Thursday

Octave of Easter

1st Reading: Acts 3:11-26

Peter's Address in the Temple
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[11] While he (the man lame from birth) clung to Peter and John, all the people
ran together to them in the portico called Solomon's, astounded. [12] And when
Peter saw it he addressed the people, "Men of Israel, why do you wonder at this,
or why do you stare at us, as though by our own power or piety we had made
him walk? [13] The God of Abraham and of Isaac and of Jacob, the God of our
fathers, glorified His servant Jesus, whom you delivered up and denied in the
presence of Pilate, when he had decided to release Him. [14] But you denied
the Holy and Righteous One, and asked for a murderer to be granted to you,
[15] and killed the Author of Life, whom God raised from the dead. To this we
are witnesses. [16] And His name, by faith in His name, has made this man
strong whom you see and know; and the faith which is through Jesus has given
the man this perfect health in the presence of you all.

[17] "And now, brethren, I know that you acted in ignorance as did also your
rulers. [18] But what God foretold by the mouth of all the prophets, that His
Christ should suffer, He thus fulfilled. [19] Repent therefore, and turn again,
that your sins may be blotted out, that times of refreshing may come from the
presence of the Lord, [20] and that He may send the Christ appointed for you,
Jesus, [21] whom Heaven must receive until the time for establishing all that
God spoke by the mouth of His holy prophets from of old. [22] Moses said,
'The Lord God will raise up for you a prophet from your brethren as He raised
me up. You shall listen to Him in whatever He tells you. [23] And it shall be
that every soul that does not listen to that prophet shall be destroyed from the
people.' [24] And all the prophets who have spoken, from Samuel and those
who came afterwards, also proclaimed these days. [25] You are the sons of
the prophets and of the covenant which God gave to your fathers, saying to
Abraham, 'And in your posterity shall all the families of the earth be blessed.'
[26] God having raised up His servant, sent Him to you first, to bless you in
turning every one of you from your wickedness."

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Commentary:

11-26. This second address by St. Peter contains two parts: in the first (verses
12-16) the Apostle explains that the miracle has been worked in the name of
Jesus and through faith in His name; in the second (verses 17-26) he moves his
listeners to repentance--people who were responsible in some degree for Jesus'
death.

This discourse has the same purpose as that of Pentecost--to show the power
of God made manifest in Jesus Christ and to make the Jews see the serious-
ness of their crime and have them repent. In both discourses there is reference
o the Second Coming of the Lord and we can clearly see the special importance
of testifying to the Resurrection of Jesus; the Apostolic College is presented as
a witness to that unique event.

13. "Servant": the original Greek word ("pais") is the equivalent of the Latin
"puer" (slave, servant) and "filius" (son). By using this word St. Peter must
have in mind Isaiah's prophecy about the Servant of Yahweh: "Behold, My
servant shall prosper, He shall be exalted and lifted up, and shall be very high.
As many were astonished at Him--His appearance was so marred, beyond hu-
man semblance, and His form beyond that of the sons of men--so shall He
startle many nations" (52:13-15).

Peter identifies Jesus with the Servant of Yahweh, who, because He was a
man of suffering and sorrow, the Jews did not identify with the future Messiah.
That Messiah, Jesus Christ, combines in His person suffering and victory.

14. St. Peter, referring to Jesus, uses terms which Jews can readily under-
stand in a messianic sense. The _expression "the Holy One of God" was
already used of Jesus as referring to the Messiah in Mark 1:24 and Luke
4:34. It is reminiscent of Old Testament language.

The "Righteous One" also refers to the Messiah, whom the prophets des-
cribed as a model and achiever of righteousness (cf. Acts 7:52). "Holy",
"righteous" and "just" all have similar meaning.

15. When St. Peter reminds his listeners about their choice of a murderer
(Barabbas) in place of Jesus, the Author of Life, we might usefully consider
that he was referring not only to physical life, but also to spiritual life, the
life of grace. Every time a person sins--sin means the death of the soul --
this same choice is being made again. "It was He who created man in the
beginning, and He left him in the power of his own inclination. If you will,
you can keep the commandments, and to act faithfully is a matter of your
own choice. He has placed before you fire and water: stretch out your hand
for whichever you wish. Before a man are life and death, and which he
chooses will be given to him" (Sirach 15:14-18).

