2nd Sunday of Easter (Divine Mercy Sunday) - Cycle B
1st Reading: Acts 4:32-37
The Way of Life of the Early Christians
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[32] Now the company of those who believed were one heart and soul, and no
one said that any of the things which he possessed was his own, but they had
everything in common. [33] And with great power the Apostles gave their testi-
mony to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and great grace was upon them all.
[34] There was not a needy person among them, for as many as were posses-
sors of lands or houses sold them, and brought the proceeds of what was sold
[35] and laid it at the Apostles' feet; and distribution was made to each as any
had need.
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Commentary:
32-37. Here we are given a second summary of the life of the first Christian
community--which, presided over by Peter and the other Apostles, was the
Church, the entire Church of Jesus Christ. The Church of God on earth was
only beginning, all contained within the Jerusalem foundation. Now every
Christian community--no matter how small it be--which is in communion of
faith and obedience with the Church of Rome is the Church.
"The Church of Christ", Vatican II teaches, "is really present in all legitimately
organized local groups of the faithful, which, in so far as they are united to their
pastors, are also quite appropriately called churches in the New Testament.
[...] In them the faithful are gathered together through the preaching of the Gos-
pel of Christ, and the mystery of the Lord's Supper is celebrated. [...] In each
altar community, under the sacred ministry of the bishop, a manifest symbol is
to be seen of that charity and 'unity of the Mystical Body, without which there
can be no salvation' ("Summa Theologiae", III, q. 73, a.
3). In these commu-
nities, though they may often be small and poor, or existing in the diaspora,
Christ is present through whose power and influence the one, holy, catholic
and apostolic Church is constituted" ("Lumen
Gentium", 26).
32. The text stresses the importance of "being one": solidarity, unity, is a virtue
of good Christians and one of the marks of the Church: "The Apostles bore wit-
ness to the Resurrection not only by word but also by their virtues" (Chrysostom,
"Hom. on Acts", 11). The disciples obviously were joyful and self-sacrificing.
This disposition, which results from charity, strives to promote forgiveness and
harmony among the brethren, all sons and daughters of the same Father. The
Church realizes that this harmony is often threatened by rancor, envy, misunder-
standing and self-assertion. By asking, in prayers and hymns like "Ubi Caritas",
for evil disputes and conflicts to cease, "so that Christ our God may dwell among
us", it is drawing its inspiration from the example of unity and charity left it by the
first Christian community in Jerusalem.
Harmony and mutual understanding among the disciples both reflect the internal
and external unity of the Church itself and helps its practical implementation.
There is only one Church of Jesus Christ because it has only "one Lord, one
one baptism" (Ephesians 4:5), and only one visible head--the Pope--who repre-
sents Christ on earth. The model and ultimate source of this unity is the Trinity
of divine persons, that is, "the unity of one God, the Father and the son in the
Holy Spirit" (Vatican II, "Unitatis
Redintegratio", 2). This characteristic work of
the Church is visibly expressed: in confession of one and the same faith, in one
system of government, in the celebration of the same form of divine worship,
and in fraternal concord among all God's family (cf. "ibid.").
The Church derives its life from the Holy Spirit; a main factor in nourishing this
life and thereby reinforcing the Church's unity is the Blessed Eucharist: it acts
in a mysterious but real way, incessantly, to build up the Mystical Body of the
Lord.
God desires all Christians separated from the Church (they have Baptism, and
the Gospel truths in varying degrees) to find their way back to the flock of Christ
-- which they can do by spiritual renewal, and prayer, dialogue and study.
34-35. St. Luke comes back again to the subject of renunciation of possessions,
repeating what he says in 2:44 and going on to give two different kinds of exam-
ple -- that of Barnabas (4:36f) and that of Ananias and Sapphira (5:1f).
The disciples' detachment from material things does not only mean that they
have a caring attitude to those in need. It also shows their simplicity of heart,
their desire to pass unnoticed and the full confidence they place in the Twelve.
"They gave up their possessions and in doing so demonstrated their respect for
the Apostles. For they did not presume to give it into their hands, that is, they
did not present it ostentatiously, but left it at their feet and made the Apostles
its owners and dispensers" (Chrysostom, "Hom. on Acts", 11).
The text suggests that the Christians in Jerusalem had an organized system for
the relief of the poor in the community. Judaism had social welfare institutions
and probably the early Church used one of these as a model. However, the
Christian system of helping each according to his need would have had charac-
teristics of its own, deriving from the charity from which it sprang and as a result
of gradual differentiation from the Jewish way of doing things.
