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. 14 Now when the apostles in Jerusalem heard that Samaria had accepted the word of God, they sent them Peter and John, 15 who went down and prayed for them, that they might receive the holy Spirit, 16 for it had not yet fallen upon any of them; they had only been baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. 17 Then they laid hands on them and they received the holy Spirit. 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.” 25 So when they had testified and proclaimed the word of the Lord, they returned to Jerusalem and preached the good news to many Samaritan villages.
After Stephen was martyred (Acts 7:54-60) many of the disciples fled Jerusalem to escape persecution and scattered as far as Phoenicia, Cyprus, and Antioch (Acts 11:19). Philip, one of the seven men chosen to be Deacons (Acts 6:1-6), went to Samaria and preached the Gospel and many were converted (Acts 8:5). There was an accomplished magician in Samaria named Simon who was heralded as “the power of God” by the people of Samaria and was 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 too believed Philip’s message and was baptized but he did not receive the Holy Spirit. Simon was amazed by the miracles that occurred through Philip.
The apostles in Jerusalem heard that many in Samaria believed and were baptized so Peter and John were sent to pray for the converts so that they might receive the Holy Spirit. When Peter and John laid hands on the new converts, they received the Holy Spirit. Simon the Magician offered them money to buy the power of the Holy Spirit for his own benefit. Simon saw the external signs of laying on of hands and thought it was a form of magic and he tried to buy the ‘magic’ of the Holy Spirit from the Apostles. He did not understand that the Holy Spirit was the gift of God which worked internally. Peter was horrified, rebuked Simon, and told him to repent and pray for forgiveness if it was possible because his motives were impure, and his heart was filled with bitterness and sin. The magician did not repent because he did not understand what Peter did or told him and asked Peter to pray to the Lord for forgiveness so that his ‘curse’ would not come upon him. He thought Peter’s curse might have some negative magical effect on him. Peter and John continued to preach the Good News to the Samaritans.
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 filled with your love through the power of the Holy Spirit and may we never put the workings of the Holy Spirit to the test. This we pray through Christ our Lord. Amen!
__________________________________
References
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.
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.
Orchard, Bernard, et al. A Catholic Commentary on Holy Scripture. Feb. 1953.
Comments