NAVARRE BIBLE COMMENTARY (RSV)
Ad Majorem Dei Gloriam (To the Greater Glory of God)
From: Isaiah 60:1-6
A Radiant New Jerusalem
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[1] Arise, shine; for your light has come, and the glory of the Lord has risen upon you. [2] For behold, darkness shall cover the earth, and thick darkness the peoples; but the Lord will arise upon you, and his glory will be seen upon you. [3] And nations shall come to your light, and kings to the brightness of your rising.
[4] Lift up your eyes round about, and see; they all gather together, they come to you; your sons shall come from far, and your daughters shall be carried in the arms. [5] Then you shall see and be radiant, your heart shall thrill and rejoice; because the abundance of the sea shall be turned to you, the wealth of the nations shall come to you. [6] A multitude of camels shall cover you, the young camels of Midian and Ephah; all those from Sheba shall come.
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Commentary:
60:1-64:11 In the central section of Third Isaiah, the restored Jerusalem has a wonderful radiance; it is the dwelling place of the glory of the Lord, and from it all the nations will hear about God’s salvation. These are chapters that shine with hope and joy. In the opening verses, Jerusalem, the Lord’s spouse, is invited to leap with joy, for the glory of the Lord will light up the holy city, which will become a beacon for the nations (60:1-22). From there, too, the Lord’s herald proclaims the good news of salvation to the poor, the oppressed and all who labor under some burden (61:1-11). The holy city will radiate righteousness for all the nations to see (62:1-12). Finally, the Lord, depicted as a conqueror, enthroned in a glorious Jerusalem, is proclaimed as the sovereign lord who will judge and reward and punish (63:1-64:11).
60:1-22. These verses are a magnificent hymn to Jerusalem, completely restored, idealized; the prophet does not need to identify it by name. The most remarkable feature of the city is its radiance, mentioned at the start and end of the poem (vv. 1-3 and 19-22): it stems from the glory of the Lord, who has made the city’s temple his dwelling-place. The city acts as a magnet for all the nations, not only because it instructs them by means of the Law and by the word of God, as we heard at the start of the book (2:2-4; cf. Mic 4:1-3) but also because they are in awe of its splendor. The central verses of the poem rejoice in the pilgrimages that make their way to the holy city: first, those of Israelites, who had been scattered across the world: the pilgrims are most happy and they bear rich gifts for the Lord (vv. 4-9). Foreigners will come, too, and they will bring precious materials to reconstruct and embellish the city they previously destroyed. The obeisance they must do corresponds to the harm they did earlier (vv. 10-14). But the most important event is the arrival of the Lord who will bring gifts in abundance, the most precious being peace (vv. 15-10) and light (vv. 19-22). This picture of the new Jerusalem (one would expect) must have raised the spirits of those engaged in the final stages of the rebuilding of the temple.
This poem clearly has resonances with the eschatological description of the heavenly Jerusalem in the Revelation to John (cf. Rev 21:9-27). Some of the wording is virtually the same: cf. v. 3 with Rev 21:24 (“By its light shall the nations work; and the kings of the earth shall bring their glory into it”); v. 11 with Rev 21:25-26 (“its gates shall never be shut by day--and there will be no night there”); v. 14 with Rev 3:9 (“I will make them come and bow down before your feet”); v. 19 with Rev 21:23 (“the city has no need of sun or moon to shine upon it, for the glory of God is its light, and its lamp is the Lamb”) and 22:5 (“night shall be no more; they need no light of lamp or sun, for the Lord God will be their light, and they shall reign for ever and ever”). The hopes harbored by the early Christians (and the consolation to which the new people of God look forward) are in continuity with the hope felt by the ancient people of Israel. The message of Isaiah and that of the book of Revelation were each (in different historical contexts) calling for firm faith in the Savior of all. The New Testament fills out the Old by openly declaring that God saves us through his Son, Jesus Christ.
60:4-9. The pilgrimage described here comes from all corners of the earth, and yet it is a familial one. It is made up of people who were scattered throughout the known world, and not just those exiled in Babylon. Those from the west come by sea (v. 5), bearing the sort of goods normally transported by sea, particularly by Greek and Phoenician merchants. Those from the east, from the Arabian peninsula (Kedar and Nebaioth) and further afield will travel in caravans bringing precious commodities typical of the area--silver, gold etc. (v. 6). The visit of the Magi, who came bearing presents to adore Jesus, is in line with the sort of commerce that was current at the time, and it is probably connected with this text of Isaiah. Certainly, when this passage is read in the liturgy on the Solemnity of the Epiphany, the implication is that those rich gifts brought to the temple in honor of the Lord prefigure those that the Magi offered to him who is truly the “Lord your God”, “the Holy One of Israel” (v. 9). “Today, the wise man finds lying in a manger the One he had searched for as a brilliant light shining among the stars. Today, the wise man sees wrapped in swaddling clothes the One he long sought to find, unveiled, in the heavens. Today, to his great surprise, the wise man discerns in what he studies: heaven on earth, earth in the heavens, man in God, and God in man; what the whole universe could not contain inhabits the body of a child. And seeing all this, he believes and doubts no more; and he announces it to all, using his mystical powers: incense for God, gold for the King, and myrrh for the One who will die. Today, the Gentile who was once last is first, because the faith of the wise man sanctifies the belief of all the peoples” (St Peter Chrysologus, "Semones", 160). And Eusebius of Caesarea comments: “The conversion of the Gentiles glorifies the Church of God in a special way. The prophecy, "I will glorify my glorious house" [60:7], is fulfilled. This promise was made to the old Jerusalem, the mother of the new city, who, as has already been said, was the community of all among the ancient people who lived righteous lives--the prophets and patriarchs, all just men, those to whom the coming of Christ was first proclaimed” ("Commentaria in Isaiam", 60, 6-7).
