1st Reading for the 4th Sunday of Easter

From: Acts 2:14, 36-41

Peter's Address (Continuation)

[14a] But Peter, standing with the Eleven, lifted up his voice and addressed them, [36] "Let all the house of Israel therefore know assuredly that God has made Him both Lord and Christ, this Jesus whom you crucified."

The Baptism

[37] Now when they heard this they were cut to the heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the Apostles, "Brethren, what shall we do?" [38] And Peter said to them, "Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. [39] For the promise is to you and to your children and to all that are far off, every one whom the Lord our God calls to Him." [40] And he testified with many other words and exhorted them, saying, "Save yourselves from this crooked generation." [41] So those who received his word were baptized, and there were added that day about three thousand souls.
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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 courage a man has when he is the instrument of the Holy Spirit. [...] Just as a burning 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 proclamation ("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 messianic 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 around 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 expression "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, understanding of mysteries and of hidden truths, an outpouring of gifts, Heavenly citizenship, conversation with angels. From Him comes never-ending joy, perseverance 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 question 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 directly 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. Ephesians 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 rejected 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, heroism 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 unequivocal message of St. Peter in the days that followed Pentecost: Jesus is the corner- stone, 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 taken from the Revised Standard Version and New Vulgate. Commentaries made by members of the Faculty of Theology of the University of Navarre, Spain. Published by Four Courts Press, Kill Lane, Blackrock, Co. Dublin, Ireland. Reprinted with permission from Four Courts Press and Scepter Publishers, the U.S. publisher.