Other Sunday and Holy Day Readings
VIGIL OF THE SOLEMNITY OF SAINTS PETER AND PAUL (Cycles ABC)
Readings:
Acts 3:1-10
Psalm 19:2-5
Galatians 1:11-20
John 21:15-19
Abbreviations: NJB (New Jerusalem Bible), NABRE (New American Bible Revised Edition), IBHE (Interlinear Bible Hebrew-English), IBGE (Interlinear Bible Greek-English), or LXX (Greek Septuagint Old Testament translation). CCC designates a citation from the Catechism of the Catholic Church. The word LORD or GOD rendered in all capital letters is, in the Hebrew text, God's Divine Name YHWH (Yahweh).
God reveals His divine plan for humanity in the two Testaments, which is why we read and relive the events of salvation history contained in the Old and New Testaments in the Church's Liturgy. The Catechism teaches that the Liturgy reveals the unfolding mystery of God's plan as we read the Old Testament in light of the New and the New Testament in light of the Old (CCC 1094-1095).
The
Theme of the Readings: Following the Examples of Peter and Paul
In this
Solemnity, we celebrate the mission, martyrdom, and eternal life of two men
whose faith, dedication, and leadership are examples of true Christian heroism.
Simon-Peter, called to follow Jesus in the first year of His ministry, was
designated by the Lord as the leader of the Twelve Apostles and Christ's Vicar
over His Kingdom of the earthly Church. Paul was not called to discipleship
until after Jesus's Resurrection and became the Church's apostle to the
Gentiles.
In the First Reading, the Jewish crowd witnessed a miracle when Peter healed a man crippled from birth. The people realized that Jesus's ministry of physical and spiritual healing did not end with His death. His ministry continued with His Apostles and disciples who had His authority to bring forth miracles in the name of Jesus Christ!
The Responsorial Psalm proclaims how the glory of God has spread throughout the earth. Christians realize that what the psalm proclaims is fulfilled in the preaching of the Gospel of salvation "to the ends of the world" by Christ's Universal Church and His disciples in every generation.
In the Second Reading, St. Paul reminded the Christians of Galatia that the Gospel he preached to them came directly from the resurrected Son of God, Jesus Christ, and not from any human being. Then, Paul gave an account of his personal history for the Galatians. He offered a summary of his life that began as a persecutor of Christians but was transformed by Christ, who made him a herald of the Gospel of salvation and an apostle to the Gentiles.
In the Gospel Reading, the resurrected Jesus Christ recommissioned Peter as His chief minister and the Vicar of His earthly Kingdom. He asks Peter three times if he loved Him, allowing Peter to make atonement for his three-times denial of Jesus on the night of His trial by the Jewish Sanhedrin. Jesus called Peter to a greater love than mere human love and to take up his service as His chief shepherd with authority over the laity who are the lambs and the ordained ministers who are the sheep of Jesus's flock of the Kingdom of the Church. Finally, Jesus called Peter to "Follow me" by continuing His earthly ministry and to the cross of martyrdom that would lead Peter to eternal glory.
Saints Peter and Paul founded the Universal Church's geographic center in Rome. Both men entered Christ's glory during the reign of the Roman Emperor Nero circa AD 67. They died the same day, suffering martyrdom for their unyielding faith in Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior.1 The pagan Romans crucified Peter upside down since he requested because he did not consider himself worthy of being crucified in the same manner as Christ. His crucifixion site is near Vatican hill in the city of Rome. St. Paul, a Roman citizen, was beheaded outside the walls of Rome. Today's entrance antiphon remembers their faith and sacrifice: "These men, conquering all human frailty, shed their blood and helped the Church to grow. By sharing the cup of the Lord's suffering, they became the friends of God."
The
First Reading Acts 3:1-10 ~ Healing a Crippled Beggar
1 Now Peter and John were going up to the Temple area for the three o'clock hour
of prayer [at the ninth hour]. 2 And a man crippled from birth was carried and
placed at the gate of the Temple called "the Beautiful Gate" every day to beg
for alms from the people who entered the Temple. 3 When he saw Peter and John
about to go into the Temple, he asked for alms. 4 But Peter looked intently at
him as did John, and said, "Look at us." 5 He paid attention to them, expecting
to receive something from them. 6 Peter said, "I have neither silver or gold,
but what I do have I give you: in the name of Jesus Christ the Nazorean, rise
and walk." 7 Then Peter took him by the right hand and raised him up, and
immediately his feet and ankles grew strong. 8 He leaped up, stood, and walked
around, and went into the Temple with them, walking and jumping and praising
God. 9 When all the people saw him walking and praising God, 10 they recognized
him as the one who used to sit begging at the Beautiful Gate of the Temple, and
they were filled with amazement and astonishment at what had happened to him.
