certain rigor.
2. James the Greater would have been martyred in the year 42 or 43. He was the first Apostle to die for the faith and the only one whose death is mentioned in the New Testament. The Liturgy of the Hours says of him: “The son of Zebedee and the brother of John, he was born in Bethsaida. He witnessed the principal miracles performed by our Lord and was put to death by Herod around the year 42. He is held in special veneration in the city of Compostela, where a famous church is dedicated to his name.”
“The Lord permits this death,” Chrysostom observes, “to show his murderers that these events do not cause the Christians to retreat or
desist” (”Hom. on Acts”, 26).
5. “Notice the feelings of the faithful towards their pastors. They do not riot or rebel; they have recourse to prayer, which can solve all
problems. They do not say to themselves: we do not count, there is no point in our praying for him. Their love led them to pray and they did not think along those lines. Have you noticed what these persecutors did without intending to? They made (their victims) more determined to stand the test, and (the faithful) more zealous and loving” (”Hom. On Acts”, 26).
St Luke, whose Gospel reports our Lord’s words on perseverance in prayer (cf. 11:13; 18:1-8), here stresses that God listens to the
whole community’s prayer for Peter. He plans in his providence to save the Apostle for the benefit of the Church, but he wants the outcome to be seen as an answer to the Church’s fervent prayer.
7-10. The Lord comes to Peter’s help by sending an angel, who opens the prison and leads him out. This miraculous freeing of the Apostle is similar to what happened at the time of Peter and John’s detention (5:19f) and when Paul and Silas are imprisoned in Philippi (16:19ff).
This extraordinary event, which must be understood exactly as it is described, shows the loving care God takes of those whom he entrusts with a mission. They must strive to fulfill it, but they will “see” for themselves that he guides their steps and watches over them.
RSV
From: 2 Timothy 4:1-8
Dedication to Preaching
The Crown of Righteousness
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Commentary:
1. The last chapter of the letter, summing up its main themes, is in St Paul’s last will and testament and has the features of that
type of document: it begins in a formal manner (vv. 1-5), protests the sincerity of his dedicated life (vv. 6-8) and concludes with some very tender, personal messages (vv. 9-22).
The opening is couched in a solemn form (also found in 1 Tim 5:21) similar to a Greco-Roman will, laying on the heirs an obligation to carry out the testator’s wishes: “I charge you”; a series of imperatives follows. To underline the importance of what the testator
is requesting, God the Father and Jesus Christ are invoked as witnesses, guarantors of the commitments which will devolve on the
heirs. By swearing this document the testator is performing an act of the virtue of religion, because he is acknowledging God as Supreme Judge, to whom we must render an account of our actions.
“Christ Jesus who is to judge the living and the dead”: a graphic, catechetical expression (cf. Acts 10:42; 1 Pet 4:5), confessing belief
in the truth that all men without exception will undergo judgment by Jesus Christ, from whose decision there is no appeal. This has become part of the Creed; in a solemn profession of faith, the “Creed of the People of God”, Pope Paul VI elaborated on this article of faith as we have seen in the commentary on 2 Thessalonians 1:5 above.
2. “Preach the word”: that is, the message of the Gospel, which includes all the truths to be believed, the commandments to be kept and the sacraments and other supernatural resources to be availed of. In the life of the Church the ministry of the word has special importance; it is the channel God has established whereby man can partake of the Gospel; priests have a special duty to preach the word: “The people of God is formed into one in the first place by the Word of the living God, which is quite rightly sought from the mouth of priests. For since nobody can be saved who has not first believed, it is the first task of priests as co-workers of the bishops to preach the Gospel of God to all men. In this way they carry out the Lord’s command, ‘Go into all the world and preach the Gospel to the whole creation’ (Mk 16:15) and thus set up and increase the people of God” (Vatican II, “Presbyterorum Ordinis”, 4).