16. The original text, structured in a very Jewish way, is difficult to under-
stand. One reason for this is the use of the word "name" instead of simply
identifying who the person is. In this passage "name" means the same as
"Jesus". Thus the verse can be interpreted in this way: through faith in
Jesus, the man lame from birth, whom they know and have seen, has been
cured; it is Jesus Himself who has worked this complete and instantaneous
cure.

17-18. The Jewish people acted in ignorance, St. Peter says. Indeed, when
He was on the cross Jesus had prayed, "Father, forgive them, for they know
not what they do" (Luke 23:34). The people did not know that Jesus was the
Christ, the Son of God. They let themselves be influenced by their priests.
These, who were familiar with the Scriptures, should have recognized Him.

God's pardon is offered to one and all. St. Peter "tells them that Christ's
death was a consequence of God's will and decree. [...] You can see how
incomprehensible and profound God's design is. It was not just one but all
the prophets who foretold this mystery. Yet although the Jews had been,
without knowing it, the cause of Jesus' death, that death had been deter-
mined by the wisdom and will of God, who used the malice of the Jews to
fulfill His designs. The Apostle does not say, "Although the prophets fore-
told this death and you acted out of ignorance, do not think you are entirely
free from blame"; Peter speaks to them gently: 'Repent and turn again.' To
what end? 'That your sins may be blotted out'. Not only your murder but all
the stains on your souls" (Chrysostom, "Hom. on Acts", 9).

The Second Vatican Council tells us how Christians should treat Jewish people
and those who follow other non-Christian religions--with respect and also a pru-
dent zeal to attract them to the faith. "Even though the Jewish authorities and
those who followed their lead pressed for the death of Christ (cf. John 19:6),
neither all the Jews indiscriminately at that time, nor Jews today, can be
charged with the crimes committed during His Passion. It is true that the
Church is the new people of God, yet the Jews should not be spoken of as
rejected or accursed. [...] Jews for the most part did not accept the Gospel;
on the contrary, many opposed the spreading of it (cf. Romans 11:28-29).
Even so, the Apostle Paul maintains that the Jews remain very dear to God,
for the sake of the Patriarchs, since God does not take back the gifts He
bestowed or the choice He made" (Vatican II, "Nostra Aetate", 4). We must
not forget this special position of the Jewish people (cf. Romans 9:4-5) and
the fact that from them came Jesus as far as His human lineage was con-
cerned, and His Mother, the Blessed Virgin Mary, and the Apostles--the
foundation, the pillars of the Church--and many of the first disciples who
proclaimed Christ's Gospel to the world.

Moved by charity, the Church prays to our Lord for the spiritual conversion
of the Jewish people; "Christ, God and man, who is the Lord of David and his
children, we beseech You that in keeping with the prophecies and promises,
Israel should recognize You as Messiah" ("Liturgy of the Hours", Morning
Prayer, 31 December).

19. One result of sorrow for sin is a desire to make up for the damage done.
On the day of Pentecost many Jews were moved by grace to ask the Apostles
what they should do to make atonement. Here also St. Peter encourages them
to change their lives and turn to God. This repentance or conversion which
Peter preaches is the same message as marked the initial proclamation of the
Kingdom (cf. Mark 1:15; 13:1-4). "This means a change of outlook, and it ap-
plies to the state of sinful man, who needs to change his ways and turn to God,
desirous of breaking away from his sins and repenting and calling on God's
mercy" ([Pope] Paul VI, "Homily", 24 February 1971).

On another occasion [Pope] Paul VI explained that the word "conversion" can
be translated normally as "change of heart". "We are called to this change and
it will make us see many things. The first has to do with interior analysis of our
oul [...]: we should examine ourselves as to what is the main direction our life is
taking, what attitude is usually to the fore in the way we think and act, what is
our reason of being. [...] Is our rudder fixed so as to bring us exactly to our goal
or does its direction need perhaps to be changed? [...] By examining ourselves
in this way [...] we will discover sins, or at least weaknesses, which call for
penance and profound reform" ([Pope] Paul VI, "General Audience", 21 March
1973).

20. A reference to the Parousia or Second Coming of Christ as Judge of the
living and the dead (cf. note on 1:11).

22-24. St. Peter wants to show that the Old Testament prophecies are fulfilled
in Jesus: He is descended from David (2:30), a prophet (cf. Deuteronomy 18:15),
who suffered (2:23), who is the cornerstone (4:11) and who rose from the dead
and sits in glory at the right hand of the Father (2:25-34).


