Commentary of St. Bede the Venerable: An exposition of the 1st Epistle of St. Peter, 1, 3, and 2, 9

 

Commentary of St. Bede the Venerable: An exposition of the 1st Epistle of St. Peter, 1, 3, and 2, 9: You are risen with Christ

 

Blessed be that God, that Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who in his great mercy has begotten us anew, making hope live in us through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead. We have good reason to bless God, we who, if treated as we deserved, should have been born only to die, and who, by his mercy, are born again to live. And that, by the resurrection of his Son; for he has so loved our life that he has obtained it for us at the price Of the death of Christ, and, destroying this same death by his resurrection, he has given us the hope and the first fruits of our own resurrection. Now Christ is dead we cannot fear death. He has risen from the dead that we may hope for our own resurrection, through him.

 

You are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a consecrated nation, a people God means to have for himself. This praiseworthy testimony was first given by Moses to those who at the time were the people of God, but now it is given to the nations by the Apostle St. Peter: they have believed in Christ, who like a corner-stone has joined them together, uniting them to the salvation which was formerly reserved for Israel. The Apostle calls them a chosen race because of their faith, to distinguish them from those who rejected the living stone and thus brought about their own rejection. Again he calls them a royal priesthood, because they are united to the body of him who is the supreme King and true Priest, giving royalty to his members, as king, cleansing them from their faults, as priest offering his own blood; this same name of royal priesthood should also remind them to hope for an eternal kingdom and recall to them the duty of offering ceaselessly to God the sacrifice of an irreproachable life. St. Peter also calls the Gentiles a consecrated nation, a people God means to have for himself; like St. Paul, who, commenting on Habakkuk’s prophecy: It is faith that brings life to the man whom I accept as justified: if he shrinks back, he shall win no favor with me, adds: Not for us to shrink away, and be lost; it is for us to have faith, and save our souls.

 

It is yours to proclaim the exploits of the God who has called you out of darkness into his marvelous light. Just as the Jews, delivered from the captivity of Egypt, sang to the Lord by the mouth of Moses a canticle of triumph, when they had crossed the Red Sea and seen the troops of Pharaoh swallowed up therein, so in our turn should we, who in baptism have received pardon for our sins, render becoming thanks for these heavenly blessings. Indeed, the Egyptians, who persecuted the people of God, and whose name signifies darkness, or misfortune, are a good symbol for the sins which torment us but which baptism destroys. The deliverance of the Israelites and their travels to the Promised Land harmonize excellently with the mystery of our Redemption, because it makes us advance towards the light of the eternal country, led and guided by the grace of Christ. And this light of grace, too, is typified in the pillar of smoke and of fire, which throughout their journey, protected the chosen people from the darkness of the night and led them by a mysterious route to rest in the Promised Land.