Page 525 - Demo

Christian Conduct.* 8Finally, all of you, be of one mind, sympathetic, loving toward one another, compassionate, humble. 9Do not return evil for evil, or insult for insult; but, on the contrary, a blessing, because to this you were called, that you might inherit a blessing.d 10For:
“Whoever would love lifee and see good days
must keep the tongue from evil
and the lips from speaking deceit,
11must turn from evil and do good, seek peace and follow after it.
12For the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous and his ears turned to their prayer,
but the face of the Lord is against evildoers.”
Christian Su ering.* 13Now who is going to harm you if you are
enthusiastic for what is good? 14But even if you should su er because
of righteousness, blessed are you. Do not be afraid or terri ed with
fear of them, 15but sanctify Christ as Lord in your hearts. Always be
ready to give an explanation to anyone who asks you for a reason for
f 16
your hope, but do it with gentleness and reverence, keeping your
conscience clear, so that, when you are maligned, those who defame your good conduct in Christ may themselves be put to shame. 17For it is better to su er for doing good, if that be the will of God, than for doing evil.
18For Christ also su ered* for sins once, the righteous for the sake of the unrighteous, that he might lead you to God. Put to death in the esh, he was brought to life in the spirit.g 19In it he also went to preach to the spirits in prison,* 20who had once been disobedient while God patiently waited in the days of Noah during the building
of the ark, in which a few persons, eight in all, were saved
through water.h 21This pre gured baptism, which saves
you now. It is not a removal of dirt from the body but
an appeal to God* for a clear conscience, through the resurrection of Jesus Christ,i 22who has gone into heaven
and is at the right hand of God, with angels, authorities,
and powers subject to him.j
Noah’s Story – The Building of the Ark,
by Masséot Abaquesne (known 1526-1564)
3:15
“Always be ready to give a reason for your hope.” Pope Francis comments on this passage: “It is true that, in our dealings with the
world, we are told to give reasons for our hope, but not as an enemy who critiques and condemns.. Far from trying to appear better than others, we should ‘in humility count others better’ than ourselves.. Clearly Jesus does not want us to be grandees who look down upon others, but men and women of the people”
(The Joy of the Gospel, 271).
3:19
Peter interprets the Noah story, found in Genesis 7, as pre guring baptism. Passing safely through the ood in the ark, Noah and his family are saved while the evil of the world is washed away. In Baptism,
it is our own sin that is washed away, setting us free to begin
a new life.
The Animals Enter Noah’s Ark by Bartoli di Fredi (1330-1410)
d. [3:9] Mt 5:44; Lk 6:28; Rom 12:14.
e. [3:10–12] Ps 34:13–17.
f. [3:15] Is 8:12.
g. [3:18] 1 Cor 15:45.
h. [3:20] Gn 7:7, 17; 2 Pt 2:5.
i. [3:21] Eph 5:26; Heb 10:22.
j. [3:22] Eph 1:20–21.
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* [3:8–12] For the proper ordering of Christian life in its various aspects as described in 1 Pt 2:11–3:9, there is promised the blessing expressed in Ps 34:13–17. In the Old Testament this refers to longevity and prosperity; here, it also refers to eternal life.
* [3:13–22] This exposition, centering on 1 Pt 3:17, runs as follows: by his
su ering and death Christ the righteous one saved the unrighteous (1 Pt 3:18);
by his resurrection he received new life in the spirit, which he communicates
to believers through the baptismal bath that cleanses their consciences
from sin. As Noah’s family was saved through water, so Christians are saved
through the waters of baptism (1 Pt 3:19–22). Hence they need not share the
fear of sinners; they should rather rejoice in su ering because of their hope in Christ. Thus their innocence disappoints their accusers (1 Pt 3:13–16; cf. Mt 10:28; Rom 8:35–39).
* [3:18] Su ered: very many ancient manuscripts and versions read “died.” Put to death in the esh: a rms that Jesus truly died as a human being. Brought to life in the spirit: that is, in the new and transformed existence freed from the limitations and weaknesses of natural human life (cf. 1 Cor 15:45).
* [3:19] The spirits in prison: it is not clear just who these spirits are. They may be the spirits of the sinners who died in the ood, or angelic powers, hostile to God, who have been overcome by Christ (cf. 1 Pt 3:22; Gn 6:4; Enoch 6–36, especially 21:6; 2 Enoch 7:1–5).
* [3:21] Appeal to God: this could also be translated “pledge,” that is, a promise on the part of Christians to live with a good conscience before God, or a pledge from God of forgiveness and therefore a good conscience for us.