St Paul's Mission
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[1] For this reason I, Paul, a prisoner for Christ Jesus on behalf of you Gentiles—[2] assuming that you have heard of the stewardship of God's grace that was given to me for you, [3] how the mystery was made known to me by revelation, as I have written briefly. [4] When you read this you can perceive my insight into the mystery of Christ, [5] which was not made known to the sons of men in other generations as it has now been revealed to his holy apostles and prophets by the Spirit; [6] that is, how the Gentiles are fellow heirs, members of the same body, and partakers of the promise in Christ Jesus through the gospel.
[7] Of this gospel I was made a minister according to the gift of God's grace which was given me by the working of his power. [8] To me, though I am the very least of all the saints, this grace was given, to preach to the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ, [9] and to make all men see what is the plan of the mystery hidden for ages in God who created all things; that through the church the manifold wisdom of God might now be made known to the principalities and powers in the heavenly places. [11] This was according to the eternal purpose which he has realized in Christ Jesus our Lord, [12] in whom we have boldness and confidence of access through our faith in him.
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Commentary:
1-21. Christ's saving work on behalf of the Gentiles, calling them to be with the Jews, living stones in the edifice of the Church, leads the Apostle once again to overflow in prayer (vv. 14-21). But first he considers his own position and what Christ has done in him by making him a minister or servant of the Mystery of Christ (vv. 2-13). He witnesses to the revelation he himself has received, which made this Mystery known to him (vv. 2-5); and he goes on to give a summary of the Mystery, emphasizing the call of the Gentiles to the Church through the preaching of the Gospel (v. 6); he then explains that his mission is precisely to preach the Mystery of Christ to the Gentiles (vv. 7-13).
1-4. What led to St Paul's imprisonment was Jewish charges that he had preached against the Law and had brought Gentiles into the temple (they thought Trophimus, a citizen of Ephesus, was a Gentile: cf. Acts 21:28f). He did not mind so much the chains or the imprisonment or the Romans being his judges and jailers: what he wanted to make clear was that he was imprisoned for preaching to the Gentiles the salvation won by Jesus Christ.
He is very conscious of being an instrument specially chosen by God: he has been given the grace to reveal the "Mystery" (cf. Rom 1:15; 2 Cor12:2f). He is clearly referring to the vision he had on the road to Damascus (cf. Acts 9:2) and possibly to later revelations as well. His encounter with the risen Christ, who identifies himself with his Church (cf. Acts 9:5), is the origin and basis of his grasp of God's eternal plan, the "Mystery", which is one of the central teachings in this letter. The fact that Christ revealed himself to Paul and chose him to be the preacher of the Gospel to the Gentiles is something which Paul sees as part of the systematic implementation--the "oikonomia"—of God's plan.
5. In the Old Testament the promise made to Abraham revealed that in his offspring all the nations of the earth would be blessed (cf. Gen12:3; Sir 44:21); but how this would happen was not revealed. The Jews always thought that it would come about through their exaltation over other nations. Through the revelation Jesus made to him, St Paul has discovered that God has chosen another way--that of bringing the Gentiles into the Church, the body of Christ, on equal terms with the Jews. This is the "Mystery", the plan of God as revealed by the mission Christ gave his apostles or envoys (cf. Mt 28:19), of whom St Paul is one (cf. 3:8). Once again, as in 2:20, prophets are mentioned together with apostles; this may mean either the Old Testament prophets who announced the coming Messiah, or the New Testament prophets, that is, the Apostles themselves and other Christians who had insight, through revelation, into God's saving plans for the Gentiles and who proclaimed them under the inspiration of the Spirit. The context and other passages in Ephesians and elsewhere in the New Testament (cf. Eph 4:11; 1 Cor 12:28f; Acts 11:27; etc.) would suggest that he is referring to New Testament prophets. The Holy Spirit has revealed the Mystery to them "that they might preach the Gospel, stir up faith in Jesus the Messiah and Lord, and bring together the Church" (Vatican II, "Dei Verbum", 17). St Paul does not see himself as the only person to whom it has been given to know the Mystery revealed in Jesus Christ. All that he is saying is that, by the grace of God, it has been made known to him and that its preaching has been entrusted to him in a special way, just as it was given to St Peter to preach it to the Jews (cf. Gal 2:7).
St Paul attributes to the Holy Spirit the revelation of the Mystery, recalling, no doubt, how he himself came to know it after his meeting with Jesus on the road to Damascus (cf. Acts 9:17). It is the Spirit also who acts in the apostles and prophets (cf. Acts 2:17), and it is he who on an on-going basis vivifies the Church, enabling it to proclaim the Gospel. "The Holy Spirit is the soul of the Church. It is he who explains to the faithful the deep meaning of the teaching of Jesus and of his mystery. It is the Holy Spirit who, today just as at the beginning of the Church, acts in every evangelizer who allows himself to be possessed and led by him. The Holy Spirit places on his lips the words which he could not find himself, and at the same time the Holy Spirit predisposes the soul of the hearer to be open and receptive to the Good News and to the Kingdom being proclaimed" (Paul VI, "Evangelii Nuntiandi", 75).