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From: 2 Peter 3:12-15a, 17-18

Moral Lessons to be Drawn

[12] Wait for and hasten the coming of the day of God, because of which the
heavens will be kindled and dissolved, and the elements will melt with fire! [13]
But according to his promise we wait for new heavens and new earth in which
righteousness dwells.

[14] Therefore, beloved, since you wait for these, be zealous to be found by him
without spot or blemish, and peace. [15a] And count the forbearance of our Lord
as salvation.

[17] You therefore, beloved, knowing this beforehand, beware lest you be carried
away with the error of lawless men and lose your own stability. [18] But grow in
the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To him be the glo-
ry both now and to the day of eternity. Amen.

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Commentary:

12. “Waiting for and hastening”: these two verbs convey the idea that Christian
hope is something dynamic; it is in no way passive. Contrary to a view quite wide-
spread among the Jews of the time, it does not mean that the Parousia will come
sooner, the more meritorious men are; what it means is that the more closely uni-
ted to Christ they are, the nearer they are to his glory.

Therefore, it is urgent that all should embrace faith in Christ. We who have this
faith pray in the Our Father, “Thy kingdom come.” The first Christians made the
same petition in their ejaculatory prayer, “Marana tha”, “Come, Lord” (1 Cor 16:
22; Rev 22:20), referring to the second coming of the Lord.

“The day of God”: the usual expression in the New Testament is “the day of the
Lord” (1 Cor 1:8; 5:5; 1 Thess 5:2; 2 Thess 2:2; 2 Pet 3:10); both expressions re-
fer to the point at which Christ will come to judge the living and the dead.

13. “New heavens and a new earth”: one of things promised for the End is that
creation will be renewed, re-fashioned: the prophets proclaimed this (cf. Is 65:17),
and the New Testament speaks of drinking new wine at the heavenly banquet (cf.
Mt 14:25), being given a new name (cf. Rev 2:17). singing a new song (cf. Rev 5:
9), living in a new Jerusalem (Rev 21:3). All this imagery conveys the idea that
the whole universe will be transformed, man included (cf. Rom 8:19-22). “We
know neither the moment of the consummation of the earth and of man (cf. Acts
1:7) nor the way the universe will be transformed. The form of this world, distor-
ted by sin, is passing away (cf. 1 Cor 7:31), and are taught that God is preparing
a new dwelling and a new earth in which righteousness dwells (cf. 2 Cor 5:2; 2
Pet 3:13), whose happiness will fill a surpass all the desires of peace arising in
the hearts of men” (”Gaudium Et Spes”, 39).

15-16. The reference to the writing of St Paul is clear evidence of the fact that
from the very beginning of Christianity unity in faith was considered essential. It
is difficult to say whether the sacred writer is thinking of some specific passage,
for themes and even wording found in this letter are to be found in many Pauline
letters—for example, on the subject of God’s forbearance in waiting for men to
mend their ways (cf. Rom 2:4-11; 1 Tim 1:16); or that of holiness as the Chris-
tian goal (cf. 1 Col 1:7-8; Col 1:21-22; Eph 1:5-14).

The “wisdom” of St Paul may be a reference to the special endowments the
Apostle had for the spread of the Gospel; or it may refer to the charism of divine
inspiration, thereby acknowledging that the Letters of St Paul are sacred scrip-
ture, because it would mean putting them on the level of the other sacred books
(v. 16).

“Some things...difficult to understand”: he does not mention any specific sub-
ject; the point he is making is that the false teachers can do damage if they
base their errors on arbitrary misinterpretations of Pauline texts. In his time St
Augustine warned about the fact that “the heresies and perverse dogmas which
entrap souls and hurl them into the abyss originate simply in a bad understan-
ding of good scriptures, and the rashness and audacity with which people put
forward their misinterpretations” (”In Ioann. Evang.”, 18, 1).

That is why the Church, while at the same time giving people every encourage-
ment to read Sacred Scripture, has established precise rules to avoid erroneous
interpretations and to obtain the maximum possible fruit from assiduous reading.
“It is for the bishops, ‘with whom the apostolic doctrine resides’ (St lrenaeus)
suitably to instruct the faithful entrusted to them in the correct use of the divine
books, especially of the New Testament, and in particular of the Gospels. They
do this by giving them translations of the sacred texts which are equipped with
necessary and really adequate explanations. Thus the children of the Church
can familiarize themselves safely and profitably with the Sacred Scriptures,
and become steeped in their spirit” (Vatican II, “Dei Verbum”, 25).]