2nd Reading: 1 John 5:1-6 (NAB) 1 John 5:1-7 (RSVCE)
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[1] Every one who believes that Jesus is the Christ is a child of God, and every
one who loves the parent loves the child. [2] By this we know that we love the
children of God, when we love God and obey his commandments. [3] For this is
the love of God, that we keep his commandments. And his commandments are
not burdensome. [4] For whatever is born of God overcomes the world; and this
is the victory that overcomes the world, our faith. [5] Who is it that overcomes
the world but he who believes that Jesus is the Son of God?
Testimony Borne to Christ
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[6] This is he who came by water and blood, Jesus Christ, not with the water
only but with the water and the blood. [7] And the Spirit is the witness, because
the Spirit is the truth.
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Commentary:
1-5. The fifth chapter is a summary of the entire letter, focusing on faith in Jesus
Christ (vv. 6-12) and the confidence that faith gives (vv. 13-21).
In the opening verses (vv. 1-5) St John points to some consequences of faith: he
who believes in Christ is a child of God (v. 1); he loves God and men, his brothers
(v. 2); he keeps the commandments (v. 3) and shares in Christ's victory over the
world (vv. 4-5).
1. "He who loves the parent...": it is axiomatic that one who loves his father also
loves his brothers and sisters, because they share the same parent. The New
Vulgate clarifies the scope of this maxim in this letter by adding the word "Deum":
"He who loves God his father..." loves him who is born of God; Christian fraternity
is a consequence of divine filiation.
4. "This is our victory that overcomes the world, our faith": faith in Jesus Christ
is of crucial importance because through it every baptized person is given a share
in Christ's victory. Jesus has overcome the world (cf. Jn 16:33) by his death and
resurrection, and the Christian (who through faith becomes a member of Christ)
has access to all the graces necessary for coping with temptations and sharing
in Christ's own glory. In this passage the word "world" has the pejorative meaning
of everything opposed to the redemptive work of Christ and the salvation of man
that flows from it.
6. The "water" and the "blood" have been interpreted in different ways, depending
on whether they apply (following the more literal meaning) to events in the life of
Christ, or are regarded as symbols of particular sacraments. The water, if referred
to the life of Christ, would be an allusion to our Lord's baptism (cf. Mt 3:13-17 and
par.), where the Father and the Holy Spirit bore witness to Christ's divinity; the
blood would refer to the Cross, where Christ, God and true man, shed his blood
to bring Redemption. According to this interpretation, St John is answering the
Gnostics, who said that Jesus of Nazareth became the Son of God through bap-
tism and ceased to be the Son of God prior to his passion: therefore, only the
man Jesus, devoid of divinity, died on the Cross; which would be a denial of the
redemptive value of Christ's death.
Understood as symbols of the sacraments, the water would refer to Baptism (cf.
In 3:5), where we receive the Holy Spirit and the life of grace (cf. Jn 7:37-39); the
blood would apply to the Eucharist, where we partake of the blood of Christ in
order to have life in us (cf. Jn 6:53, 55, 56). Jesus came on earth to give his life
for men (cf. Jn 10:10); we obtain that life in the first instance by means of the
living water of Baptism (cf. Jn 4:14; 7:37ff); and also by the application of the
blood of Christ, which cleanses us from all sin (cf. 1 Jn 1:7; 2:2; 4:10).
The two interpretations are compatible with one another, given that sacraments
are sensible signs of the supernatural effects of Christ's redemptive death. Re-
ferring to Baptism, Tertullian wrote: "We have also a second laving, and it too
is unique--the baptism with blood. The Lord spoke of this when he said, 'I have
a baptism to be baptized with' (Lk 12:50), having had already been baptized
once. So, he did come 'by water and blood' (1 In 5:6), as John writes, in order
to be bathed by the water and glorified by the blood, in order to make us (who
are called by water) chosen ones through blood. These two baptisms spring
from the wound in his pierced side; so it is that those who believed in his blood
would be washed by the water; those who were washed in the water would also
drink of the blood" ("De Baptismo", XVI).
7-8. The Sistine-Clementine edition of the Vulgate included an addition which
left the text reading as follows: "There are three who give witness [in heaven:
the Father, the Word, and the Holy Spirit; and these three are one. And there
are three who give witness on earth]: the Spirit, the water, and the blood; and
these three agree." The words shown in bracketed italics (known as the Johan-
nine "comma" or addition) were the subject of heated debate (around the end
of the nineteenth century) as to their authenticity. The Holy Office (as was)
left theologians free to research the matter (cf. "Declaration", 2 June 1927) and
in fact it has been shown that the "comma" was introduced in Spain around the
fourth century AD in a text attributed to Priscillian, and therefore does not be-
long to the original inspired text. The "comma" makes express mention of the
Blessed Trinity; however, even without it the text proclaims that mystery of faith
fairly clearly: it makes mention of Jesus Christ, the Son of God (vv. 5-6), and of
the Holy Spirit (v. 7) and of the Father, both of whom bear witness to the Son
(v. 9).