[...] = literal
translation IBGE, vol. IV, page 326.
The pairing of Peter and John began when Jesus sent them to prepare the Upper Room for the Last Supper and continued through the Book of Acts (Lk 22:8; Jn 13:22-24; 20:1-6; 21:20-21). The Church Fathers identified the "other/beloved" disciple as John Zebedee (see Acts 1:13 compared with other lists of Apostles; Acts 3:1, 3, 11; 4:13, 19; 8:14 and Gal 2:9).
1 Now Peter and John were going up to the Temple area for the three o'clock hour
of prayer [at the ninth hour].
There
could only be one altar of sacrifice to the God of Israel and one Sanctuary,
unlike the pagan gods with multiple altars and temples of worship. The first
Sanctuary was the one built by Moses and the children of Israel at Mount Sinai
(Ex 25-31 and 36-40). The furnishings of the Sanctuary and the altar of
sacrifice were copies of what Moses saw in the heavenly Sanctuary (Ex 25:1-9). God
commanded that the Israelites build the first Sanctuary as a portable shrine
that traveled with them during their forty years in the wilderness. When the
Israelites took possession of the Promised Land, the Sanctuary resided at
Shiloh (Josh 18:1; 22:9;
Judg 18:31) and Nob (1 Sam 22:11). When King David
conquered Jerusalem, he permanently settled the Sanctuary there as the place God
chose as "a home for His name" (Dt 12:10-12;
1 Kng 11:36; 1 Chr 6:6).
David's son Solomon built the first Jerusalem Temple on the heights of Mount Moriah in the 10th century BC (2 Chr 3:1-2). The Babylonians destroyed the first Temple in 587/6 BC. After the Jews returned from the Babylonian exile seventy years later, they built the second Jerusalem Temple. When Herod the Great became the Roman-appointed King of the Jews, he began a major building project to expand and beautify the Temple, making it one of the most beautiful buildings in the ancient world. The nine gates that led into the Temple precincts had huge double doors. Except for the Corinthian gate made of bronze embellished with silver and gold, all the other gates leading into the Temple area were wooden doors completely covered with gold and silver on the front and back (Josephus, The Jewish Wars, 5.5.3 [201-204].
The Jewish ninth hour, or 3 PM, is the same time Jesus gave up His life on the altar of the Cross (Mk 15:34, 37). It was also the hour of the afternoon Liturgical worship service and sacrifice of the second communal Tamid lamb when the Temple doors opened for prayer and worship.
2 And a man crippled from birth was carried and placed at the gate of the Temple
called "the Beautiful Gate" every day to beg for alms from the people who
entered the Temple.
Biblical
scholars and historians have debated the identity and location of the
"Beautiful Gate." Some have suggested it was the Nicanor Gate to the east of
the Sanctuary that led from the outer court of the Gentiles to the first inner
court, the Court of the Women. However, this door would not have been a high-traffic
area since the women had another preferred side entrance that was more private,
and the men would not have passed through the Court of the Women to reach the
other inner courts. A better choice is the Double Gate (meaning a gate with two
double doors to accommodate the crowds) covered with silver and gold on the
southern wall of the Temple mount that gave access to Solomon's Portico (Acts 3:11), where Peter and John were teaching. This gate would have been a high-traffic
area and good for begging.
This man's deformity prevented him from attending worship in the inner courts of the Temple, and he counted on the generosity of those coming to the Temple to support him (Lev 21:16-18; Dt 15:21; Mal 1:8, 13; Mishnah: Kelim, 1:5). He was crippled from birth and was over forty years old (Acts 4:22).
6 He
paid attention to them, expecting to receive something from them. 6 Peter said,
"I have neither silver or gold, but what I do have I give you: in the name of
Jesus Christ the Nazorean, rise and walk."
