[Salvation]

From: Isaiah 55:1-3

Epilogue: Invitation to partake of the banquet of the Lord’s Covenant

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[1] “Ho, every one who thirsts,
come to the waters;
and he who has no money,
come, buy and eat!
Come, buy wine and milk
without money and without price.
[2] Why do you spend your money for that which is not bread,
and your labour for that which does not satisfy?
Hearken diligently to me, and eat what is good,
and delight yourselves in fatness.
[3] Incline your ear, and come to me;
hear, that your soul may live;
and I will make with you an everlasting covenant,
my steadfast, sure love for David.

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Commentary:

55:1-13. The invitation to the Covenant banquet acts as the epilogue to the se-
cond part of the book of Isaiah, and picks up on themes in chapter 40, which is
its prologue. The two chapters help to give literary and thematic unity to this part
of the book. The oracle in chapter 55 sums up in a way the teachings contained
in the preceding chapters — the invitation to the Covenant banquet (vv. 1-3), remi-
niscent of that celebrated by Moses at Mount Sinai (Ex 24:5, 11); the renewal
of the Covenant with David on Zion (vv. 4-5); the transcendence of God, who is
unaffected by the sins of men (vv. 8-9); the power of the word of God (vv. 10-11);
and, as a final synthesis, the promise of a new exodus, a sign of God’s ever-
lasting salvation.

These oracles are a call for conversion, a call to take advantage of the salvific
gifts so generously offered: “Come to the waters” (v. 1), “Come to me” (v. 3),
“Seek the Lord” (v. 6), “Let the wicked forsake his way” (v. 7). Originally, it was a
call to those exiled in Babylon to return to Jerusalem; but it is a call that is made
at all times, to everyone. The reference to an everlasting Covenant, in keeping
with promises made to David (cf. v. 3), can be read by Christians as an invitation
to share in the new and eternal Covenant sealed with the Blood of our Lord Jesus
Christ, a pledge of salvation for all mankind. In the Eucharist, the banquet of the
New Testament, the words of the prophet come true in the complete sense in the
words spoken by our Lord when he instituted that sacrament: “Take and eat” (cf.
v. 1) the true bread of life, the very finest food, which money cannot buy (vv. 1-3).
Therefore, the invitation extended by the prophet is a call to Christians to partake
of the Blessed Eucharist. Paul VI, urging the faithful to take part in the Sunday
celebration of the Eucharist, wrote: “How could we fail to take part in this encoun-
ter, to partake of the banquet that Christ has lovingly prepared for us? Our partici-
pation should be dignified and filled with joy. Christ, crucified and glorified, comes
among his disciples to draw them all into the power of his resurrection. It is the
pinnacle, here on earth, of the Covenant of love between God and his people: the
sign and source of Christian joy, the preparation for the eternal banquet in heaven”
(”Gaudete in Domino”, 322). Verses 1-11, like 54:5-14, are read in the liturgy of
the Easter Vigil, which celebrates Christ’s victory over sin and which invites the
faithful to partake of the banquet of the Covenant sealed by his death and resur-
rection: “On the feasts of the Lord, when the faithful receive the Body of the Son,
they proclaim to one another the Good News that the first fruits of life have been
given, as when the angel said to Mary Magdalene, ‘Christ is risen!’ Now too are
life and resurrection conferred on whoever receives Christ” (Fanqith, “Brevarium
iuxta ritum Ecclesiae Antiochenae Syrorum”, in “Catechism of the Catholic
Church”, 1391).

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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.

[Salvation]

From: Romans 8:35, 37-39

Trust in God

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[35] Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress,
or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? [37] No, in all these
things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. [38] For I am sure
that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor
things to come, nor powers, [39] nor height, nor depth, nor anything else in all
creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.

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Commentary:

31-39. The elect will emerge unscathed and victorious from all attacks, dangers
and sufferings and will do so not through their own efforts but by virtue of the all-
powerful aid of him who has loved them from all eternity and who did not hesitate
to have his own Son die for their salvation. It is true that as long as we are on
this earth we cannot attain salvation, but we are assured that we will attain it pre-
cisely because God will not withhold all the graces we need to obtain this happy
outcome: all that is needed is that we desire to receive this divine help. Nothing
that happens to us can separate us from the Lord—not fear of death or love of life,
not the bad angels or devils, not the princes or the powers of this world, nor the
sufferings we undergo or which threaten us nor the worst that might befall us.
“Paul himself”, St John Chrysostom reminds us, “had to contend with numerous
enemies. The barbarians attacked him; his custodians laid traps for him; even
the faithful, sometimes in great numbers, rose against him; yet Paul always
came out victorious. We should not forget that the Christian who is faithful to the
laws of his God will defeat both men and Satan himself” (”Hom. on Rom”, 15).

This is the attitude which enables us to live as children of God, who fear neither
life nor death: “Our Lord wants us to be in the world and to love the world but
without being worldly. Our Lord wants us to remain in this world—which is now
so mixed up and where the clamor of lust and disobedience and purposeless
rebellion can be heard—to teach people to live with joy [...]. Don’t be afraid of the
paganized world: our Lord has in fact chosen us to be leaven, salt and light in
this world. Don’t be worried. The world won’t harm you unless you want it to. No
enemy of our soul can do anything if we don’t consent. And we won’t consent,
with the grace of God and the protection of our Mother in heaven” (S. Bernal,
“Monsignor Josemaria Escriva de Balaguer”, p. 213).

38-39. “Angels”, “principalities”: names of different angelic hierarchies (cf. Eph
1:21; 3:10); also a possible reference to fallen angels, demons (cf. 1 Cor 15:24;
Eph 6:12). “Powers” can mean the same as “angels” and “principalities”.

“Height” and “depth” may refer to cosmic forces which, in the culture of that time,
were thought to have some influence over the lives of men.

By listing these powerful superior forces (real or imaginary) St Paul is making the
point that nothing and nobody, no created thing, is stronger than God’s love for us.

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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.