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From: Proverbs 3:27-34

The way of the wise

[27] Do not withhold good from those to whom it is due,
when it is in your power to do it.
[28] Do not say to your neighbour, “Go, and come again,
tomorrow I will give it” Ã‚Â– when you have it with you.
[29] Do not plan evil against your neighbour
who dwells trustingly beside you.
[30] Do not contend with a man for no reason,
when he has done you no harm.
[31] Do not envy a man of violence
and do not choose any of his ways;
[32] for the perverse man is an abomination to the Lord.
but the upright are in his confidence.
[33] The Lord’s curse is on the house of the wicked,
but he blesses the abode of the righteous.
[34] Toward the scorners he is scornful,
but to the humble he shows favour.

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Commentary:

3:21-35. In the fourth lesson, the teacher gives his disciple some practical rules
of behaviour that he needs to follow if he is to be a wise man. People who take
these rules to heart can rest at ease, for the Lord is protective of those who keep
to wisdom’s path (vv. 25-26).

One of the most valuable services that wisdom provides is to teach a person how
to maintain good relationships with others. That goal is achieved when one sin-
cerely seeks the good of others and is not slow to lend help when asked (vv. 27-
31); one needs to have a right intention and be straightforward. Only a person
like that can be on close terms with the Lord (v. 32). “The intimate conversation
of God consists in the revelation of his secrets to the souls of men, and in eluci-
dating them by his presence. It is said that he holds his intimate conversations
with the simple because, by the light of his presence, he reveals the divine mys-
teries to the souls of those who are not steeped in shadow by their duplicity” (St
Gregory the Great, Regula pastoralis, 3, 11).

“To the humble he shows favour” (v. 34). The New Testament twice refers to this
in the context of how to make the best use of the Lord’s gifts. In the First Letter
of St Peter, after addressing elders and younger people about the need for har-
mony between them, he says: “Clothe yourselves, all of you, with humility to-
wards one another, for ‘God opposes the proud, but gives to the humble’.

“Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, that in due time he
may exalt you. Cast all your anxieties on him, for he cares about you (1 Pet 5:
5-7). And the Letter of St James, after recalling those same words, says. “Sub-
mit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you. Draw
near to God and he will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and
purify your hearts, you men of double mind. Be wretched and mourn and weep.
Let your laughter he turned to mourning and your joy to dejection. Humble your-
selves before the Lord and he will exalt you” (Jas 4:7-10).

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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 8:16-18

Parable of the Sower. The Meaning of the Parables (Continuation)

(Jesus told the crowd,) [16] “No one after lighting a lamp covers it with a vessel,
or puts it under a bed, but puts it on a stand, that those who enter may see the
light. [17] For nothing is hid that shall not be made manifest, nor anything secret
that shall not be known and come to light. [18] Take heed then how you hear; for
to him who has will more be given, and from him who has not, even what he
thinks that he has will be taken away.”

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Commentary:

[There is no commentary available for Luke 8:16-18. The commentary for the
same parable found in Mark 4:21-25 states:]

16-17. This parable contains a double teaching. Firstly, it says that Christ’s doc-
trine should not be kept hidden; rather, it must be preached throughout the whole
world. We find the same idea elsewhere in the Gospels: “What you hear whis-
pered, proclaim it upon the housetops” (Mt 10:27); “Go into all the world and
preach the Gospel to the whole of creation...” (Mk 16:15). The other teaching is
that the Kingdom which Christ proclaims has such ability to penetrate all hearts
that, at the end of time, when Jesus comes again, not a single human action, in
favor or against Christ, will not become public or manifest.

24-25. Our Lord never gets tired of asking the Apostles, the seed which will pro-
duce the Church, to listen carefully to the teaching he is giving: they are recei-
ving a treasure for which they will be held to account. “To him who has will more
be given ...”: he who responds to grace will be given more grace and will yield
more and more fruit; but he who does not will become more and more impove-
rished (cf. Mt 25:14-30). Therefore, there is no limit to the development of the
theological virtues: “If you say ‘Enough,’ you are already dead” (St. Augustine,
“Sermon” 51). A soul who wants to make progress in the interior life will pray
along these lines: “Lord, may I have due measure in everything, except in Love”
(St. J. Escriva, “The Way”, 427).

[The commentary for another similar parable found in Matthew 13:12 states:]

12. Jesus is addressing his disciples and explaining to them that, precisely be-
cause they have faith in him and want to have a good grasp of his teaching, they
will be given a deeper understanding of divine truths. But those who do not “fol-
low him” (cf. note on Mt 4:18-22) will later lose interest in the things of God and
will grow even blinder: it is as if the little they have is being taken away from
them.

This verse also helps us understand the meaning of the parable of the sower, a
parable which gives us a wonderful explanation of the supernatural economy of
divine grace: God gives grace, and man freely responds to that grace. The result
is that those who respond to grace generously receive additional grace and so
grow steadily in grace and holiness; whereas those who reject God’s gifts be-
come closed up within themselves; through their selfishness and attachment to
sin they eventually lose God’s grace entirely. In this verse, then, our Lord gives
a clear warning: with the full weight of His divine authority He exhorts us — with-
out taking away our freedom — to act responsibly: the gifts God keeps sending
us should yield fruit; we should make good use of the opportunities for Christian
sanctification which are offered us in the course of our lives.

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