“In season and out of season”, that is, even in adverse circumstances (cf. v. 3), or when hearers are disinclined to accept the Christian
message. Timothy and, like him, all other sacred ministers, ought to behave towards the faithful in accordance with the demands of Christian life and doctrine. “What do men want, what do they expect of the priest, the minister of Christ, the living sign of the presence of the Good Shepherd? We would venture to say that, although they may not explicitly say so, they need, want and hope for a priest-priest, a priest through and through, a man who gives his life for them, by opening to them the horizons of the soul; a man who unceasingly exercises his ministry whose heart is capable of understanding, and a man who gives simply and joyfully, in season and even out of season, what he alone can give—the richness of grace, of divine intimacy which, through him, God wishes to distribute among men” (A. del Portillo, “On Priesthood”, p. 66).
3-5. With sadness in his heart and with no little irony St Paul unmasks those who prefer smooth talk to the truth. Earlier Cicero criticized certain Greeks who by skillful use of words managed to delude their listeners even though they had really nothing to say or were misleading them. However where Christian doctrine is at stake, the danger that can be done to soul is much more grave: “Do not be afraid, or surprised, to see the resistance of some people’s minds. There will always be stupid people who deck out the armor of their ignorance with a display of culture” ([St] J. Escriva, “Furrow”, 934).
As an antidote to empty talk, the Apostle recommends solid teaching, constancy in the face of difficulty, and commitment to the ministry. St John Chrysostom called for fidelity to the Gospel in these words: “What you should fear is not that people might malign you but that you should be regarded as tainted with the same hypocrisy as your detractors. For if that were the case you would become tasteless and people would trample you underfoot. But if you offer the salt in all sobriety and are criticized on that account, do not be dismayed; for that is what salt is for—to irritate and disturb the corrupt. People will continue to speak evil of you, but they will do you no harm; they will only prove your reliability” (”Hom. on St Matthew”, 15, 7).
6-8. Conscious of his closeness to death, St Paul writes in poetic strain about his life in the service of the Gospel, about the meaning
of death and his hope of heaven. The imagery he uses shows how he interprets his experience in the light of faith. “On the point of being sacrificed”: literally “poured out in sacrifice”: death is an offering to God, like the libations of oil poured on the altar of sacrifices. Death is the beginning of a journey: “the point of my departure has come”, the anchor is being weighed, the sails unfurled.
The Christian life is like magnificent Games taking place in the presence of God, who acts as the judge. In Greece the Games had close connections with religious worship; St Paul presents the Christian life as a type of spiritual sport: “races” indicates the continuous effort to achieve perfection (cf. Phil 3:14); training for athletics indicates the practice of self-denial (cf. 1 Cor 9:26-27); fighting stands for the effort required to resist sin even if that means death, as can happen in the event of persecution (cf. Heb 12:4). It is well worthwhile taking part in this competition, because, as St John Chrysostom points out, “the crown which it bestows never withers. It is not made of laurel leaves, it is not a man who places it on our head, it has not been won in the presence of a crowd made up of men, but in a stadium full of angels. In earthly competitions a man fights and strives for days and the only reward he receives is a crown which withers in a matter of hours [...]. That does not happen here: the crown he is given is a glory and honor whose brilliance lasts forever (”Hom. on 2 Tim, ad loc”.).
All Christians who “have loved his appearing”, that is, who stay true to Christ, share St Paul’s expectation of eternal life. “We who know about the eternal joys of the heavenly fatherland should hasten to reach it by the more direct route” (St Gregory the Great, “In Evangelia Homiliae”, 16).
From: 2 Timothy 4:6-18
The Crown of Righteousness
[17] For the Lord stood by me and gave me strength to proclaim the word fully, that all the Gentiles might hear it. So I was rescued from the lion’s mouth. [18] The Lord will rescue me from every evil and save me for his heavenly kingdom. To him be glory for ever and ever. Amen.