Gospel Reading: Luke 24:35-48

[35] Then they (the disciples) told what had happened on the road, and how
He (Jesus) was known to them in the breaking of the bread.

Jesus Appears To The Eleven And Their Companions
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[36] As they were saying this, Jesus Himself stood among them, and said to
them, "Peace to you!" [37] But they were startled and frightened, and supposed
that they saw a spirit. [38] And He said to them, "Why are you troubled, and
why do questionings rise in your hearts? [39] See My hands and My feet, that
it is I Myself; handle Me, and see; for a spirit has not flesh and bones as you
see that I have." [40] And when He had said this, He showed them His hands
and His feet. [41] And while they still disbelieved for joy, and wondered, He said
to them, "Have you anything here to eat?" [42] They gave Him a piece of broiled
fish, [43] and He took it and ate before them.

Jesus' Last Instructions And Leave-Taking
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[44] Then He said to them, "These are My words which I spoke to you, while I
was still with you, that everything written about Me in the law of Moses and the
prophets and the psalms must be fulfilled." [45] Then He opened their minds to
understand the Scriptures, [46] and He said to them, "Thus it is written, that the
Christ should suffer and on the third day rise from the dead, [47] and that repen-
tance and forgiveness of sins should be preached in His name to all nations,
beginning from Jerusalem. [48] You are witnesses of these things."

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Commentary:

36-43. This appearance of the risen Jesus is reported by St. Luke and St. John
(cf. John 20:19-23). St. John reports the institution of the sacrament of Penance,
whereas St. Luke puts the stress on the disciples' difficulty in accepting the mira-
cle of the Resurrection, despite the angels' testimony to the women (cf. Matthew
28:5-7; Mark 16:5-7; Luke 24:4-11) and despite the witness of those who had
already seen the risen Lord (cf. Matthew 28:9-10; Mark 16:9-13; Luke 24:13ff;
John 20:11-18).

Jesus appears all of a sudden, when the doors are closed (cf. John 20:19), which
explains their surprised reaction. St. Ambrose comments that "He penetrated
their closed retreat not because His nature was incorporeal, but because He had
the quality of a resurrected body" ("Expositio Evangelii Sec. Lucam, in loc".).
"Subtility", which is one of the qualities of a glorified body, means that "the body
is totally subject to the soul and ever ready to obey its wishes" ("St. Pius V
Catechism", I, 12, 13), with the result that it can pass through material obstacles
without any difficulty.

This scene showing Christ's condescension to confirm for them the truth of His
resurrection has a charm all of its own.

41-43. Although His risen body is incapable of suffering, and therefore has no
need of food to nourish it, our Lord confirms His disciples' faith in His resurrec-
tion by giving them these two proofs--inviting them to touch Him and eating in
their presence. "For myself, I know and believe that our Lord was in the flesh
even after the Resurrection. And when He came to Peter and his companions,
He said to them, 'Here, feel Me and see that I am not a bodiless ghost.' They
touched Him and believed, and were convinced that He was flesh and spirit [...].
Moreover, after the Resurrection, He ate and drank with them like a man of flesh
and blood, though spiritually one with the Father" (St. Ignatius of Antioch, "Letter
to the Christians at Smyrna", III, 1-3).

44-49. St. Matthew stresses that the Old Testament prophecies are fulfilled in
Christ, because His immediate audience were Jews, who would accept this as
proof that Jesus was indeed the promised Messiah. St. Luke does not usually
argue along these lines because He is writing for Gentiles; however, in this
epilogue he does report, in a summarized way, Christ's statement to the effect
that everything foretold about Him had come true. By doing so He shows the
unity of Old and New Testaments and that Jesus is truly the Messiah.

46. From St. Luke's account we have seen how slow the Apostles were to
grasp Jesus' prophecy of His death and resurrection (cf. 9:45; 18:34). Now
that the prophecy is fulfilled Jesus reminds them that it was necessary for the
Christ to suffer and to rise from the dead (cf. Acts 2:1-4).

The Cross is a mystery, in our own life as well as in Christ's: "Jesus suffers to
carry out the will of the Father. And you, who also want to carry out the most
holy Will of God, following the steps of the Master, can you complain if you
meet suffering on your way?" (St. J. Escriva, "The Way", 213).

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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].