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From: Wisdom 13:1-9

Created Things Tell Us of God

[1] For all men who were ignorant of God were foolish by nature; and they were
unable from the good things that are seen to know him who exists, nor did they
recognize the craftsman while paying heed to his works; [2] but they supposed
that either fire or wind or swift air, or the circle of the stars, or turbulent water, or
the luminaries of heaven were the gods that rule the world. [3] If through delight
in the beauty of these things men assumed them to be gods, let them know how
much better than these is their Lord, for the author of beauty created them. [4]
And if men were amazed at their power and working, let them perceive from them
how much more powerful is he who formed them. [5] For from the greatness and
beauty of created things comes a corresponding perception of their Creator. [6]
Yet these men are little to be blamed, for perhaps they go astray while seeking
God and desiring to find him. [7] For as they live among his works they keep
searching, and they trust in what they see, because the things that are seen are
beautiful. [8] Yet again, not even they are to be excused; [9] for if they had the
power to know so much that they could investigate the world, how did they fail
to find sooner the Lord of these things?

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Commentary:

13:1-9. This is the great biblical text on the proof of the existence of God by
means of analogy. It constitutes a searching critique of many of the philosophies
in fashion at the time, and of idolatry involving the “elements” of nature and hea-
venly bodies (cf. the notes on 11:1-12:2). The line of reasoning here is something
not seen before in the Old Testament, and it is developed in the New Testament
in Romans 1:18-32. Using these passages from Wisdom and Romans, the
Church teaches that it is possible to have natural knowledge of God by working
up from visible creation: “The world, and man, attest that they contain within them-
selves neither their first principle nor their final end, but rather that they participate
in Being itself, which alone is without origin or end. Thus, in different ways, man
can come to know that there exists a reality which is the first cause and final end
of all things, a reality ‘that everyone calls “God” (St Thomas Aquinas, “Summa
Theologiae” 1, 2, 3)” (”Catechism of the Catholic Church”, 34).

The Magisterium of the Church has laid much stress, especially since Vatican I
(1870), on the fact that “God, the beginning and the end of all things, can be
known with certainty from created things through the natural light of human rea-
son” (”Dei Filius”, Chap. 2). Vatican II, for its part, says that “Holy Scripture tea-
ches that man was created ‘to the image of God,’ as able to know and love his
Creator,” and it added: ‘The dignity of man rests above all on the fact that he is
called to communion with God. The invitation to converse with God is addressed

to man as soon as he comes into being. For if man exists it is because God had
created him through love, and through love continues to hold him in existence”
(”Gaudium Et Spes”, 12 and 19). By God’s mercy, natural reason is aided by su-
pernatural Revelation, which never contradicts reason or supplants it, but raises
it onto a higher level and enlightens it: “For man to be able to enter into real inti-
macy with him, God willed both to reveal himself to man, and to give him the
grace of being able to welcome this revelation in faith. The proofs of God’s exis-
tence, however, can predispose one to faith and help one to see that faith is not
opposed to reason” (”Catechism of the Catholic Church”, 35).

The created world is itself a (natural) Revelation of God: “Even before revealing
himself to man in words of truth, God reveals himself to him through the universal
language of creation, the work of his Word, of his wisdom: the order and harmony
of the cosmos—which both the child and the scientist discover —’from the great-
ness and beauty of created things comes a corresponding perception of their
Creator’, ‘for the author of beauty created them’ (Wis 13:5)” ( “Ibid”., 2500). De-
veloping these teachings, John Paul II explains: “This is to recognize as a first
stage of divine Revelation the marvelous ‘book of nature’, which, when read with
the proper tools of human reason, can lead to knowledge of the Creator” (”Fides
Et Ratio”, 19).

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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: Luke 17:26-37

The Day of the Son of Man (Continuation)

(Jesus said to His disciples,) [26] “As it was in the days of Noah, so will it be in
the days of the Son of Man. [27] They ate, they drank, they married, they were
given in marriage, until the day when Noah entered the ark, and the flood came
and destroyed them all. [28] Likewise as it was in the days of Lot — they ate,
they drank, they bought, they sold, they planted, they built, [29] but on the day
when Lot went out from Sodom fire and brimstone rained from Heaven and des-
troyed them all — [30] so will it be on the day when the Son of Man is revealed.

[31] On that day, let him who is on the housetop, with his goods in the house,
not come down to take them away; and likewise let him who is in the field not
turn back. [32] Remember Lot’s wife. [33] Whoever seeks to gain his life will lose
it, but whoever loses his life will preserve it. [34] I tell you, in that night there will
be two men in one bed; one will be taken and the other left. [35] There will be
two women grinding together; one will be taken and the other left.” [37] And they
said to Him, “Where Lord?” He said to them, “Where the body is, there the ea-
gles will be gathered together.”

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Commentary:

23-36. These words of our Lord are a prophecy about the last coming of the Son
of Man. We should remember that prophecy often involves events on different le-
vels, many symbols, a terminology of its own; the “chiaroscuro” which they cre-
ate gives us insight into future events, but the concrete details only become clear
when the events actually occur. Our Lord’s last coming will be something sudden
and unexpected; it will catch many people unprepared. Jesus illustrates this by
giving examples from sacred history: as in the time of Noah (cf. Genesis 6:9-19:
7) and that of Lot (cf. Genesis 18:16-19:27) divine judgment will be visited on
men without warning.

However, it is useful to recall here that everyone will find himself before the divine
Judge immediately when he dies, at the Particular Judgment. Thus Jesus’ tea-
ching has also a present urgency about it: here and now a disciple should scru-
tinize his own conduct, for the Lord can call him when he least expects.

33. “Will preserve it”: what the Greek word literally means is “will engender (his
life)”, that is to say, “will give true life to the soul”. Thus our Lord seems to mean
the following: he who wants to save his life at all costs, making it his basic value,
will lose eternal life; whereas he who is ready to lose his earthly life — that is, to
resist even to death the enemies of God and of his soul — will obtain eternal hap-
piness through this struggle. In content this passage is almost identical with
Luke 9:24.

36. In the Vulgate this verse reads: “Una assumetur, et altera relinquetur. Duo in
agro; unus assumetur, et alter relinquetur” (”One will be taken and the other left.
Two men will be in the field; one will be taken and the other left”). These words
seem to be an addition to Luke, taken from Matthew 24:40; they do not appear
in the better Greek manuscripts, which is why the New Vulgate omits them.

37. “Where the body is, there the eagles will gather”: the Greek text uses a
word which could mean either eagle or vulture. In any event the proverb indicates
the speed with which birds of prey swoop down on their victims — apparently re-
ferring to the sudden, unexpected way the Second Coming or Last Judgment will
happen. Sacred Scripture also deals with this subject in other passages: “But as
to the times and the seasons, brethren, you have no need to have anything writ-
ten to you. For you yourselves know well that the day of the Lord will come like a
thief in the night” (1 Thessalonians 5:1-2). Once more Jesus is exhorting us to be
watchful: we should never neglect the most important thing in life — eternal salva-
tion. “All that, which worries you for the moment, is of relative importance. What
is of absolute importance is that you be happy, that you be saved” (St. J. Escriva,
“The Way”, 297). So curious are the Pharisees and the disciples about the time
and place of the Last Coming that they are distracted from Jesus’ main point; the
same thing happens to us: for example, we can spend a lot of time pondering the
circumstances of the deaths of people we know, and fail to grasp the warning
these deaths contain — that this life is going to end one way or another and that
after it we too will meet God.

Published by Four Courts Press, Kill Lane, Blackrock, Co. Dublin, Ireland, and
by Scepter Publishers in the United States.