From: Isaiah 66:18-21
The nations in pilgrimage to Jerusalem
[18] For I know their works and their thoughts, and I am coming to gather all
nations and tongues; and they shall come and shall see my glory, [19] and I will
set a sign among them. And from them I will send survivors to the nations, to
Tarshish, Put, and Lud, who draw the bow, to Tubal and Javan, to the coastlands
afar off, that have not heard my fame or seen my glory; and they shall declare my
glory among the nations. [20] And they shall bring all your brethren from all the
nations as an offering to the Lord, upon horses, and in chariots, and in litters, and
upon mules, and upon dromedaries, to my holy mountain Jerusalem, says the
Lord, just as the Israelites bring their cereal offering in a clean vessel to the house
of the Lord. [21] And some of them also I will take for priests and for Levites,
says the Lord.
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Commentary:
66:18-24. The book ends with a colophon, part in prose (vv. 18-21), part in
verse (vv. 22-24). It begins by announcing that the glory of the Lord will be pro-
claimed to the nations, and they will respond by flocking in pilgrimage to the
temple of the Lord.
Verses 18-21 are a sort of parallel to 2:2-4: both passages act as a kind of
marker, one for the beginning and one for the end of the book. In other words,
the exile in Babylon will come to be seen as divine punishment inflicted on the
people for their sins, for their breaking the Covenant. There may be an oblique
reference here to the expulsion of our first parents from the garden of Eden (Gen
1:23): Israel, too, was expelled from its land and from Zion, “the house of Jacob”
(2:6). But God, in his mercy towards his people, will pardon them and have them
come back to his “holy mountain”, Jerusalem (v. 20), and his gathering will also
involve “all nations and tongues” (v. 18). This return to Zion is a sign that their
transgression is totally forgiven. In some ways, the book of Isaiah is an (imper-
fect) anticipation and account of salvation history which runs right through the
Bible, from the expulsion from Paradise (Gen 3:23), to the vision of the “heavenly
Jerusalem”, in the “new heavens and the new earth” (v. 22 and Rev 21:1-27), at
the centre of which will be found the “tree of life” (Rev 22:14).
Theodoret of Cyrus reads these words as an announcement of the universal
salvation that stems from the Incarnation, and he comments that the prophet
showed that Christ became “a slave not only to redeem the Jews but to bring
salvation to all the nations” (Commentaria in Isaiam, 66, 18). The Second Letter
to the Corinthians attributed to St Clement of Rome also sees v. 18 as an
announcement of the Second Coming of our Lord: “I am coming to gather all
nations and tongues: this verse prophesies the last day, when Christ will come
again to reward each man according to his deeds” (Pseudo-Clement, Epistula II
and Corinthios, 17, 4).
The nations mentioned in v. 19 are not easy to identify; but Tarshish is probably
Spain; Put, Libya; Lud, Lydia; Tubal, Cilicia; and Javan, Ionia, Greece.
“And some of them also I will take for priests” (v. 21): this may mean (though one
cannot be sure) that God will choose priests and Levites from among the pagans.
Given the tenor of v. 22, it is more likely that “descendants” of Israel will hold the
office of the holy priesthood; either interpretation fits in with the general newness
and universalism that are a feature of chapters 65 and 66 (cf. 61:6).
The last oracle in the book of Isaiah is a call to an active, living hope (vv. 22-24).
Verse 23, in its initial historical context, was addressed to the chosen people of
the Old Testament, but it opens out to include all mankind; that is how the Fathers
interpreted it. “There will be a new heaven and a new earth, where man will live
forever united with God. Isaiah tells us that this new life will last forever: For as
the new heavens and the new earth which I shall make shall remain before me,
says the Lord; so shall your descendants and your name remain (Is 66:22)” (St
Irenaeus of Lyons, Adversus haereses, 5, 36, 1).
Even so, a warning is issued about the punishment that awaits evildoers (v. 24).
The harshness of the language here is in sharp contrast to the general tone of
hope. The prophet may have chosen to strike this dark note in order to have the
inhabitants of Zion (the saved) recognize God’s sovereignty over those who
reject him and have them appreciate the blessings bestowed in Zion, that is, in
heaven. Jesus uses the metaphor of the worm that does not die to describe the
punishment earned by the grave sin of scandal (cf. Mk 9:48).
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Source: “The Navarre Bible: Text and Commentaries”. Biblical text from the
Revised Standard Version and New Vulgate. Commentaries by members of
the Faculty of Theology, University of Navarre, Spain.
Published by Four Courts Press, Kill Lane, Blackrock, Co. Dublin, Ireland, and
by Scepter Publishers in the United States.
From: Hebrews 12:5-7, 11-13
Perseverance in Affliction
[11] For the moment all discipline seems painful rather than pleasant; later it
yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it.