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Commentary:
6-8. Conscious of his closeness to death, St Paul writes in poetic strain about his life in the service of the Gospel, about the meaning
of death and his hope of heaven. The imagery he uses shows how he interprets his experience in the light of faith. “On the point of being sacrificed”: literally “poured out in sacrifice”: death is an offering to God, like the libations of oil poured on the altar of sacrifices. Death is the beginning of a journey: “the point of my departure has come”, the anchor is being weighed, the sails unfurled.
The Christian life is like magnificent Games taking place in the presence of God, who acts as the judge. In Greece the Games had close connections with religious worship; St Paul presents the Christian life as a type of spiritual sport: “races” indicates the continuous effort to achieve perfection (cf. Phil 3:14); training for athletics indicates the practice of self-denial (cf. 1 Cor 9:26-27); fighting stands for the effort required to resist sin even if that means death, as can happen in the event of persecution (cf. Heb 12:4). It is well worthwhile taking part in this competition, because, as St John Chrysostom points out, “the crown which it bestows never withers. It is not made of laurel leaves, it is not a man who places it on our head, it has not been won in the presence of a crowd made up of men, but in a stadium full of angels. In earthly competitions a man fights and strives for days and the only reward he receives is a crown which withers in a matter of hours [. . .]. That does not happen here: the crown he is given is a glory and honor whose brilliance lasts forever (”Hom. on 2 Tim, ad loc”.).
All Christians who “have loved his appearing”, that is, who stay true to Christ, share St Paul’s expectation of eternal life. “We who know about the eternal joys of the heavenly fatherland should hasten to reach it by the more direct route” (St Gregory the Great, “In Evangelia Homiliae”, 16).
9-18. In his letters St Paul often asks people to do things for him; his messages here are particularly moving, given as they are on the eve of his martyrdom. He is following the example of Christ: he puts his trust in God even though his friends desert him (vv. 10-12, 16); his enemies harass him more than ever, yet he forgives them (vv. 14, 16); in the midst of his sufferings he praises the Lord (v. 18). His mention of Thessalonica, Galatia, Dalmatia, Ephesus, Troas, Corinth and Miletus show how warmly he remembers places which were very receptive to the Christian message. These few verses constitute a mini-biography.
His generosity of spirit is shown by the fact that he mentions so many disciples by name; to all he gave of his best; some of them fell by the wayside but most of them stayed faithful; some are mentioned in the Acts of the Apostles or in other letters, but for others this is the only mention in the New Testament. However, all without exception must have been very present to the Apostle who became “all things to all men, that I might by all means save some” (1 Cor 9:22).
10. Demas was one of St Paul’s companions during his first Roman imprisonment (cf. Col 4:14; Philem 24); but now, when the Apostle is near to death and in a harsher prison than before, he has left him alone.
“That passage of the Second Episode to Timothy makes me shudder, when the Apostle laments that Demas had fallen in love with the present world and gone to Thessalonica. For a trifle, and for fear of persecution, this man, whom St Paul had quoted in other epistles as being among the saints, had betrayed the divine enterprise. I shudder when I realize how little I am: and it leads me to demand from myself faithfulness to the Lord even in situations that may seem to be indifferent—for if they do not help me to be more united to Him, I do not want them” ([St] J. Escriva, “Furrow”, 343).
13. The cloak he refers to was a sleeveless cape used for protection against rain and cold. The “books” were probably less important documents usually written on sheets of papyrus, whereas the parchments would probably have contained more important texts, such as Sacred Scripture. This message does indicate that St Paul was fond of study and reading. And the fact that the letter goes into details like this speaks in favor of its being written by Paul.
16-17. St Paul points to the contrast between the way men treat him and the way God does. Because of the hazards involved in staying with Paul or defending him, some of his friends, even some of his closest friends, have deserted him; whereas God stays by his side.
“You seek the company of friends who, with their conversation and affection, with their friendship, make the exile of this world more
bearable for you. There is nothing wrong with that, although friends sometimes let you down. But how is it you don’t frequent daily with greater intensity the company, the conversation, of the great Friend, who never lets you down?” ([St] J. Escriva, “The Way”, 88).