From: Acts 9:26-31
Barnabas and Paul in Jerusalem
The Growth of the Church
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Commentary:
26. This is the first time Paul presents himself in Jerusalem after his conversion.
He went up to see Peter, with whom he spent fifteen days (cf. Gal 1:18), and put
himself at Peter’s disposal; and to check that his teaching was in line with that
of the Apostles.
Barnabas (see note on 4:36) dispelled the Jerusalem community’s initial under-
standable suspicion of their one-time persecutor. They had been only too well
aware of his determination to suppress the Church and had not yet heard about
his preaching in Damascus.
During his short stay in Jerusalem Paul preached boldly his faith in the divinity of
Jesus and met the same kind of opposition as he did in Damascus.
30. For the second time St Paul has to flee for his life. Commenting on this epi-
sode, St John Chrysostom explains that, in addition to grace, human resourceful-
ness has a part to play in apostolic activity. “The disciples were afraid that the
Jews would do to Saul what they had done to St Stephen. This may be why they
sent him to preach the Gospel in his homeland, where he would be safer. In this
action of the Apostles you can see that God does not do everything directly, by
means of his grace, and that he frequently lets his disciples act in line with the
rule of prudence” (”Hom. on Acts”, 20).
Chrysostom also sees in Paul’s earlier flight from Damascus an example of pru-
dent conduct: “Despite his great desire to be with God, he first had to carry out
his mission for the salvation of souls. [...] Jesus Christ does not preserve his
Apostles from dangers: he lets them confront them, because he wants men to
use the resources of prudence to escape from them. Why does he arrange things
in this way? In order to have us understand that the Apostles are also men and
that grace does not do everything in its servants. Otherwise, would people not
have seen them as inert and lifeless things? That is why the Apostles did many
things by following the dictates of prudence. Let us follow their example and use
all our natural abilities to work with grace for the salvation of our brethren” (”ibid.”).
31. St Luke breaks his narrative to give an overview of the steady progress of the
Church as a whole and of the various communities that have grown up as a result
of the Christians’ flight from Jerusalem (cf. Acts 2:40, 47; 4:4; 5:14; 6:1, 7; 11:21,
24; 16:5). He emphasizes the peace and consolation the Holy Spirit has brought
them. This note of justified optimism and trust in God confirms that God is with
his Church and that no human force can destroy it (cf. 5:39).
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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.
From: 1 John 3:18-24
Loving One Another
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Commentary:
16-18. From Jesus the Christian learns what love is and what demands it makes
not only through his sublime teaching (like that about the Good Shepherd in John
10:1ff or his discourse at the Last Supper) but above all by his example: “he laid
down his life for us”, by dying on the cross. We “ought” to do the same; the
Greek word St John uses implies a duty. That is, the precept of brotherly love im-
poses an obligation for two reasons—by the very nature of things, since all men
are brothers and children of God; and because we are indebted to Christ and
must respond to the infinite love he showed by giving his life for us.
Using an example very like that in the Letter of St James (cf. Jas 2:15-16), he
shows that true love expresses itself in actions: anyone who “closes his heart”
when he sees others in need does not truly love. The saints have constantly re-
minded us of St John’s teaching: “what the Lord desires is works. If you see a
sick woman to whom you can give some help, never be affected by the fear that
your devotion will suffer, but take pity on her: if she is in pain, you should feel
pain too; if necessary, fast so that she may have your food, not so much for her
sake as because you know it to be your Lord’s will. That is true union with his
will. Again, if you hear someone being highly praised, be much more pleased
than if they were praising you” (St Teresa of Avila, “Interior Castle”, V, 3,11).
19-22. The Apostle reassures us: God knows everything; not only does he know
our sins and our frailties, he also knows our repentance and our good desires,
and he understands and forgives us (St Peter, on the Lake of Tiberias, made the
same confession to Jesus: “Lord, you know everything, you know that I love you”:
Jn 21:17).
St John’s teaching on divine mercy is very clear: if our conscience tells us we
have done wrong, we can seek forgiveness and strengthen our hope in God; if
our conscience does not accuse us, our confidence in God is ardent and bold,
like that of a child who has loving experience of his Father’s tenderness. The
love of God is mightier than our sins, Bl. John Paul II reminds us: “When we
realize that God’s love for us does not cease in the face of our sin or recoil be-
fore our offenses, but becomes even more attentive and generous; when we rea-
lize that this love went so far as to cause the Passion and Death of the Word
made flesh who consented to redeem us at the price of his own blood, then we
exclaim in gratitude: ‘Yes, the Lord is rich in mercy’, and even: ‘The Lord is mer-
cy”’ (”Reconciliatio Et Paenitentia”, 22).
This confidence in God makes for confidence in prayer: “If you abide in me, and
my words abide in you, ask whatever you will, and it shall be done for you” (Jn
15:7; cf. 14:13f; 16:23, 26-27).
23-24. The commandments of God are summed up here in terms of love for
Jesus and love for the brethren. “We cannot rightly love one another unless we
believe in Christ; nor can we truly believe in the name of Jesus Christ without
brotherly love” (St Bede, “In I Epist. S. Ioannis, ad loc.”). Faith and love cannot
be separated (cf. Gal 5:6); our Lord himself told us what would mark his disci-
ples out—their love for one another (Jn 13:34-35).
Keeping the commandments confirms to the Christian that he is abiding in God:
“If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love” (Jn 15:10). Moreover,
it ensures that God abides in his soul, by the indwelling of the Holy Spirit: “If you
love me you will keep my commandments. And I will pray the Father, and he will
give you another Counselor, to be with you for ever” (Jn 14:15-16).
“May God be your house and you God’s; dwell in God that God may dwell in you.
God dwells in you to support you; you dwell in God in order not to fall. Keep the
commandments, have charity” (”In I Epist. S. loannis, ad loc.”).
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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.