From: 1 Peter 1:18-25
The Blood of Christ Is Our Ransom
[18] You know that you were ransomed from the futile ways inherited from your fa-
thers, not with perishable things such as silver or gold, [19] but with the precious
blood of Christ, like that of a lamb without blemish or spot. [20] He was destined
before the foundation of the world but was made manifest at the end of the times
for your sake. [21] Through him you have confidence in God, who raised him from
the dead and gave him glory, so that your faith and hope are in God.
Brotherly Love
[22] Having purified your souls by your obedience to the truth for a sincere love of
the brethren, love one another earnestly from the heart. [23] You have been born
anew, not of perishable seed but of imperishable, through the living and abiding
word of God; [24] for “All flesh is like grass and all its glory like the flower of grass.
The grass withers, and the flower falls, [25] but the word of the Lord abides forever.”
That word is the good news which was preached to you.
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Commentary:
17-21. The Christian has attained the honor of being a son or daughter of God.
The sacred writer summarizes God’s plan for man’s salvation, which comes a-
bout in Christ: from all eternity, it was God’s design to save men through Christ;
this design was made manifest “at the end of the times”, when our Lord offered
himself as an expiation for the sins of men, and then rose from the dead and was
glorified. This is a further reason why Christians should grow in their desire for
holiness.
“You were ransomed” (v. 18): the image of ransoming used here to explain Re-
demption is probably taken from sacred manumission (common at the time in
Asia Minor and Greece) whereby slaves were set free through a sum of money
being deposited in the temple. When exhorting Christians not to return to their
former sins, St Paul also stresses the great size of the ransom (cf. 1 Cor 6:20
and note). The amount of the ransom, St Ambrose points out, “was not rec-
koned in terms of money but in terms of blood, for Christ died for us; he has
set us free with his precious blood, as St Peter also reminds us in his letter
[...]; precious because it is the blood of a spotless Lamb, the blood of the Son
of God, who has ransomed us not only from the curse of the Law, but also from
that never-ending death which impiety implies” (”Expositio Evangelii sec. Lu-
cam”, 7, 117).
“The blood of Christs like that of a lamb without blemish or spot” (v. 19): in the
sacrifice of Jesus was fulfilled the prophecy of Isaiah about the Messiah’s expia-
tory suffering; and it also finally completed the liberation of the Israelite first-born
in Egypt through the blood of the paschal lamb (Ex 12; cf. Introduction to this let-
ter). So, when in the New Testament the figure of the Lamb is applied to Christ,
this is a way of referring to the atoning sacrifice of the Cross and, also, the spot-
less innocence of the Redeemer (cf. note on Jn 1:29).
21. The resurrection of Jesus is the basis of Christian faith and hope and is the
main proof of Jesus’ divinity and his divine mission (cf., e.g., 1 Cor 15 and notes
on same). The Apostles were, first and foremost, witnesses of our Lord’s resur-
rection (cf. Acts 1:22; 2:32; etc.), and the proclamation of the Resurrection was
the core of apostolic catechesis (cf. the discourses of St Peter and St Paul in
the Acts of the Apostles).
Jesus Christ rose from the dead by his own power, the power of his divine person
(cf. “Creed of the People of God”, 12); the “St Pius V Catechism” points out that
“we sometimes, it is true, read in Scripture that he was raised by the Father; but
this refers to him as man, just as those passages, on the other hand, which say
that he rose by his own power relate to him as God” (I, 6, 8).
22-25. Fraternal love is one of the main signs of holiness. Jesus said that this
love would be the distinguishing mark of Christians, and the Apostles often repeat
this teaching in the instruction they impart (cf., e.g., 1 Cor 13; Jas 2:8; 1 Jn). The
new people of God, Vatican II says, “are reborn, not from a corruptible seed, but
from an incorruptible one through the word of the living God (cf. 1 Pet 1:23); the
law of this people is the new commandment to love as Christ loved us (cf. Jn
13:34)” (”Lumen Gentium”, 9).
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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: Mark 10:32-45
Third Prophecy of the Passion
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[32] And they (the disciples) were on the road, going up to Jerusalem, and Jesus
was walking ahead of them; and they were amazed, and those who followed were
afraid. And taking the Twelve again, He began to tell them what was to happen to
Him, [33] saying, "Behold, we are going up to Jerusalem; and the Son of Man will
be delivered to the chief priests and the scribes, and they will condemn Him to
death, and deliver Him to the Gentiles; [34] and they will mock Him, and spit up-
on Him, and scourge Him, and kill Him; and after three days He will rise."