The
gift Peter had to give the man was beyond any monetary contribution. Peter's
mention of "silver or gold" may be a reference to the beautifully embellished
gate they were standing near covered with silver and gold. Jesus promised His
disciples in John 15:16, 26-27, and 16:23-24. He said they would testify about
Him through the power of the Holy Spirit and that whatever they asked in His
name, they would receive through the power of the Spirit. It was a promise
fulfilled in Acts 3:6-8. For the ancients, the "name" of a person was
inseparable from the person himself and expressed the true moral essence of
that person (see, for example, Ex 3:13). By invoking the "name of Jesus," Peter
brought the glorified life force of Jesus into action.
However, there was another requirement to manifest the active power of Jesus by the invocation of His name (see Mt 8:10-13; Acts 4:16; 19:13-17). Genuine faith in both the one receiving the healing and the one calling on the power of Jesus's holy name in submission to the will of God for both was necessary. Jesus asked for faith when He worked miracles (see Mt 8:13; 9:1-2; Mk 5:36-43; 10:51-52; Lk 17:14-19). Miracles require faith, without which it loses its true significance since faith requires the submission/sacrifice of the whole person in mind and heart to the will of God for their life.
7
Then Peter took him by the right hand and raised him up, and immediately his
feet and ankles grew strong. 8 He leaped up, stood, and walked around, and went
into the Temple with them, walking and jumping and praising God.
Jesus
healed the lame and the sick in fulfillment of the prophecies of the prophet
Isaiah: Then will the eyes of the blind be opened, the ears of the deaf be
cleared; then will the lame leap like a stag, then the tongue of the dumb will
sing (Is 35:5-6). Jesus gave the same power to the Apostles when He sent
them on their first missionary journey to proclaim the Gospel (Lk 9:1-2). Now,
the power and fulfillment of Jesus's mission continued in the Messianic Age as
the crowds at the Temple witnessed the miracle of healing the man who was lame
from birth. As in Jesus's acts of healing, what Peter did was not simply an act
of mercy. It was a sign of Christ's power in affirming the Apostle's mission in
proclaiming the Kingdom.
8 He
leaped up, stood, and walked around, and went into the Temple with them,
walking and jumping and praising God.
Physically
deformed people were not allowed into the Temple past the outer courts. There
were three inner courts: the first was the Court of the Women, the second was
the Court of Israel, and the third was the Court of the Priests, the location
of the sacrificial altar. Notice that the healed man entered the Temple proper,
signifying his healing beyond the physical restoration. Peter also restored him
to communal worship!
9 When all the people saw him walking and praising God, 10 they recognized him as
the one who used to sit begging at the Beautiful Gate of the Temple, and they
were filled with amazement and astonishment at what had happened to him.
The
people realized that Jesus's ministry of physical and spiritual healing did not
end with His death. His ministry continued with His Apostles and disciples who
had His authority to bring forth miracles in the name of the Messiah, Jesus of
Nazareth!
Responsorial Psalm 19:2-5 ~ The Glory of God
The response is: "Their message goes out through all the earth."
2 The
heavens declare the glory of God; the firmament proclaims the work of his hands.
3 Day unto day pours forth speech; night unto night whispers knowledge.
Response:
4 There
is no speech, no words; their voice is not heard; 5 their messages, to the ends
of the world.
Response:
The psalm announces the glory of God proclaimed throughout the earth (verses 2-4). The glory of God is made manifest to the earth by divine Law. Christians can see what the psalms fulfilled in the preaching of the Gospel of salvation "to the ends of the world" by Jesus's Apostles and His disciples in every generation.
The Second Reading Galatians 1:11-20 ~ Paul's Former Life and Conversion
11 Now I want you to know, brothers [adelphoi], that the Gospel preached by me is
not of human origin. 12 For I did not receive it from a human being, nor was I
taught it, but it came through a revelation of Jesus Christ. 13 For you heard
of my former way of life in Judaism, how I persecuted the Church of God beyond
measure and tried to destroy it, 14 and progressed in Judaism beyond many of my
contemporaries among my race, since I was even more a zealot for my ancestral
traditions. 15 But when God, who from my mother's womb had set me apart and
called me through his grace, was pleased 16 to reveal his Son to me, so that I
might proclaim him to the Gentiles, I did not immediately consult flesh and
blood, 17 nor did I go up to Jerusalem to those who were Apostles before me;
rather, I went into Arabia and then returned to Damascus. 18 Then after three
years I went up to Jerusalem to confer with Kephas and remained with him for
fifteen days. 19 But I did not see any other of the Apostles, only James the
brother [adelphos] of the Lord. 20 As to what I am writing to you, behold,
before God I am not lying. 21 Then I went into the regions of Syria and
Cilicia. [...] = Interlinear
Bible Greek-English, vol. IV, page 508.
