Main news for 3 February 2009

King James Version (en)

1 Peter, Chapter 3, verse 21

¹⁹ He declareth also the benefits of Christ toward the old world

²¹The like figure whereunto even baptism doth also now save us (not the putting away of the filth of the flesh, but the answer of a good conscience toward God,) by the resurrection of Jesus Christ:

NOTES

The twelve verses from the First Catholic Epistle of the apostle Peter that we read today seem like a very large passage because of the abundance of exceptionally important things...

The twelve verses from the First Catholic Epistle of the apostle Peter that we read today seem like a very large passage because of the abundance of exceptionally important things the apostle says. The most important, perhaps, are the apostle's words about what our baptism is. The stereotypes of our consciousness force us to relate to baptism, how shall we put it... in different ways. Sometimes for us it is a rite of initiation, or something like a vaccination against illnesses and misfortunes.

That is why it is so important to hear what the apostle Peter says: baptism, according to his words, is not the washing away of bodily uncleanness, that is, it has nothing to do with ritual purity. The apostle states that the main thing in baptism is the pledge to God of a good conscience. The Greek word here means not merely a promise, but a promise made solemnly, a vow. For various reasons, for most of us this event itself, the making of baptismal vows, passes unnoticed. Partly for that reason we do not keep these vows in memory, the "pledge to God of a good conscience." But the apostle Peter says that precisely this baptism, this promise or oath to Christ, saves us through the resurrection of Jesus Christ.

No less important is that everything else, apart from a good conscience, remains offstage. Salvation is given by the resurrection of Jesus Christ, and by nothing else. To receive it, one must promise God to have a good conscience and fulfill that promise. First, such Christ-centeredness is important in itself, because anything that claims the central place in our life apart from the Son of God Himself is an idol. Second, this view of the apostle contains within itself all the countless variety of forms of Christian calling.

In this connection it is also significant that the apostle speaks about our lot. He speaks of the persecutions that fall to Christians with remarkable calm, as something fully understandable to him. He grounds this in the fact that a good conscience before God draws every Christian onto the Way of the Cross, which the Head of the Church also walked. But, following the Teacher and Lord, the apostle Peter says to us: do not be afraid; this is the way of life.

Baptism is according to these words of the apostle Peter an event, in which we become partakers of the resurrection of Christ. For us deprived of life, having not salvation, this salvific gift comes in particular thanks to faith expressed in the baptism. And that is why it is important to hear the words of the apostle concerning what is our baptism. The stereotypes of our consciousness force us to behave towards baptism, how to say this… differently. Sometimes it {baptism} is for us an initiation rite, or something like vaccination against diseases and misfortunes.

That is why it is so important to hear what Apostle Peter says: baptism, according to him, is not the putting away of the filth of the flesh, that is it does not concern the ritual purity. The apostle asserts that the main in baptism is an answer towards God of a good consciousness. The Greek word means here not simply answer, but an answer made solemnly, a vow. For various reasons, for most of us, this event - making a vow of baptism - passes unnoticed. That is why we don’t keep partially in the memory these vow – “answer towards God of a good consciousness". And Apostle Peter says that it is in particular such baptism, answer or oath to Christ that saves us by the resurrection of Jesus Christ.

It is not less important that all the rest, except a good consciousness, remain "off". Salvation is given only by the resurrection of Jesus Christ, and nothing more. It is necessary to answer towards God to have a good consciousness and fulfill this answer, in order to have this salvation. Firstly, such christocentric is in itself important, because everything that pretends to a central place in our life, except the Son of God, is an idol. Secondly, such view of the apostle contains in itself a whole uncountable variety of forms of the Christian vocation.

Therefore, it is as well important that the apostle speaks about our destiny. The apostle speaks about persecutions falling on Christians, with a wonderful peace, as of something which is completely clear to him. He justifies that by the fact that a good consciousness before God will entail any Christian to that way of the Cross, of which the Head of the Church also passed. But, in continuation of the Teacher and Lord, Apostle Peter says to us: be not afraid, it is the way of life.

The Apostle Peter wrote his catholic Epistle around AD 63, at the very beginning of the period of persecution of Christians. At that time...

The Apostle Peter wrote his catholic Epistle around AD 63, at the very beginning of the period of persecution of Christians. At that time, the new people of God, chosen and sanctified by the Holy Spirit, entered upon the way of the Cross in following their Teacher. The apostle therefore writes about the meaning of suffering and relates the sufferings of the faithful to the saving suffering of Christ Himself. Tradition tells us that around the time this epistle was written, at the beginning of the persecutions in Rome, the apostle left the city at the insistence of the Christians, and on the road just outside the city walls he met Christ. “Lord, where are You going?” the Apostle Peter asked Him, and the Lord replied that He was going to Rome to be crucified there once again. On hearing this, Peter returned to Rome and suffered martyrdom there. A church called Domine quo vadis (Lord, where are You going?) was later built at the site of this encounter, and to this day it houses the stone upon which Christ’s feet stood.

Today’s passage from Peter’s Epistle seems to contain the apostle’s thoughts about precisely this. The apostle says that we must always be ready to give an answer for our hope, and explains that suffering for good deeds, when it is given to us by the will of the Creator, offers us an opportunity to meet and be united with Christ. The apostle writes that salvation itself was accomplished because Christ suffered innocently for our sins. The meaning of the apostle’s words is that our innocent suffering is mysteriously connected with Christ’s saving Passion. The Apostle Paul would express this thought as follows: “I fill up in my flesh what is lacking in Christ’s afflictions for His Body” (Col 1:24). In the Epistle to the Romans, in the passage read during the sacrament of Baptism, he adds: “we were buried with Him by baptism into death, so that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life” (Rom 6:4).

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