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From: Hebrews 10:32-39

Motives for Perseverance (Continuation)

[32] But recall the former days when, after you were enlightened, you endured
a hard struggle with sufferings, [33] sometimes being publicly exposed to abuse
and affliction, and sometimes being partners with those so treated. [34] For you
had compassion on the prisoners, and you joyfully accepted the plundering of
your property, since you knew that you yourselves had a better possession and
an abiding one. [35] Therefore do not throw away your confidence, which has a
great reward. [36] For you have need of endurance, so that you may do the will
of God and receive what is promised. [37] “For yet a little while, and the coming
one shall come and shall not tarry; [38] but my righteous one shall live by faith,
and if he shrinks back, my soul has no pleasure in him.” [39] But we are not of
those who shrink back and are destroyed, but of those who have faith and keep
their souls.

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Commentary:

32-34. A Christian is called to share the persecution which Christ suffered. “A
disciple is not above his teacher”, our Lord said (cf. Mt 10:22-25; Lk 12:11-12;
Jn 15:18); anyone who wanted to follow him would have to carry his cross (cf.
Mt 10:38; 16:24; Mk 8:34; Lk 9:23; 14:27). These words of our Lord have al-
ways been borne out in practice. In the Acts of the Apostles we are told of how
the Sanhedrin persecuted the Apostles, and of how certain Jews acted against
Stephen, and Herod against James and Peter, etc. The early Christians bore
these afflictions bravely and even availed of them to spread the faith—first to Sa-
maria, then to Antioch, and later throughout the whole Roman empire. The text
here speaks of their courage. It may be thinking of the severe persecution insti-
tuted by Nero after the burning of Rome. Given these circumstances, the addres-
sees, and Christians in general, need to keep their baptismal faith, their “enligh-
tenment”, intact: they should be mindful of “the former days” and copy those
who compete and fight in public not minding that they are making a “public ex-
hibition” of themselves (cf. 1 Cor 4:9).

Undoubtedly the persecution suffered by Christians who were converted from
Judaism was severe. They were subject to “abuse” and “affliction”, words which
point to affronts, insults, ridicule, and treatment typical of religious persecution
— confiscation of property, imprisonment and even flogging and other forms of
punishment. Our early brethren in the faith not only bore these afflictions but
also showed their solidarity and charity by generously sharing the suffering of
those who were thrown in prison.

And yet even these persecutions had very good effects (cf. 1 Pet 1:6-9; Jas
1:3-4), in that they helped the people concerned to be detached from material
things and place their hope in divine rewards. In the same type of way, every
Christian needs to face up to the difficulties and contradictions he experiences
in life.

“Are things going against you? Are you going through a rough time? Say very
slowly, as if relishing it, this powerful and courageous prayer: ‘May the most
just and lovable will of God be done, be fulfilled, be praised and eternally exal-
ted above all things. Amen. Amen.’ I assure you that you will find peace” (”The
Way”, 691).

35-39. The “confidence” mentioned in v. 35 is a translation of a Greek word
which refers to the ease and trusting frankness with which a person addresses
a good friend or God.

The sacred writer renews his call to endurance in the face of persecution. St
John Chrysostom compares the situation of the Christians addressed in this let-
ter with that of an athlete who has won a competition and is now simply waiting
for the president of the games to award him the laurels. “From now on there is
no further combat; all you must do is hold on to the merit you have won, and you
will not lose your reward [...]. No further combat is called for: all that is necessa-
ry is perseverance. Just hold out and you will gain your laurels; you have already
suffered all you need to obtain them—contentions, chains, pain, loss of property.
What more could you have done? All that remains for you to do is wait patiently
for the prize to be given you. If there is a delay, it will only be for a short while”
(”Hom. on Heb., ad loc.”).

