Monday

Octave of Easter

1st Reading: Acts 2:14, 22-33

Peter's Address
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[14] But Peter, standing with the eleven, lifted up his voice and addressed them,
[22] "Men of Israel, hear these words: Jesus of Nazareth with mighty works and
wonders and signs which God did through Him in your midst, as you yourselves
know--[23] this Jesus, delivered up according to the definite plan and foreknow-
ledge of God, you crucified and killed by the hands of lawless men. [24] But
God raised Him up, having loosed the pangs of death, because it was not pos-
sible for Him to be held by it. [25] For David says concerning Him, 'I saw the
Lord always before Me, for He is at My right hand that I may not be shaken;
[26] therefore My heart was glad, and My tongue rejoiced; moreover My flesh
will dwell in hope. [27] For Thou will not abandon My soul to Hades, nor let
Thy Holy One see corruption. [28] Thou hast made known to Me the ways of
life; Thou wilt make Me full of gladness with Thy presence.'

[29] "Brethren, I may say to you confidently of the patriarch David that he both
died and was buried, and his tomb is with us to this day. [30] Being therefore a
prophet, and knowing that God had sworn with an oath to him that He would set
one of his descendants upon his throne, [31] he foresaw and spoke of the resur-
rection of the Christ, that He was not abandoned to Hades, nor did His flesh see
corruption. [32] This Jesus God raised up, and of that we all are witnesses. [33]
Being therefore exalted at the right hand of God, and having received from the
Father the promise of the Holy Spirit, he has poured out this which you see and
hear."

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Commentary:

14-36. Even as the Church takes its first steps St. Peter can be seen to occupy
the position of main spokesman. In his address we can distinguish an introduc-
tion and two parts: in the first part (verses 16-21) he is explaining that the mes-
sianic times foretold by Joel have now arrived; in the second (verses 22-36) he
proclaims that Jesus of Nazareth, whom the Jews crucified, is the Messiah
promised by God and eagerly awaited by the righteous of the Old Testament; it
is He who has effected God's saving plan for mankind.

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 signi-
ficant 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
real 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 courage a man has when he
is the instrument of the Holy Spirit. [...] Just as a burning coal does not lose its
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).

22-36. To demonstrate that Jesus of Nazareth is the Messiah foretold by the pro-
phets, St. Peter reminds his listeners of our Lord's miracles (verse 22), as well as
of His death (verse 23), resurrection (verses 24-32) and glorious ascension (verses
33-35). His address ends with a brief summing-up (verse 36).

32. To proofs from prophecy, very important to the Jews, St. Peter adds his own
testimony on the resurrection of Jesus, and that of his brothers in the Apostolate.


Gospel Reading: Matthew 28:8-15

Jesus Appears To The Women
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[8] So they (Mary Magdalene and the other Mary) departed quickly from the
tomb with fear and great joy, and ran to tell His disciples. [9] And behold, Jesus
met them and said, "Hail!" And they came up and took hold of His feet and wor-
shipped Him. [10] Then Jesus said to them, "Do not be afraid; go and tell My
brethren to go to Galilee; and there they will see Me."

The Soldiers Are Bribed
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[11] While they were going, behold, some of the guard went into the city and told
the chief priests all that had taken place. [12] And when they had assembled with
the elders and taken counsel, they gave a sum of money to the soldiers [13] and
said, "Tell people, 'His disciples came by night and stole Him away while we were
asleep.' [14] And if this comes to the governor's ears, we will satisfy him and keep
you out of trouble." [15] So they took the money and did as they were directed;
and this story has been spread among the Jews to this day.

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Commentary:

1-15. The resurrection of Jesus, which happened in the early hours of the Sunday
morning, is a fact which all the evangelist state clearly and unequivocally. Some
holy women discover to their surprise that the tomb is open. On entering the hall
(cf. Mark 16:5-6), they see an angel who says to them, "He is not here; for He has
risen, as He said." The guards who were on duty when the angel rolled back the
stone go to the city and report what has happened to the chief priests. These,
because of the urgency of the matter, decide to bribe the guards; they give them
a considerable sum of money on condition that they spread the word that His dis-
ciples came at night and stole the body of Jesus when they were asleep. "Wret-
ched craftiness," says St. Augustine, "do you give us witnesses who were asleep?
It is you who are really asleep if this is the only kind of explanation you have to
offer!" ("Ennarationes in Psalmos", 63, 15). The Apostles, who a couple of days
before fled in fear, will, now that they have seen Him and have eaten and drunk
with Him, become tireless preachers of this great event: "This Jesus, they will say,
"God raised up, and of that we are all witnesses" (Acts 2:32).