In verse 11, St. Paul refers to the Galatians as "brothers," adelphoi in Greek, which in the plural can mean both "brothers" and "sisters" and in Greek means "brothers from the womb." Adelphos/adelphoi are the only words used for brother/brothers in the New Testament and can refer to covenant kinsmen (as in this case), full brothers, half-brothers, step-brothers, or countrymen. St. Peter used the word in referring to the Jews as countrymen and women in Acts 2:29, and St. Paul used the word in the same way in his trial before the Sanhedrin in Acts 23:1. It is an especially appropriate term for Christians who are brothers and sisters born from the waters of Christian baptism from the womb of the Church.
Paul says that the Gospel he preaches to the Galatians comes directly from the resurrected Jesus Christ and not from any human being (verse 11). Then, in verses 13-24, Paul reminded the Galatians of his history and offered a summary of his life:
Paul gave this short account of his history probably because he thought it was necessary to remind the Galatian Christians of his credentials. He is an "apostle" chosen by the Lord Jesus in his conversion experience and sent as an evangelist of the Gospel by the Church of Jesus Christ. Therefore, his authority to teach the Gospel comes directly from Jesus Christ and St. Peter and the Church, who approved his ministry to the Gentiles.
The Gospel of John 21:15-19 ~ Jesus Recommissions Peter as His Vicar
15 When they had finished breakfast, Jesus said to Simon Peter, "Simon, son of
John, do you love me more than these*?" He said to him, "Yes, Lord, you know
that I love you." He said to him, "Feed my lambs." 16 He then said a second
time, "Simon, son of John, do you love me?" He said to him, "Yes, Lord, you
know that I love you." He said to him, "Tend [shepherd] my sheep." 17 He said
to him a third time, "Simon son of John, do you love me?" Peter was distressed
that he said him a third time, "Do you love me?" and he said to him, "Lord, you
know everything, you know that I love you." Jesus said to him, "Feed my sheep. 18
Amen, amen, I say to you, when you were younger, you used to dress yourself and
go where you wanted; but when you grow old, you will stretch out your hands,
and someone else will dress you and lead you where you do not want to go." 19
He said this signifying by what kind of death he would glorify God. And when
he had said this, he said to him, "Follow me."
* Some
translations add the words "others do," these words are not in the Greek text;
[...] = Greek wording in IBGE, vol. IV pages 318-19.
This encounter with Christ occurred after His Resurrection when seven Apostles met with Jesus on the shore of the Sea of Galilee/Sea of Tiberias (Jn 21:1-3). They experience another miraculous catch of fish as they did when Jesus first called them to discipleship, but this time the net does not tear (Lk 5:1-11; Jn 21:6, 11). Jesus cooked breakfast for them to prove that He was not a ghost (Jn 21:12-14). It is unclear what Jesus meant when He asked Peter, "do you love me more than these?" There are two possible interpretations:
The second possibility is preferred by some scholars who include the words "others do," interpreting Jesus's question to mean is Peter's love for Him greater than the other Apostle's love?
However, both interpretations agree that Jesus asked Peter to declare his ultimate loyalty. Perhaps Peter was remembering Jesus testing the strength of his commitment when he, in writing to the ordained ministers of the Church in 1 Peter 5:2-4, urges them to Tend the flock of God in your midst, overseeing not by constraint but willingly, as God would have it, not for shameful profit but eagerly. Do not lord it over those assigned to you, but be examples to the flock. And when the chief Shepherd is revealed, you will receive the unfading crown of glory.
Notice that Jesus called Peter the "son of John," ben Yehohanan in Hebrew. Yehohanan means "Yahweh's mercy." Jesus called Peter the son of a man named John three times in verses 15-17, but this is the 4th time Jesus identified Peter as the "son of John" in this Gospel. When Jesus first met Simon in John 1:42, He addressed him as "Simon, son of John."
