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| “St. Peter and Paul” by El Greco, 1592 |
Reading 1: Acts 28:16-20, 30-31
When he entered Rome, Paul was allowed to live by himself,
with the soldier who was guarding him.
Three days later he called together the leaders of the Jews.
When they had gathered he said to them, "My brothers,
although I had done nothing against our people
or our ancestral customs,
I was handed over to the Romans as a prisoner from Jerusalem.
After trying my case the Romans wanted to release me,
because they found nothing against me deserving the death penalty.
But when the Jews objected, I was obliged to appeal to Caesar,
even though I had no accusation to make against my own nation.
This is the reason, then, I have requested to see you
and to speak with you, for it is on account of the hope of Israel
that I wear these chains."
He remained for two full years in his lodgings.
He received all who came to him, and with complete assurance
and without hindrance he proclaimed the Kingdom of God
and taught about the Lord Jesus Christ.
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Commentary on Acts 28:16-20, 30-31
In this selection from Acts we hear of St. Paul’s imprisonment in Rome and how he used his affiliation and knowledge of Jewish Law and customs to reach out to the Jewish community in Rome with an eye to conversion. “Although the ending of Acts may seem to be abrupt, Luke has now completed his story with the establishment of Paul and the proclamation of Christianity in Rome. Paul's confident and unhindered proclamation of the gospel in Rome forms the climax to the story whose outline was provided in Acts 1:8—‘You will be my witnesses in Jerusalem [...] and to the ends of the earth.’” [4]
CCC: Acts 28:20 453
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Responsorial Psalm: Psalm 11:4, 5 and 7
R. (see 7b) The just will gaze on your face, O Lord.
or:
R. Alleluia.
or:
R. Alleluia.
The LORD is in his holy temple;
the LORD's throne is in heaven.
His eyes behold,
his searching glance is on mankind.
R. The just will gaze on your face, O Lord.
or:
R. Alleluia.
The LORD searches the just and the wicked;
the lover of violence he hates.
For the LORD is just, he loves just deeds;
the upright shall see his face.
R. The just will gaze on your face, O Lord.
or:
R. Alleluia.
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Commentary on Ps 11:4, 5 and 7
Psalm 11 is a song (not a prayer) of one who takes refuge in the temple of the Lord. The psalmist sings of his trust in God’s protection and laments those who trade in violence. The song continues with praise for the one who is steadfast in God’s law.
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Gospel: John 21:20-25
Peter turned and saw the disciple following whom Jesus loved,
the one who had also reclined upon his chest during the supper
and had said, "Master, who is the one who will betray you?"
When Peter saw him, he said to Jesus, "Lord, what about him?"
Jesus said to him, "What if I want him to remain until I come?
What concern is it of yours?
You follow me."
So the word spread among the brothers that that disciple would not die.
But Jesus had not told him that he would not die,
just "What if I want him to remain until I come?
What concern is it of yours?"
It is this disciple who testifies to these things
and has written them, and we know that his testimony is true.
There are also many other things that Jesus did,
but if these were to be described individually,
I do not think the whole world would contain the books
that would be written.
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Commentary on Jn 21:20-25
This part of the selection caused problems among the early Church when St. John did die before the Lord came again. The Church lost some credibility and followers as a consequence.
CCC: Jn 21:22 878; Jn 21:24 515
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Reflection:
The very end of the Gospel of St. John tells us something that we suspected throughout its reading to be true: that the “disciple whom Jesus loved” was the author himself. He alone among the disciples did not suffer martyrdom. Even Matthias, chosen to replace Judas the betrayer, was martyred for Christ. In his life St. John had time to reflect upon Jesus and all of the events of his life on earth. It was St. John’s community that often grasped the most significant meanings of these events and provided a theological subtext for our understanding of the three previous Gospels in our canon of the Bible: Mark, Matthew, and Luke – the synoptics.
From the evangelist's perspective, as he either wrote or more likely dictated this end to his great work, we wonder about his own feelings. He reveals in these final verses that he alone will not follow his Lord in the kind of death his brothers will suffer. Did he feel guilty? As he set those final words on the page, did he feel fulfilled or did he look at his work as so many authors do and feel that he had not done credit to the subject of his most important work?
As the “Beloved Disciple” we can only speculate that he, knowing Jesus as intimately as he did, would have accepted his role as the one who must tell the story of Jesus with the clearest understanding of the Lord’s deeper intent and with a view born of decades of reflection and contemplation.
For us, who read his work and marvel at his truth these millennia later, Saint John’s Gospel is the Gospel of Love. Here more than any other book in Sacred Scripture do we most completely feel Christ’s love for us and hear most clearly his commandment to love God and love one another.
For the sake of the Savior of the world and to please the Beloved Disciple who even now must be “reclined upon his chest,” we pray that from this hour onward our effort to follow these simple-sounding commands will be redoubled.
Pax
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