17-18. The letter ends with a very succinct summary of some of its main points
— pastoral concern, ways to defend oneself against false teachers, and faith in
the divinity of Christ.

“Beloved”: the faithful are referred to in this solicitous way elsewhere in the letter
(3:1, 8, 14). The warnings and threats made by the sacred writer are born of his
pastoral zeal to establish them in the truth (1:12) and remind them what the true
teaching is (3:1).

When he encourages them not to lose their “own strength”, he is reminding them
that firmness in the faith is an essential weapon for protecting themselves against
deceitful teachers who are causing their faith and morals to waver (cf. 2; 3:16).
Understanding and love should be shown towards those who are in error, but this
should not “make us indifferent to truth and goodness. Love, in fact, impels the
followers of Christ to proclaim to all men the truth which saves (”Gaudium Et
Spes”, 28).

“To him be the glory”: most of the doxologies which appear in the New Testament
are in praise of God the Father (cf. Jude 25; Rom 16:27); this one is addressed to
Christ, whose divinity, as in other passages of the epistle, is openly confessed.
He has the same glory as the Father: the doxology is not simply expressing a
desire but stating a fact. The eternal love of Jesus Christ is the basis of the Chris-
tian’s hope. “While she slowly grows to maturity, the Church longs for the comple-
ted Kingdom and, with all her strength, hopes and desires, to be united in glory
with her King” (”Lumen Gentium”, 5).

*********************************************************************************************
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 12:13-17

On Tribute to Caesar

[13] And they sent to him some of the Pharisees and some of the Herodians, to
entrap him in his talk. [14] And they came and said to him, “Teacher, we know
that you are true, and care for no man; for you do not regard the position of men,
but truly teach the way of God. Is it lawful to pay taxes to Caesar, or not? [15]
Should we pay them, or should we not?” But knowing their hypocrisy, he said to
them, “Why put me to the test? Bring me a coin and let me look at it.” [16] And
they brought one. And he said to them, “Whose likeness and inscription is this?”
They said to him, “Caesar’s.” [17] Jesus said to them, “Render to Caesar the
things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s.” And they were
amazed at him.

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Commentary:

13-17. Jesus uses this situation to teach that man belongs totally to his Creator:
“You must perforce give Caesar the coin which bears his likeness, but let you
give your whole being to God, because it is his likeness, not Caesar’s that you
bear” (St Jerome, “Comm. in Marcum, in loc.”).

Our Lord here asserts a principle which should guide the action of Christians in
public life. The Church recognizes the rightful autonomy of earthly realities, but
this does not mean that she has not a responsibility to light them up with the
light of the Gospel. When they work shoulder to shoulder with other citizens to
develop society, Christian lay people should bring a Christian influence to bear:
“If the role of the Hierarchy is to teach and to interpret authentically the norms
of morality to be followed in this matter, it belongs to lay people, without waiting
passively for orders and directives, to take the initiative freely and to infuse a
Christian spirit into the mentality, customs, laws and structures of the commu-
nity in which they live. Changes are necessary, basic reforms are indispensable;
lay people should strive resolutely to permeate them with the spirit of the Gospel”
(Paul VI, “Populorum Progressio”, 81).

*********************************************************************************************
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.

Mass Readings

First reading	2 Peter 3:11-15,17-18 ©

You should be living holy and saintly lives while you wait and long for the Day of God to come, when the sky will dissolve in flames and the elements melt in the heat. What we are waiting for is what he promised: the new heavens and new earth, the place where righteousness will be at home. So then, my friends, while you are waiting, do your best to live lives without spot or stain so that he will find you at peace. Think of our Lord’s patience as your opportunity to be saved. You have been warned about this, my friends; be careful not to get carried away by the errors of unprincipled people, from the firm ground that you are standing on. Instead, go on growing in the grace and in the knowledge of our Lord and saviour Jesus Christ. To him be glory, in time and in eternity. Amen.

Psalm	Psalm 89:2-4,10,14,16 ©