However, in Matthew 16:17, Jesus referred to Simon-Peter as the "son of Jonah." Ben Yonah in Hebrew means "son-of-dove." This is not a discrepancy. In Matthew's Gospel, Jesus used a symbolic reference to the 8th-century BC Galilean prophet Jonah. Five times before the reference in Matthew 16, Jesus compared His impending death and resurrection to the prophet Jonah's three-day entombment in the great fish. If you recall the story of Jonah, you will remember that Yahweh sent Jonah to the city of Nineveh, the capital of Assyria, the world's superpower at that time. His mission was to tell the people of Nineveh to repent and turn to Yahweh. Jesus would send His prophet Peter, "son of the dove," the Holy Spirit, to Rome, the capital city of the world superpower, the Roman Empire. And from Rome, Peter would bring the Gospel to the world. He would call all the families of the earth's nations to repentance, come to believe in Jesus as Lord and Savior, and receive His gift of eternal salvation! Peter became the "Papa" (Pope), the father of the universal Church, and the first Christian Bishop of Rome circa 42 AD.
Notice that Jesus and Peter are sitting by a charcoal fire during this moving exchange (see verse 9). The only other time that this Gospel mentions Peter near a charcoal fire is in John 18:18. After Jesus's arrest, Peter denied Jesus three times as he was standing by a charcoal fire. Now, he can undo that wrong by expressing his love and devotion for Jesus three times. It is significant that the charcoal fire when Peter denied Jesus and the charcoal fire on the shore of the Sea of Galilee is the only times when a charcoal fire is mentioned in the New Testament.
This triple profession of love by Peter forgives the threefold denial and invests Peter as the chief Shepherd of the Good Shepherd's flock. A triple repetition oath is a common Semitic practice and recalls Abraham's triple covenant formula with Yahweh in Genesis 23:3-20. The dialogue of Peter's triple repetition investiture uses several Greek synonyms. There are two different nouns for sheep, two different verbs for "feed" or "tend," and two different verbs for "know," and "love."
The words used for love are apape [agapas], a self-sacrificing, spiritual love, the kind of love God has for humanity and the type of love Jesus has commanded us to have for each other; and phileo [philo/phileis], which is the love of family or friends.
Two nouns are used for sheep: arnion, translated as lamb, and probaton [probata], sheep. Arnion is only used this one time in the New Testament except for the Book of Revelation, where it appears 30 times. Some scholars translate this word as "little lamb." It is a word rarely found in Greek texts. Otherwise, the word for lamb in John's Gospel is amnos in 1:28 and 36, and in the Gospels and other books of the New Testament, the noun aren is for lamb and probaton [probata] for sheep.
The verb boskein [boske] is a word for literally and figuratively feeding animals (providing nourishment). In contrast, the verb poimainein [poimaine] includes shepherding duties toward the flock, such as guiding, guarding, and ruling, whether literally or figuratively.
The other verbs are oida [odias] and ginoskein [ginoskeis], = "to know." The word ginoskein often appears in Greek documents of the early Church Fathers in the context of covenant knowledge = intimate knowledge of God in the covenant relationship.
| Jesus: "Simon, son of John, do you love [agapas] me more than these?" |
| Simon-Peter: "Yes, Lord, you know [oidas] that I love [philo] you." |
| Jesus: "Feed [boske] my lambs [arnion]." |
| Jesus: "Simon son of John, do you love [agapas] me?" |
| Simon-Peter: "Yes, Lord, you know [oidas] that I love [philo] you." |
| Jesus: "Tend/ shepherd [poimaine] my sheep [probata]" |
| Jesus: "Simon son of John, do you love [phileis] me?" Peter was distressed that he had said to him a third time, "Do you love [phileis] me?" and he said to him, |
| Simon-Peter: "Lord, you know [oidas] everything; you know [ginoskeis] that I love [philo] you." |
| Jesus: "Feed [boske] my sheep [probata]." |
The two verbs, boskein, and poimainein, to nourish and to rule, combine with the two words for lamb and sheep to express the fullness of the pastoral duty assigned to Peter as Vicar of Christ's Church. He must guide and feed the lambs = the laity, and feed and rule the sheep who rule over the lambs = the ministerial priesthood.
