A man named Simon used to practice magic in the city and astounded the people of Samaria, claiming to be someone great. 10 All of them, from the least to the greatest, paid attention to him, saying, “This man is the ‘Power of God’ that is called ‘Great.’” 11 They paid attention to him because he had astounded them by his magic for a long time, 12 but once they began to believe Philip as he preached the good news about the kingdom of God and the name of Jesus Christ, men and women alike were baptized. 13 Even Simon himself believed and, after being baptized, became devoted to Philip; and when he saw the signs and mighty deeds that were occurring, he was astounded. ……. 18 When Simon saw that the Spirit was conferred by the laying on of the apostles’ hands, he offered them money 19 and said, “Give me this power too, so that anyone upon whom I lay my hands may receive the holy Spirit.” 20 But Peter said to him, “May your money perish with you, because you thought that you could buy the gift of God with money. 21 You have no share or lot in this matter, for your heart is not upright before God. 22 Repent of this wickedness of yours and pray to the Lord that, if possible, your intention may be forgiven. 23 For I see that you are filled with bitter gall and are in the bonds of iniquity.” 24 Simon said in reply, “Pray for me to the Lord, that nothing of what you have said may come upon me.”
This story about a magician demonstrates the power of the Gospel over magic. Simon was an accomplished magician who was heralded as “the power of God” by the people of Samaria and respected by everyone. Magic flourished in the pagan world and as the Church expanded it encountered people who practiced magic. Philip preached about the name of Jesus Christ and the Kingdom of God and many in Samaria were baptized. Simon was also baptized but did not receive the Holy Spirit.
Because of his lack of understanding that the Holy Spirit is controlled by God and not ritual, when Simon the Magician saw the external signs of laying on of hands, he thought it was a form of magic and sought to buy the power of the Holy Spirit from the Apostles. Peter rebuked Simon the Magician and told him to repent and pray for forgiveness. Simon the Magician still did not understand what Peter meant and asked Peter to pray to the Lord for forgiveness so that Peter’s ‘curse’ may not come upon him. He thought Peter’s curse might have some negative magical effect on him.
Almighty God, help us to turn to you with sincere hearts and receive the grace promised to all who accept the teachings of your Son. May we be blessed with the power of your love through the Holy Spirit and never put the workings of the Holy Spirit to the test. This we pray through Christ our Lord. Amen!
Chiu, José Enrique Aguilar, et al. The Paulist Biblical Commentary. Paulist Press, 2018.
Brown, Raymond Edward, et al. The New Jerome Biblical Commentary. Upper Saddle River, NJ, United States, Prentice Hall, 1990.
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