Let us banish the fear of death and think of the eternal life that follows it

Treasures of Our Faith with Deacon Richard Vehige

On Friday of the Thirty-Fourth Week in Ordinary Time our Church invites us to first read and reflect on a passage from the second letter of the apostle Peter (3: 1-18) entitled “A reflection on the coming of the Lord”. Our treasure, which follows, is from a sermon on man’s immortality by Saint Cyprian, bishop.

Saint Cyprian is important in the development of Christian thought and practice in the third century, especially in northern Africa. Highly educated and a famous orator, he became a Christian as an adult. He distributed his goods to the poor, and amazed his fellow citizens by making a vow of chastity before his baptism. Within two years he had been ordained a priest and was chosen, against his will, as Bishop of Carthage.

Saint Cyprian writes on immortality: "If a famous man promised you something, you would believe his promise and would not even dare to think that he who is always faithful to his word would deceive you. But behold, O treacherous one, God Himself speaks to you, and you are wavering with doubt. God has promised you immortality after your departure from this world, and do you impudently doubt this promise? This means you do not recognize God at all; it means that by your unbelief you insult Christ the Lord and Teacher." O how powerful is the faith of the saints of God! How clear and understandable and well-explained it is with simple and powerful examples! The unholy doubt, not because they are supposedly more rational, but because they are unholy. The holier man is always more rational, for in the clear mirror of his heart he sees the truth.

The second letter of the Apostle Peter can be appreciated both for its positive teachings and for its earnest warnings. It seeks to strengthen readers in faith, hope for the future, knowledge, love, and other virtues. This aim is carried out especially by warning against false teachers, the condemnation of whom occupies the long central section of the letter. A particular crisis is the claim by “scoffers” that there will be no second coming of Jesus, a doctrine that the author vigorously affirms. The concept of God’s “promises” is particularly precious in the theology of 2 Peter. Closing comments well sum up the twin concerns: that you not “be led into” error and “fall” but instead “grow in grace” and “knowledge” of Jesus Christ.

Second Peter is clearly structured in its presentation of these points. It reminds its readers of the divine authenticity of Christ’s teaching, continues with reflections on Christian conduct, then returns to the exalted dignity of Jesus by incorporating into the text the apostolic witness to his transfiguration. It takes up the question of the interpretation of scripture by pointing out that it is possible to misunderstand the sacred writings and that divine punishment will overtake false teachers. It proclaims that the parousia is the teaching of the Lord and of the apostles and is therefore an eventual certainty. At the same time, it warns that the meaning of Paul’s writings on this question should not be distorted.