According to the legal prescriptions of the Old Testament, the testimony of one
witness was insufficient at trials (Deut 17:6; cf. Jn 8:17). St John points to three
witnesses (the Holy Spirit, water and blood), thereby refuting the Gnostic tea-
ching; he is saying that the water and the blood, that is, Christ's baptism and
his death on the Cross, are a manifestation of his divinity. Clearly the word "wit-
ness" is used here in a broad sense: namely, in the sense that at those two
important moments in his life, Christ makes known to us that he is true God.
The Fathers who interpreted these words as referring to the sacraments usually
comment on the fact that in the sacraments the grace of God is communicated
internally and is signaled externally. St Bede writes along those lines: "The
Holy Spirit makes us adoptive sons of God; the water of the sacred fount clean-
ses us; the blood of the Lord redeems us: the spiritual sacrament gives us a
dual witness, one visible, one invisible" ("In I Epist. S. Ioannis, ad loc.").
Gospel Reading: John 20:19-31
Jesus Appears to the Disciples
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[19] On the evening of that day, the first day of the week, the doors shut where
the disciples were, for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood among them and
said to them, "Peace be with you." [20] When He had said this, He showed
them His hands and His side. Then the disciples were glad when they saw the
Lord. [21] Jesus said to them again, "Peace be with you. As the Father has
sent Me, even so I send you." [22] And when He had said this, He breathed on
them, and said to them, "Receive the Holy Spirit. [23] If you forgive the sins of
any, they are forgiven; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained."
[24] Now Thomas, one of the Twelve, called the Twin, was not with them when
Jesus came. [25] So the other disciples told him, "We have seen the Lord."
But he said to them, "Unless I see in His hands the print of the nails, and place
my finger in the mark of the nails, and place my hand in His side, I will not
believe."
[26] Eight days later, His disciples were again in the house, and Thomas was
with them. The doors were shut, but Jesus came and stood among them, and
said, "Peace be with you." [27] Then He said to Thomas, "Put your finger here,
and see My hands; and put out your hand, and place it in My side; do not be
faithless, but believing." [28] Thomas answered Him, "My Lord and my God!"
[29] Jesus said to him, "Have you believed because you have seen Me?
Blessed are those who have not seen and yet believe."
[30] Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of the disciples, which
are not written in this book; [31] but these are written that you may believe that
Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that believing you may have life in His
name.
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Commentary:
19-20. Jesus appears to the Apostles on the evening of the day of which He
rose. He presents Himself in their midst without any need for the doors to be
opened, by using the qualities of His glorified body; but in order to dispel any
impression that He is only a spirit He shows them His hands and His side: there
is no longer any doubt about its being Jesus Himself, about His being truly risen
from the dead. He greets them twice using the words of greeting customary
among the Jews, with the same tenderness as He previously used put into this
salutation. These friendly words dispel the fear and shame the Apostles must
have been feeling at behaving so disloyally during His passion: He has created
the normal atmosphere of intimacy, and now He will endow them with transcen-
dental powers.
21. Pope Leo XIII explained how Christ transferred His own mission to the
Apostles: "What did He wish in regard to the Church founded, or about to be
founded? This: to transmit to it the same mission and the same mandate which
He had received from the Father, that they should be perpetuated. This He
clearly resolved to do: this He actually did. 'As the Father hath sent Me, even so
I send you' (John 20:21). 'As Thou didst send Me into the world, so I have sent
them into the world' (John 17:18). [...] When about to ascend into Heaven, He
sends His Apostles in virtue of the same power by which He had been sent from
the Father; and He charges them to spread abroad and propagate His teachings
(cf. Matthew 28:18), so that those obeying the Apostles might be saved, and
those disobeying should perish (cf. Mark 16:16). [...] Hence He commands that
the teaching of the Apostles should be religiously accepted and piously kept as
if it were His own: 'He who hears you hears Me, and he who rejects you rejects
Me' (Luke 10:16). Wherefore the Apostles are ambassadors of Christ as He is
the ambassador of the Father" ([Pope] Leo XIII, "Satis Cognitum"). In this
mission the bishops are the successors of the Apostles: "Christ sent the Apos-
tles as He Himself had been sent by the Father, and then through the Apostles
made their successors, the bishops, sharers in His consecration and mission.
The function of the bishops' ministry was handed over in a subordinate degree
to priests so that they might be appointed in the order of the priesthood and be
co-workers of the episcopal order for the proper fulfillment of the apostolic mis-
sion that had been entrusted to it by Christ" (Vatican II, "Presbyterorum
Ordinis", 2).
