Replies

From: Isaiah 25:6-10a

The Lord’s banquet

[6] On this mountain the Lord of hosts will make for all peoples a feast of fat
things, a feast of wine on the lees, of fat things full of marrow, of wine on the
lees well refined. [7] And he will destroy on this mountain the covering that is
cast over all peoples, the veil that is spread over all nations. [8] He will swallow
up death for ever, and the Lord God will wipe away tears from all faces, and the
reproach of his people he will take away from all the earth; for the Lord has
spoken.

Songs of salvation

[9] It will be said on that day, “Lo, this is our God; we have waited for him that
he might save us. This is the Lord; we have waited for him; let us be glad and
rejoice in his 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: Matthew 15:29-37

The Canaanite Woman (Continuation)

[29] And Jesus went on from there and passed along the Sea of Galilee. And He
went up into the hills, and sat down there. [30] And great crowds came to Him,
bringing with them the lame, the maimed, the blind, the dumb, and many others,
and they put them at His feet, and He healed them, [31] so that the throng won-
dered, when they saw the dumb speaking, the maimed whole, the lame walking,
and the blind seeing; and they glorified the God of Israel.

Second Miracle of the Loaves

[32] Then Jesus called His disciples to Him, and said, “I have compassion on
the crowd, because they have been with Me now three days, and having nothing
to eat; and I am unwilling to send them away hungry, lest they faint on the way.”
[33] And the disciples said to Him, “Where are we to get bread enough in the de-
sert to feed so great a crowd?” [34] And Jesus said to them, “How many loaves
have you?” They said, “Seven, and a few small fish.” [35] And commanding the
crowd to sit down on the ground, [36] He took the seven loaves and the fish, and
having given thanks He broke them and gave them to the disciples, and the dis-
ciples gave them to the crowds. [37] And they all ate and were satisfied; and
they took up seven baskets full of the broken pieces left over.

*********************************************************************************************
Commentary:

29-31. Here St. Matthew summarizes Jesus’ activity in this border area where
Jews and pagans were living side by side. As usual He teaches and heals the
sick; the Gospel account clearly echoes the prophecy of Isaiah which Christ
Himself used to prove that He was the Messiah (Luke 7:22): “the eyes of the
blind shall be opened, and the ears of the deaf unstopped...” (Isaiah 35:5).

“They glorified the God of Israel”: this clearly refers to the Gentiles, who thought
that God could give the power to work miracles to Jews only. Once again the
Gentiles are seen to have more faith than the Jews.

32. The Gospels speak of our Lord’s mercy and compassion towards people’s
needs: here He is concerned about the crowds who are following Him and who
have no food. He always has a word of consolation, encouragement and forgive-
ness: He is never indifferent. However, what hurts Him most are sinners who
go through life without experiencing light and truth: He waits for them in the
Sacraments of Baptism and Penance.

33-38. As in the case of the first multiplication (14:13-20), the Apostles provide
our Lord with the loaves and the fish. It was all they had. He also avails of the
Apostles to distribute the food — the result of the miracle — to the people. In dis-
tributing the graces of salvation God chooses to rely on the faithfulness and ge-
nerosity of men. “Many great things depend — don’t forget — on whether you
and I live our lives as God wants” (St. J. Escriva, “The Way”, 755).

It is interesting to note that in both miracles of multiplication of loaves and fish
Jesus provides food in abundance but does not allow anything to go to waste.
All Jesus’ miracles, in addition to being concrete historical events, are also
symbols of supernatural realities. Here abundance of material food also signi-
fies abundance of divine gifts on the level of grace and glory: it refers to spiritual
resources and eternal rewards; God gives people more graces than are strictly
necessary. This is borne out by Christian experience throughout history. St.
Paul tells us that “where sin increased, grace abounded all the more” (Romans
5:20); he speaks of “the riches of His grace which He lavished upon us” (Ephe-
sians 1:8) and tells his disciple Timothy that “the grace of our Lord overflowed
for me and with the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus” (1 Timothy 1:14).

********************************************************************************************
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.