From: Isaiah 26:1-6
Songs of Salvation (Continuation)
[1] In that day this song will be sung in the land of Judah: “We have
a strong city; he sets up salvation as walls and bulwarks. [2] Open
the gates, that the righteous nation which keeps faith may enter in.
[3] Thou dost keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee,
because he trusts in thee. [4] Trust in the Lord for ever, for the
Lord God is an everlasting rock. [5] For he has brought low the
inhabitants of the height, the lofty city. He lays it low, lays it low
to the ground, casts it to the dust. [6] The foot tramples it, the
feet of the poor, the steps of the needy.”
Commentary:
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).
26:7-19. Now comes a personal dialogue with God in the form of a
prayer or sapiential psalm (vv. 7-10). Here the greatness of the Lord
is not being described to third parties nor are his works being
praised: the prophet is addressing him directly, to tell him that he
trusts in Him (vv. 7-8), to express his innermost feelings (v. 9a; cf.
Ps 42), to ask him to reveal his righteousness (vv. 9b-10) and
intervene (v. 11) and bring peace (v. 12), and to celebrate enduring
fidelity to the Lord (vv. 13-19). Verse 19 is a ray of hope in
personal resurrection, although here, as in 25:8, it refers to the
resurgence of the nation, as in the vision of the bones restored to
life in the book of Ezekiel (cf. Ezek 37:1-14). Daniel 12:1-3 clearly
predicts the resurrection of people from the dead. Commenting on v.
10, St Bernard addresses God, saying: “Father of mercies, may your
anger be roused against me--the anger that chastens a soul who has
lost his way, not the wrath by which you seal off the path of
righteousness” ("In Cantica Canticorum", 42, 4).
Source: "The Navarre Bible: Text and Commentaries". Biblical text
taken from the Revised Standard Version and New Vulgate. Commentaries
made by members of the Faculty of Theology of the University of
Navarre, Spain. Published by Four Courts Press, Kill Lane, Blackrock,
Co. Dublin, Ireland.
From: Matthew 7:21, 24-27
Doing the Will of God
(Jesus said to His disciples,) [21] "Not every one who says to Me,
`Lord, Lord,' shall enter the Kingdom of Heaven, but he who does the
will of My Father who is in Heaven.
Building on Rock
[24] "Every one then who hears these words of Mine and does them will
be like a wise man who built his house upon the rock; [25] and the
rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat upon that
house, but it did not fall, because it had been founded on the rock.
[26]And every one who hears these words of Mine and does not do them
will be like a foolish man who built his house upon the sand; [27] and
the rain fell, and the floods came, and winds blew and beat against
that house, and it fell; and great was the fall of it."
Commentary:
21-23. To be genuine, prayer must be accompanied by a persevering
effort to do God's will. Similarly, in order to do His will it is not
enough to speak about the things of God: there must be consistency
between what one preaches--what one says--and what one does: "The
Kingdom of God does not consist in talk but in power" (1 Corinthians
4:20); "Be doers of the word, not hearers only, deceiving yourselves"
(James 1:22).
Christians, "holding loyally to the Gospel, enriched by its resources,
and joining forces with all who love and practise justice, have
shouldered a weighty task on earth and they must render an account of
it to Him who will judge all men on the last day. Not every one who
says `Lord, Lord' will enter the Kingdom of Heaven, but those who do
the will of the Father, and who manfully put their hands to the work"
(Vatican II, "Gaudium Et Spes", 93).
To enter the Kingdom of Heaven, to be holy, it is not enough, then, to
speak eloquently about holiness. One has to practise what one
preaches, to produce fruit which accords with one's words. Fray Luis
de Leon puts it very graphically: "Notice that to be a good Christian
it is not enough just to pray and fast and hear Mass; God must find you
faithful, like another Job or Abraham, in times of tribulation" ("Guide
for Sinners", Book 1, Part 2, Chapter 21).
Even if a person exercises an ecclesiastical ministry that does not
assure his holiness; he needs to practice the virtues he preaches.
Besides, we know from experience that any Christian (clerical,
religious or lay) who does not strive to act in accordance with the
demands of the faith he professes, begins to weaken in his faith and
eventually parts company also with the teaching of the Church. Anyone
who does not live in accordance with what he says, ends up saying
things which are contrary to faith.
The authority with which Jesus speaks in these verses reveals Him as
sovereign Judge of the living and the dead. No Old Testament prophet
ever spoke with this authority.
22. "That day": a technical formula in biblical language meaning the
day of the Judgment of the Lord or the Last Judgment.
23. This passage refers to the Judgment where Jesus will be the Judge.
The sacred text uses a verb which means the public proclamation of a
truth. Since in this case Jesus Christ is the Judge who makes the
declaration, it takes the form of a judicial sentence.
24-27. These verses constitute the positive side of the previous
passage. A person who tries to put Christ's teaching into practice,
even if he experiences personal difficulties or lives during times of
upheaval in the life of the Church or is surrounded by error, will stay
firm in the faith, like the wise man who builds his house on rock.
Also, if we are to stay strong in times of difficulty, we need, when
things are calm and peaceful, to accept little contradictions with a
good grace, to be very refined in our relationship with God and with
others, and to perform the duties of our state in life in a spirit of
loyalty and abnegation. By acting in this way we are laying down a
good foundation, maintaining the edifice of our spiritual life and
repairing any cracks which make their appearance.
Source: "The Navarre Bible: Text and Commentaries". Biblical text
taken from the Revised Standard Version and New Vulgate. Commentaries
made by members of the Faculty of Theology of the University of
Navarre, Spain. Published by Four Courts Press, Kill Lane, Blackrock,
Co. Dublin, Ireland.