Here, as St Thomas comments, endurance refers to two things — the strength
that enables one to stay loyal despite persecution, and the assurance of one
who is confident of obtaining certain things he does not yet possess. The letter’s
exhortation to endurance is supported by two quotations from Sacred Scripture.
The first, from Isaiah 26:20, is a reminder that God will soon judge the impious;
the second from Habakkuk 2:3-4 (also quoted by St Paul in Rom 1:17; Gal 3:11),
announces the coming liberation of the people of Israel. The sacred text accura-
tely prophesied that those Jews who remained faithful to God would be released
from captivity in Babylon and survive the experience. Moved by the Holy Spirit,
the present writer states that the ancient prophecy has been fulfilled in Christ; he
is “the coming one”, that is, he will come a second time. Therefore, the Christian
should await the outcome of persecution loyally and cheerfully. “Stand your
ground like an anvil under the hammer. The mark of a true champion is to stand
up to punishment and still come out victorious. It is our duty, particularly when
the cause is God’s, to accept trials of all kinds, if we ourselves are to be accep-
ted by him” (St Ignatius of Antioch, “Letter to Polycarp”, III, 1).

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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: Mark 4:26-34

Parables of the Seed and of the Mustard Seed

[26] And He (Jesus) said, “The Kingdom of God is as if a man should scatter
seed upon the ground, [27] and should sleep and rise night and day, and the
seed should sprout and grow, he knows not how. [28] The earth produces of it-
self, first the blade, then the ear, then the full grain in the ear. [29] But when the
grain is ripe, at once he puts in the sickle, because the harvest is come.”

[30] And He said, “With what can we compare the Kingdom of God, or what para-
ble shall we use for it? [31] It is like a grain of mustard seed, which, when sown
upon the ground, is the smallest of all the seeds on earth; [32] yet when it is sown
it grows up and becomes the greatest of all shrubs, and puts forth large branches,
so that the birds of the air can make nests in its shade.”

The End of the Parables Discourse

[33] With many such parables He spoke the word to them, as they were able to
hear it; [34] He did not speak to them without a parable, but privately to His own
disciples He explained everything.

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Commentary:

26-29. Farmers spare no effort to prepare the ground for the sowing; but once the
grain is sown there is nothing more they can do until the harvest; the grain deve-
lops by itself. Our Lord uses this comparison to describe the inner strength that
causes the Kingdom of God on earth to grow up to the day of harvest (cf. Joel 3:
13 and Revelation 14:15), that is, the day of the Last Judgment.

Jesus is telling His disciples about the Church: the preaching of the Gospel, the
generously sown seed, will unfailingly yield its fruit, independently of who sows or
who reaps: it is God who gives the growth (cf. 1 Corinthians 3:5-9). It will all hap-
pen “he knows not how”, without men being fully aware of it.

The Kingdom of God also refers to the action of grace in each soul: God silently
works a transformation in us, whether we sleep or watch, causing resolutions to
take shape in our soul—resolutions to be faithful, to surrender ourselves, to res-
pond to grace—until we reach “mature manhood” (cf. Ephesians 4:13). Even
though it is necessary for man to make this effort, the real initiative lies with God,
“because it is the Holy Spirit who, with His inspirations, gives a supernatural tone
to our thoughts, desires and actions. It is He who leads us to receive Christ’s tea-
ching and to assimilate it in a profound way. It is He who gives us the light by
which we perceive our personal calling and the strength to carry out all that God
expects of us. If we are docile to the Holy Spirit, the image of Christ will be found
more and more fully in us, and we will be brought closer every day to God the
Father. ‘For whoever are led by the Spirit of God, they are the children of God’
(Romans 8:14)” (St. J. Escriva, “Christ Is Passing By”, 135).

30-32. The main meaning of this parable has to do with the contrast between the
great and the small. The seed of the Kingdom of God on earth is something very
tiny to begin with (Luke 12:32; Acts 1:15); but it will grow to be a big tree. Thus
we see how the small initial group of disciples grows in the early years of the
Church (cf Acts 2:47; 6:7; 12:24), and spreads down the centuries and becomes
a great multitude “which no man could number” (Revelation 7:9). This mysterious
growth which our Lord refers to also occurs in each soul: “the Kingdom of God is
in the midst of you” (Luke 17:21); we can see a prediction of this in the words of
Psalm 92:12: “The righteous grow like a cedar in Lebanon.” To allow the mercy
of God to exalt us, to make us grow, we must make ourselves small, humble
(Ezekiel 17:22-24; Luke 18:9-14).

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