From: Isaiah 25:6-10a
The Lord’s banquet
Songs of salvation
[10] For the hand of the Lord will rest on this mountain.
*********************************************************************************************
Commentary:
25:6-8. The Lord has prepared a special feast for all the nations on Mount Zion.
There he will provide succulent food and fine wine – a symbolic reference to the
divine fare that God will provide and which surpasses anything that man could
imagine.
These words prefigure the Eucharistic banquet, instituted by Jesus in Jerusalem,
in which he provides divine nourishment, his own Body and Blood, which streng-
thens the soul and is a pledge of future glory: “To share in ‘the Lord’s Supper’
is to anticipate the eschatological feast of the ‘marriage of the Lamb’ (Rev 19:9).
Celebrating this memorial of Christ, risen and ascended into heaven, the Chris-
tian community waits ‘in joyful hope for the coming of our Saviour, Jesus Christ’”
John Paul II, “Dies Domini”, 38). The saints often encourage us to bear this in
mind when we receive the Eucharist: “It is an eternal pledge to us; it assures
us of a place in heaven; it is a guarantee that one day heaven will be our home.
Moreover, Jesus Christ will raise up our bodies in glory, in accordance with how
often and with what dignity we have received his Body in Holy Communion” (St
John Baptist Mary Vianney, “Sermon on Holy Communion”).
“Death” (v. 8) is a metaphor for the definitive destruction of Israel: God gives an
assurance that it will never happen. Also, St Paul quotes this verse when he re-
juices that the resurrection of Christ marks the definitive victory over death (1 Cor
15:54-55), and it appears also in the book of Revelation, when it proclaims the
salvation that has been wrought by the Lamb who has died and risen again: “he
will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither
shall there be mourning nor crying nor pain anymore, for the former things have
passed away” (Rev 21:4; cf. also Rev 7:17). The Church, too, speaks in similar
vein in its prayer for the dead, beseeching God to receive them into his Kingdom
“There we hope to share in your glory when every tear will be wiped away. On
that day we shall see you, our God, as you are. We shall become like you and
praise you forever through Christ our Lord, from whom all good things come”
(Roman Missal, Eucharistic Prayer III).
25:9-26:6. After the celebration of the banquet prepared by God, two hymns are
intoned that will be sung “on that day”. The first praises the Lord: he is faithful;
those who put their hope of salvation in him will never be disappointed, whereas
Moab will be laid low on account of its pride (25:9-12). The second hymn returns
(cf. 25:1-5) to the theme of praise of the Lord for giving refuge to the poor and
needy (26:1-6).
*********************************************************************************************
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: Philippians 4:12-14, 19-20
Thanks for Help Received (Continuation)
[19] And my God will supply every need of yours according to his riches in glory
in Christ Jesus. [20] To our God and Father be glory for ever and ever. Amen.
*********************************************************************************************
Commentary:
10-20. Gratitude is a very characteristic feature of Christian life; in this passage
we can see the noble soul of St Paul, ever appreciative of any sign of affection
and thoughtfulness.
It also shows what great confidence St Paul had in the Philippians; from them
alone did he accept help, for his general policy was not to accept material aid so
as to leave no one in any doubt about the purity of his intentions in preaching the
Gospel (cf. 1 Cor 9:18; 2 Cor 12:14-18). This meant that he was also practicing
the virtue of poverty, being content with what he had.
Financial resources do make a person’s life easier and by helping us meet our
material needs they allow us to cultivate friendship with God and go to the help
of others, but these resources are not an end in themselves; they are only a
means. Therefore there is nothing essentially bad about not having money or
property: one can get to heaven without them. However, if a person is well-to-do
and is attached to his wealth, that is bad. That is what St Paul is saying. “If you
want to be your own masters at all times, I advise you to make a very real effort
to be detached from everything, and to do so without fear or hesitation. Then,
when you go about your various duties, whether personal, family or otherwise,
make honest use of legitimate human resources with a view to serving God, his
Church, your family, your profession, your country, and the whole of mankind.
Remember that what really matters is not whether you have this or lack that,
but whether you are living according to the truth taught us by our Christian faith,
which tells us that created goods are only a means, nothing more. So, do not
be beguiled into imagining that they are in any way definitive” (St. J. Escriva,
“Friends of God”, 118).
13. “In him who strengthens me”: the proposition “in” often refers to the place
“where”, in which case the text would mean that the person who lives in Christ,
who is identified with him, can do all things. However, in biblical Greek it fre-
quently has a causal meaning, in which case the Apostle would be saying that
he can do all things because God lends him his strength.
The difficulties which can arise in apostolic work or in one’s search for personal
holiness are not an insuperable obstacle, for we can always count on God’s sup-
port. So, we need to let ourselves be helped; we need to go to the Lord whenever
we are tempted or feel discouraged (”Thou art the God in whom I take refuge”:
Ps 43:2), humbly recognizing that we need his help, for we can do nothing on
our own. St Alphonsus encourages us always to put our trust in God: “The proud
person relies on his strength and he falls; but the humble person, who puts all
his trust in God, holds his ground and does not succumb, no matter how severe-
ly he is tempted” (”The Love of God Reduced to Practice”, 9).
“I have asked you”, St. Escriva says, “to keep on lifting your eyes up to heaven
as you go about your work, because hope encourages us to catch hold of the
strong hand which God never ceases to reach out to us, to keep us from losing
our supernatural point of view. Let us persevere even when our passions rear up
and attack us, attempting to imprison us within the narrow confines of our selfish-
ness; or when puerile vanity makes us think we are the center of the universe. I
am convinced that unless I look upward, unless I have Jesus, I shall never accom-
plish anything. And I know that the strength to conquer myself and to win comes
from repeating that cry, ‘I can do all things in him who strengthens me’ (Phil 4:13),
words which reflect God’s firm promise not to abandon his children if they do not
abandon him” (St. J. Escriva, “Friends of God”, 213).
17-19. Using a metaphor taken from commercial life, the Apostle gives us an in-
sight into the value of generosity. He is not asking the Philippians for donations:
he can survive without them; he is seeking the good that will redound to them
on account of their almsgiving (cf. v. 17): and, given their own limited financial
resources, they are in fact being particularly generous (cf. 2 Cor 8:2).
Since God is the one who rewards men for their actions, then clearly a person
who gives alms ultimately benefits more than he who receives alms. As a reward
for their almsgiving the Philippians will receive nothing less than the eternal glory
won for us by Christ Jesus. And so St Leo the Great recommends that “whoever
gives alms should do so with detachment and joy, for the less he keep back for
himself, the greater will be his gain” (”Tenth Lenten Sermon”).
*********************************************************************************************
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.