22-23. The Church has always understood--and has in fact defined--that Jesus
Christ here conferred on the Apostles authority to forgive sins, a power which
is exercised in the Sacrament of Penance. "The Lord then especially instituted
the Sacrament of Penance when, after being risen from the dead, He breathed
upon His disciples and said: "Receive the Holy Spirit...' The consensus of all
the Fathers has always acknowledged that by this action so sublime and words
so clear the power of forgiving and retaining sins was given to the Apostles and
their lawful successors for reconciling the faithful who have fallen after Baptism"
(Council of Trent, "De Paenitentia", Chapter 1).
The Sacrament of Penance is the most sublime expression of God's love and
mercy towards men, described so vividly in Jesus' parable of the prodigal son
(cf. Luke 15:11-32). The Lord always awaits us, with His arms wide open,
waiting for us to repent--and then He will forgive us and restore us to the dignity
of being His sons.
The Popes have consistently recommended Christians to have regular recourse
to this Sacrament: "For a constant and speedy advancement in the path of virtue
we highly recommend the pious practice of frequent Confession, introduced by
the Church under the guidance of the Holy Spirit; for by this means we grow in
a true knowledge of ourselves and in Christian humility, bad habits are uprooted,
spiritual negligence and apathy are prevented, the conscience is purified and the
will strengthened, salutary spiritual direction is obtained, and grace is increased
by the efficacy of the Sacrament itself" ([Pope] Pius XII, "Mystici Corporis").
24-28. Thomas' doubting moves our Lord to give him special proof that His risen
body is quite real. By so doing He bolsters the faith of those who would later on
find faith in Him. "Surely you do not think",
[Pope] St. Gregory the Great comments, "that is was a pure accident that the
chosen disciple was missing; who on his return was told about the appearance
and on hearing about it doubted; doubting, so that he might touch and believe by
touching? It was not an accident; God arranged that it should happen. His cle-
mency acted in this wonderful way so that through the doubting disciple touching
the wounds in His Master's body, our own wounds of incredulity might be healed.
[...] And so the disciple, doubting and touching, was changed into a witness of
the truth of the Resurrection" ("In Evangelia Homiliae", 26, 7).
Thomas' reply is not simply an exclamation: it is an assertion, an admirable act
of faith in the divinity of Christ: "My Lord and my God!" These words are an eja-
culatory prayer often used by Christians, especially as an act of faith in the real
presence of Christ in the Blessed Eucharist.
29. [Pope] St. Gregory the Great explains these words of our Lord as follows:
"By St. Paul saying 'faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of
things unseen' (Hebrews 11:1), it becomes clear that faith has to do with things
which are not seen, for those which are seen are no longer the object of faith,
but rather of experience. Well then, why is Thomas told, when he saw and
touched, 'Because you have seen, you have believed?' Because he saw one
thing, and believed another. It is certain that mortal man cannot see divinity;
therefore, he saw the man and recognized Him as God, saying, 'My Lord and
my God.' In conclusion: seeing, he believed, because contemplating that real
man he exclaimed that He was God, whom he could not see" ("In Evangelia
Homiliae", 27, 8).
Like everyone else Thomas needed the grace of God to believe, but in addition
to this grace he was given an exceptional proof; his faith would have had more
merit had he accepted the testimony of the other Apostles. Revealed truths
are normally transmitted by word, by the testimony of other people who, sent
by Christ and aided by the Holy Spirit, preach the deposit of faith (cf. Mark
16:15-16). "So faith comes from what is heard, and what is heard comes from
the preaching of Christ" (Romans 10:17). The preaching of the Gospel, there-
fore, carries with it sufficient guarantees of credibility, and by accepting that
preaching man "offers the full submission of his intellect and will to God who
reveals, willingly assenting to the revelation given" (Vatican II, "Dei Verbum",
5).
"What follows pleases us greatly: 'Blessed are those who have not seen and
yet believe.' For undoubtedly it is we who are meant, who confess with our
soul Him whom we have not seen in the flesh. It refers to us, provided we live
in accordance with the faith, for only he truly believes who practices what the
believes" ("In Evangelia Homiliae", 26, 9).
30-31. This is a kind of first epilogue or conclusion to the Gospel of St. John.
The more common opinion is that he added Chapter 21 later, which covers
such important events as the triple confession of St. Peter, confirmation of his
primacy and our Lord's prophecy about the death of the beloved disciple.
These verses sum up the inspired writer's whole purpose in writing his Gospel --
to have men believe that Jesus was the Messiah, the Christ announced by the
prophets in the Old Testament, the Son of God, so that by believing this saving
truth, which is the core of Revelation, they might already begin to partake of
eternal life (cf. John 1:12, 2:23; 3:18; 14:13; 15:16; 16:23-26).
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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. We encourage readers to purchase
The Navarre Bible for personal study. See Scepter Publishers for details.
[참고: 이 파일은 저서명 "가톨릭 교회의 말씀 전례에 따른 성경공부 해설서"(엮은이: 소순태, 출판사: 가톨릭출판사)의 각주의 연장으로 마련되었습니다].