Tuesday of the 8th Week in Ordinary Time [II]
1 Peter 1:10-16 + Mark 10:28-31
May 24, 2016
“The Lord has made His salvation known: in the sight of the nations He has revealed His justice.” [Psalm 98:2]
Saint Augustine, in his exposition of today’s Responsorial Psalm, teaches us that: “Our Lord Jesus Christ is God’s right hand, God’s holy arm, and also his salvation. All these are one and the same; for he it is of whom Scripture promises, ‘All flesh shall see the salvation of God.’[1] “Simeon acknowledged Him under this title when he took the baby in his arms, praying, ‘You give your servant his discharge in peace, now, Lord, for my eyes have seen your salvation.’[2]
“‘The Lord has made His salvation known.’ To whom has He made it known—to a part only, or to the whole? Not to any part alone, certainly. Let no one deceive you, no one hoodwink you, no one tell you, ‘Look, here is Christ! or, There he is!’[3]; for anyone who speaks in terms of ‘here’ or ‘there’ is directing you toward a sect. …
“‘He has remembered His mercy… and His fidelity to the house of Israel.’ What does this suggest: ‘He has remembered His mercy and fidelity’? It means that because He was merciful, His mercy impelled Him to make the promise; and then what He had mercifully promised, His fidelity made good. Mercy preceded promise, and the fulfillment of the promise demonstrated His fidelity. …
“‘He has remembered His mercy… and His fidelity to the house of Israel.’ What ‘Israel’ is this? You must not think it means a single race, that of the Jews. To save you from that mistake the psalm continues, ‘All the ends of the earth have beheld the salvation of our God.’ Observe that it does not say, ‘All the earth’, but ‘all the ends of the earth’, suggesting all of it, from furthest boundary to furthest boundary. Let no one tear it, no one fragment it, for our unity in Christ is strong. He who paid so high a price purchased no less than the whole. ‘All the ends of the earth have beheld the salvation of our God.’
[1] Cf. Isaiah 40:5 and Luke 3:6.
[2] Luke 2:29-30.
[3] Mark 13:21.
