Monday of the
Eighth Week in Ordinary Time
(I Peter 1:3-9; Mark 10:17-27)
Scholars doubt whether St. Peter the Apostle actually wrote
the letter from which today’s first reading is drawn. As always, they provide multiple reasons for making
such a shocking charge. First, they ask
if a fisherman from Galilee could have written the eloquent Greek of the
letter. Then, they wonder why Peter
would write to the churches in Asia Minor where Paul was the principal
evangelizer. Also, they note that the
continual reference to persecution bespeaks a time after Peter’s own martyrdom
when persecution in Asia Minor was more likely.
Today’s passage demonstrates both the eloquent
argumentation of the author and the reference to persecution. It speaks of “a new birth to a living hope
through the resurrection of Jesus” which is a sophisticated reference to
Baptism. It also refers to the “trials” which
the addressees are experiencing as ways to prove their love for Christ.
We should not hastily conclude that a biblical author is
not the one purported in the work itself.
At the same time we must recognize that such a charge does not undermine
our faith. The use of a false name as
the author of a religious document did not create the scandal in the early
Church that it does today. Writers frequently
used the name of a famous personage when they tried to faithfully reflect the
ideas of the celebrity. In any case we
are reminded by the Second Vatican Council that Biblical inerrancy does not
guarantee the historical accuracy of every detail but the general truth that
God has revealed for our salvation. We
see in First Peter an inspiring testimony that we must cling to the promise of
salvation which faith in Christ holds.