The Sons of Zebedee Make Their Request
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[35] And James and John, the sons of Zebedee, came forward to Him, and said
to Him, "Teacher, we want You to do for us whatever we ask of You." [36] And
He said to them, "What do you want Me to do for you?" [37] And they said to
Him, "Grant us to sit, one at your right hand and one at your left, in your glory."
[38] But Jesus said to them, "You do not know what you are asking. Are you
able to drink the cup that I drink, or to be baptized with the baptism with which
I am baptized?" [39] And they said to Him, "We are able." And Jesus said to
them, "The cup that I drink you will drink; and with the baptism with which I am
baptized, you will be baptized; [40] but to sit at My right hand or at My left is not
Mine to grant, but it is for those for whom it has been prepared." [41] And when
the ten heard it, they began to be indignant at James and John. [42] And Jesus
called them to Him and said to them, "You know that those who are supposed
to rule over the Gentiles lord it over them, and their great men exercise authority
over them. [43] But it shall not be so among you; but whoever would be great
among you must be your servant, [44] and whoever would be first among you
must be slave of all. [45] For the Son of Man also came not to be served but to
serve, and to give His life as a ransom of many."
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Commentary:
32. Jesus was making His way to Jerusalem with a burning desire to see fulfilled
everything that He had foretold about His passion and death. He had already told
His disciples that He would suffer there, which is why they cannot understand
His eagerness. By His own example He is teaching us to carry the cross gladly,
not to try to avoid it.
35-44. We can admire the Apostles' humility: they do not disguise their earlier
weakness and shortcomings from the first Christians. God also has wanted the
Holy Gospel to record the earlier weaknesses of those who will become the un-
shakeable pillars of the Church. The grace of God works wonders in people's
souls: so we should never be pessimistic in the face of our own wretchedness:
"I can do all things in Him who strengthens me" (Philippians 4:13).
38. When we ask for anything in prayer, we should be ready, always, to accept
God's will, even if it does not coincide with our own: "His Majesty knows best
what is suitable for us; it is not for us to advise Him what to give us, for He can
rightly reply that we know not what we ask" (St. Teresa, "Mansions", II, 8).
43-45. Our Lord's word and example encourage in us a genuine spirit of Christian
service. Only the Son of God who came down from Heaven and freely submitted
to humiliation (at Bethlehem, Nazareth, Calvary, and in the Sacred Host) can ask
a person to make himself last, if he wishes to be first.
The Church, right through history, continues Christ's mission of service to man-
kind: "Experienced in human affairs, the Church, without attempting to interfere
in any way in the politics of States, 'seeks but a solitary goal: to carry forward
the work of Christ Himself under the lead of the befriending Spirit. And Christ en-
tered this world to give witness to the truth, to rescue and not to sit in judgment,
to serve and not to be served' (Vatican II, "Gaudium Et Spes", 3). Sharing the no-
blest aspirations of men and suffering when she sees them not satisfied, she wi-
shes to help them attain their full flowering, and that is why she offers men what
she possesses as her characteristic attribute: a global vision of man and of the
human race" (Paul VI, "Populorum Progressio", 13).
Our attitude should be that of our Lord: we should seek to serve God and men
with a truly supernatural outlook, not expecting any return; we should serve even
those who do not appreciate the service we do them. This undoubtedly does not
make sense, judged by human standards. However, the Christian identified with
Christ takes "pride" precisely in serving others; by so doing he shares in Christ's
mission and thereby attains his true dignity: "This dignity is expressed in readi-
ness to serve, in keeping with the example of Christ, who 'came not to be served
but to serve.' If, in the light of this attitude of Christ's, 'being a king' is truly possi-
ble only by 'being a servant', then 'being a servant' also demands so much spiri-
tual maturity that it must really be described as 'being a king.' In order to be able
to serve others worthily and effectively we must be able to master ourselves, pos-
sess the virtues that make this mastery possible" (Bl. John Paul II, "Redemptor
Hominis", 21). Cf. note on Matthew 20:27-28.
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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.