From: Isaiah 62:1-5
Names of the new Jerusalem
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Commentary:
62:1-2. The new city of Jerusalem is now explicitly named; it is “Zion” (v. 1). It
will be praised in this new hymn placed on the prophet’s lips, in which he plays
poetically with the names given the city. The depiction of Zion as the spouse of
the Lord became popular among prophets from Hosea onwards.
The first stanza (vv. 1-9), addressed to the city, describes the new situation that
awaits her in terms of a series of names: no one will any longer feel alone or un-
protected, for God has shown Jerusalem the tenderness of a young husband (he
calls her “My delight and “Married”: v. 4). The advantages that derive from spou-
sal covenant can be seen (as in Hosea: cf. Hos. 2:11-15) in metaphors to do with
rich harvests (vv. 8-9).
The second stanza (vv. 10-12), spoken to those living in the city, is an exhorta-
tion to be prepared for when the Saviour will enter in glory in the last days (vv 10-
11; cf. 40:3). The poem ends (v. 12) with further plays on the names given the
city and its inhabitants.
Since the sixth century, Christian tradition has used this poem in the liturgy of
Christmas Day. The birth of Jesus has brought about the joyful union of God and
mankind in a way that surpasses that described in terms of spousal union. A
monk of the Middle Ages makes this beautiful comment: “Like the bridegroom
who comes out of his chamber the Lord came down from heaven to dwell on earth
and to become one with the Church through his incarnation. The Church was ga-
thered together from among the Gentiles, to whom he gave his dowry and his
blessings — his dowry, when God was made man; his blessings, when he was
sacrificed for their salvation” (Fausto de Riez, “Sermo 5 in Epiphania”).
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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: Acts 13:16-17, 22-25
Preaching in the Synagogue of Antioch of Pisidia
[22] And when He had removed him, He raised up David to be their king; of whom
He testified and said, “I have found in David the son of Jesse a man after My heart,
who will do all My will.’ [23] Of this man’s posterity God has brought Israel a Sa-
vior, Jesus, as He promised. [24] Before His coming John had preached a baptism
of repentance to all the people of Israel. [25] And as John was finishing his course,
he said, ‘What do you suppose that I am? I am not He. No, but after me One is
coming, the sandals of whose feet I am not worthy to untie.’”
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Commentary:
16-41. Paul’s address here is an excellent example of the way he used to present
the Gospel to a mixed congregation of Jews and proselytes. He lists the benefits
conferred by God on the chosen people from Abraham down to John the Baptism
(verses 16-25); he then shows how all the messianic prophecies were fulfilled in
Jesus (verses 26-37), and, by way of conclusion, states that justification comes
about through faith in Jesus, who died and then rose from the dead (verse 38-41).
This address contains all the main themes of apostolic preaching, that is, God’s
saving initiative in the history of Israel (verses 17-22); reference to the Precursor
(verses 24-25); the proclamation of the Gospel or “kerygma” in the proper sense
(verses 26b-31a); mention of Jerusalem (verse 31b); arguments from Sacred Scrip-
ture (verses 33-37), complementing apostolic teaching and tradition (verses 38-39);
and a final exhortation, eschatological in character, announcing the future (verses
40-41). In many respects this address is like those of St. Peter (cf. 2:14ff; 3:12ff),
especially where it proclaims Jesus as Messiah and in its many quotations from
Sacred Scripture, chosen to show that the decisive event of the Resurrection con-
firms Christ’s divinity.
Paul gives a general outline of salvation history and then locates Jesus in it as
the expected Messiah, the point at which all the various strands in that history
meet and all God’s promises are fulfilled. He shows that all the steps which lead
up to Jesus Christ, even the stage of John the Baptist, are just points on a route.
Earlier, provisional elements must now, in Christ, give way to a new, definitive
situation.
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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.