Striving for Peace; Purity; Reverent Worship
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Commentary:
4-13. Following Christ’s example, Christians should struggle to avoid sin; they
should put up with tribulation and persecution because if such adversity arises
it means that the Lord permits it for our good. The letter’s tone of encouragement
seems to change here to one of reproach. It is as if the writer were saying,
“Christ gave his life for your sins, contending even to the point of dying for you;
how is it that you do not put up with suffering, out of love for him? It is true that
you are being persecuted: God is disciplining you as a Father disciplines his
children. But you are children of God and therefore your attitude should be one
of abandonment to his will even when it seems hard. That is the way a Father
brings up his children.”
The main point is that the only important thing is fidelity to God, and that the sin
of apostasy is the greatest of all misfortunes. “Don’t forget, my son, that for you
on earth there is but one evil, which you must fear and avoid with the grace of
God: sin” ([St] J. Escriva, “The Way”, 386).
5-11. Suffering, the sacred writer teaches, is a sign of God’s paternal love for us;
it proves that we really are his children.
This teaching is supported by the quotation from Proverbs 3: 12, taken from a
long discourse in which a father exhorts his son to acquire true wisdom. In the
present passage the father is identified with God and we with the sons whom
he is addressing.
By being incorporated into Christ through Baptism a person becomes a child
of God: this is the very basis of the Christian life and it should be a source of
serenity and peace in every difficulty we meet in the course of life. The term
“discipline” which appears so much in this passage does not convey the full
richness of the original Greek word, “paideia”, which has to do with the
educational upbringing of child by parent, of pupil by teacher, and also the
punishment meted out in this context. Here the focus is largely on the second
aspect. However, it should be remembered that in ancient times education
and instruction always involved the idea of punishment. God, therefore, should
not be seen as a cruel or pitiless father, but as a good father who brings up
his children in an affectionate yet firm way. Adversity and suffering are a sign
that this divine teaching method is at work: God uses them to educate us and
discipline us. “You suffer in this present life, which is a dream, a short dream.
Rejoice, because your Father-God loves you so much, and if you put no
obstacles in his way, after this bad dream he will give you a good awakening”
([St] J. Escriva, “The Way”, 692). If we were illegitimate children he would not
bother to educate us; but because we are true sons he disciplines us, to make
us worthy of bearing his name. “Everything that comes to us from God,” an
ancient ecclesiastical writer reminds us, “and that we initially see as beneficial
or disadvantageous, is sent to us by a father who is full of tenderness and by
the wisest of physicians, with our good in mind” (Cassian, “Collationes”, VII, 28).
When the soul has this kind of attitude, that is, when the trials the Lords sends
are willingly accepted, “with peaceful fruit of righteousness” and it yields fruit of
holiness which fills it with peace: “Jesus prays in the garden: “Pater mi”
(Mt 26:39), “Abba, Pater!” (Mk 14:36). God is my Father, even though he may
send mesuffering. He loves me tenderly, even while wounding me. Jesus suffers,
to fulfill the Will of the Father.... And I, who also wish to fulfill the most holy Will
of God, following in the footsteps of the Master, can I complain if I too meet
suffering as my traveling companion?
“It will be a sure sign of my sonship, because God is treating me as he treated
his own divine Son. Then I, as he did, will be able to groan and weep alone in
my Gethsemani; but, as I lie prostrate on the ground, acknowledging my
nothingness, there will rise up to the Lord a cry from the depths of my soul:
“Pater mi, Abba, Pater,... fiat!” ([St] J. Escriva, “The Way of the Cross”, I, 1).
12-13. This exhortation follows logically from the previous one. It seems to evoke
the world of athletic competition referred to at the beginning of the chapter. Verse
12 is like a shout of encouragement to a runner who is beginning to flag in the
middle of a race.
The author uses a quotation from Isaiah (Is 35:3) in which drooping hands and
weak knees indicate moral decline (cf. 2 Sam 2:7; 4:1; Jer 47:3). He then goes
on to use words from Proverbs 4:26 to encourage right living: “make straight steps
with your feet”: if the Christian perseveres in his efforts even if he is somewhat
“lame”, that is, even if he is someone whose faith is weak and is in danger of
apostasy, he will be able to return to fitness in spite of everything.
However, this exhortation can be taken as addressed not only to those who need
to mend their ways but also to Christians in general, who should be exemplary
and never in any way be a stumbling-block to their weaker brethren.
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Source: “The Navarre Bible: Text and Commentaries”. Biblical text from the
Revised Standard Version and New Vulgate. Commentaries by members of
the Faculty of Theology, University of Navarre, Spain.
Published by Four Courts Press, Kill Lane, Blackrock, Co. Dublin, Ireland, and
by Scepter Publishers in the United States.