Some scholars interpret the lambs as the spiritually immature and the sheep as the spiritually mature congregation members. Still, this interpretation may not fully consider the significant difference in meaning between the verbs for "feed" and "rule." A quote from the first-century AD Jewish theologian Philo of Alexandria is an important clue to using these two verbs. Philo, who was a Jewish scholar and contemporary of St. John, wrote in Greek: "Those who feed [boskein] supply nourishment...but those who tend [poimainein] have the power of rulers and governors" (Philo, Quod Deterius Potiori Insidiari Soleat, viii #25).
In the first two exchanges, Jesus used the verb agape, signifying the self-sacrificing love with which He calls Peter to love His Church, but Peter responds each time with the word philo, meaning brotherly love or love of family. Some scholars contend that the use of the two verbs for "love" means nothing significant, but John never uses double words or double-meaning words without some hidden significance. It is possible that the difference in meaning between these two verbs for "love" signifies that Jesus is calling Peter to a higher form of love, and Peter is not yet ready to commit himself to that kind of self-sacrificing love.
Fulfilling his mission as Christ's Vicar, Peter grows spiritually mature enough to commit to that kind of agape = self-sacrificing love that Jesus encouraged him to give. The Book of Acts records Peter's fearless preaching and witness to Christ before the same Jewish court that condemned Jesus and other actions that testify to the strength and force of his commitment to the New Covenant Church. Peter's letters to the Church in I and II Peter also demonstrate that Peter more than rose to the level of self-sacrificing love and fulfilled Jesus' calling.
18 Amen, amen, I say to you, when you were younger, you used to dress yourself and
go where you wanted; but when you grow old, you will stretch out your hands,
and someone else will dress you and lead you where you do not want to go." 19
He said this signifying by what kind of death he would glorify God. And when
he had said this, he said to him, "Follow me."
Some scholars believe the fourth Gospel was written several decades after Peter's
death. However, other scholars, including the Navarre theologians and Dr. Scott
Hahn, believe John's Gospel was completed before the destruction of Jerusalem
in AD 70 and, therefore, was written within a year or two of Peter's death. Perhaps
in writing this passage, Peter's martyrdom was still a painful reminder of this
prophetic warning John witnessed some 37 years earlier.
And when he had said this, he said to him, "Follow me."
The first time Jesus called Peter to "follow me" was after the huge catch of fish
on the Sea of Galilee in the first year of Jesus's ministry
(Mt 5:18-22; Mk 1:16-20; Lk 5:4-11).
The next time Jesus spoke to Peter of "following" Him was
after Jesus washed Peter's feet at the Last Supper and spoke of leaving them: Simon
Peter said to him, "Master, where are you going?" Jesus answered him, "Where I
am going, you cannot follow me now, though you will follow later"
(Jn 13:36). Now He uses the same words again, but this time there is a double
meaning to the command "Follow me." Peter will indeed "follow" Jesus and
spread the Gospel message of salvation in Christ Jesus across the known world.
But he will also follow Jesus, not only in imitation of His life but also in His
death. Peter, the first Pope [Papa] of the Universal [Catholic] Church,
demonstrated his agape, self-sacrificial love for Jesus when the Romans crucified
him upside-down in AD 67 because he said he was unworthy to suffer crucifixion
in the same upright position as his beloved Lord!
Catechism
References (* indicates Scripture quoted or paraphrased in the citation):
Acts 3:1 (CCC 584*);
3:9 (CCC 2640*)
Psalm 19:2-5 (CCC 299*); 19:2 (CCC 326*)
Galatians 1:13 (CCC 752*); 1:15-16 (CCC 442); 1:15 (CCC 153*); 1:16 (CCC 659*); 1:19 (CCC 500*); 1:20 (CCC 2154*)
John 21:15-17 (CCC 553, 881*, 1429*, 1551*); 21:18-19 (CCC 618*)
St.Peter:
Denial and conversion (CCC 1429*, 1851*)
Faith in Christ (CCC 153*, 424*, 440*, 442*)
Head of the Apostles (CCC 552*, 765*, 880*, 881*)
The Pope is Peter's successor (CCC 882*, 883)
Michal E Hunt, Copyright © 2018; revised 2022 Agape Bible Study. Permissions All Rights Reserved.