Just as He foretold He would go up to Jerusalem and be delivered to the leaders
of the Jews and put to death, He also prophesied that He would rise from the dead
(Matthew 20:17-19; Mark 10:32-34; Luke 18:31-34). By His resurrection He com-
pletes the sign He promised to give unbelievers to show His divinity (Matthew
12:40).

The resurrection of Christ is one of the basic dogmas of the Catholic faith. In fact,
St. Paul says, "If Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is in vain and
your faith is in vain" (1 Corinthians 15:14); and, to prove his assertion that Christ
rose, he tells us "that He appeared to Cephas, then to the Twelve. Then He
appeared to more than five hundred brethren at one time, most of whom are still
alive,

though some have fallen asleep. Then He appeared to James, then to all the
apostles. Last of all, as to one untimely born, He appeared also to me" (1 Corin-
thians 15:5-8). The creed states that Jesus rose from the dead on the third day
("Nicene Creed"), by His own power (Ninth Council of Toledo, "De Redemptione
Creed"), by a true resurrection of the flesh ("Creed" of St. Leo IX), reuniting His
soul with His body (Innocent III, "Eius Exemplo"), and that this fact of the resur-
rection is historically proven and provable ("Lamentabili", 36).

"By the word 'resurrection' we are not merely to understand that Christ was
raised from the dead...but that He rose by His own power and virtue, a singular
prerogative peculiar to Him alone. Our Lord confirmed this by the divine testimony
of His own mouth when He said: 'I lay down My life, that I may take it again....I
have power to lay it down: and I have power to take it up again' (John 10:17-18).
To the Jews He also said, in corroboration of His doctrine" 'Destroy this temple,
and in three days I will raise it up' (John 2:19-20) [...]. We sometimes, it is true,
read in Scripture that He was raised by the Father (cf. Acts 2:24; Romans 8:11);
but this refers to Him as man, just as those passages on the other hand, which
say that He rose by His own power, related to Him as God" ("St. Pius V Cate-
chism", I, 6, 8).

Christ's resurrection was not a return to His previous earthly existence; it was a
"glorious" resurrection, that is to say, attaining the full development of human life
--immortal, freed from all limitations of space and time. As a result of the resur-
rection, Christ's body now shares in the glory which His soul had from the
beginning. Here lies the unique nature of the historical fact of the resurrection.
He could not be seen by anyone but only by those to whom He granted that
grace, to enable them to be witnesses of this resurrection, and to enable others
to believe in Him by accepting the testimony of the seers.

Christ's resurrection was something necessary for the completion of the work of
our Redemption. For, Jesus Christ through His death freed us from sins; but by
His resurrection He restored us all that we had lost through sin and, moreover,
opened for us the gates of eternal life (cf. Romans 4:25). Also, the fact that He
rose from the dead by His own power is a definitive proof that He is the Son of
God, and therefore His resurrection fully confirms our faith in His divinity.

The resurrection of Christ, as has been pointed out, is the most sublime truth of
our faith. That is why St. Augustine exclaims: "It is no great thing to believe that
Christ died; for this is something that is also believed by pagans and Jews and
by all the wicked: everyone believes that He died. The Christians' faith is in
Christ's resurrection; that is what we hold to be a great thing--to believe that He
rose" ("Enarrationes in Psalmos", 120).

The mystery of the Redemption wrought by Christ, which embraces His death
and resurrection, is applied to every man and woman through Baptism and the
other sacraments, by means of which the believer is as it were immersed in
Christ and in His death, that is to say, in a mystical way he becomes part of
Christ, he dies and rises with Christ: "We were buried therefore with Him by
baptism unto death, so that as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of
the Father, we too might walk in newness of life" (Romans 6:4).

An ardent desire to seek the things of God and an interior taste for the things
that are above (cf. Colossians 3:1-3) are signs of our resurrection with Christ.
　

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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].