Ad Majorem Dei Gloriam (To the Greater Glory of God)
From: Isaiah 56:1-3a, 6-8
Worship Open to All
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[1] Thus says the Lord: “Keep justice, and do righteousness, for soon my salvation will come, [2] Blessed is the man who does this, and the son of man who holds it fast, who keeps the sabbath, not profaning it, and keeps his hand from doing any evil.” [3] Let not the foreigner who has joined himself to the Lord say, “The Lord will surely separate me from his people”.
[6] ”And the foreigners who join themselves to the Lord, to minister to him, to love the name of the Lord, and to be his servants, every one who keeps the sabbath, and does not profane it, and holds fast my covenant--[7] these I will bring to my holy mountain, and make them joyful in my house of prayer; their burnt offerings and their sacrifices will be accepted on my altar; for my house shall be called a house of prayer for all peoples. [8] Thus says the Lord God, who gathers the outcasts of Israel, I will gather yet others to him besides those already gathered."
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Commentary:
56:1-66:24. These chapters make up the third part of the book of Isaiah, sometimes called “Third Isaiah”. It consists of prophetic visions and oracles about the new Zion and the nations of the earth. The variety of style and content here makes it difficult to identify any clear structure: the sacred writer seems to have drawn these oracles together, apparently content that they are all to do with the End and all refer to the whole world and not just to Israel. But he has carefully positioned chapter 61 in the middle, making it the high-point of these chapters. Also, 56:1-8 and 66:18-24, which stress the universality of justice and worship, are very appropriately positioned at start and finish. To make this part easier to read, we have divided it into three sections in this edition. The first (56:1-59:21) is a series of oracles that show salvation being extended to all mankind, even though the sins of the people of God will cause delays. In the second (60:1-64:11), the salvation that the Lord will provide is proclaimed to all the nations from Jerusalem. And the third section (65:1-66:24) has as its theme the judgment of God, handed down to each according to his or her merits, be it punishment for sin, or salvation.
Historically, the oracles have to do with the years following the return from exile after Cyrus issued his decree of repatriation (539 BC). It was for Judah a time for “beginning again”. God sent messages of hope to raise the Jews’ spirits during their years in exile and on their return, when they were confronted by a scene of devastation. They cannot fail to see that, from now on, peace and salvation are linked with a return to God, conversion, the practice of righteousness, and holiness.
This means that the horizon of divine salvation extends to include the whole world, extending beyond the narrow limits of Jewish nationalism. When the prophetic texts speak of Zion, they see it as the center of a new view of mankind, as a source of light for all nations. The new Jerusalem stands for a new order, as it will in the Revelation to John. Although all the energies of repatriates are focused on the rebuilding of the temple (60:7-13), the message here is that the ultimate goal is not material reconstruction, for the throne of God is to be found in heaven, and the earth is only his footstool (66:1-2). Hope in a glorious future is not measured in terms of external institutions--in the monarchy (which does not exist), or in any other human authority, or in force of arms. Even divine worship, and the rules and regulations to do with fasting and sacrifices, will be cleansed of the old formalism (58:1-14). God will act directly to save his people (62:2-12). The new horizon opened up by “Third Isaiah” has its parallel in Haggai and Zechariah, and, above all, it prepares the way for the still-distant eschatological vision found in the Revelation to John.
56:1-59:21. The new section looks forward to a salvation that is open to everyone who practises righteousness (56: 1-12). However, the first announcement of this is put on hold, as it were, due to the sins of the people of God; these delay the manifestation of God’s salvific power, for he refuses to hearken to the prayers of the ungodly (57:1-21). Therefore, first and foremost, the prophet issues a call to conversion (58: 1-14), while promising that the Lord, who is faithful to his Covenant, will reward people according to their actions: he will punish those who are faithless and redeem those who return to him (59:1-21).
56:1-8. In the restored Jerusalem, the temple will begin to open its doors to all peoples. What we were told at the start of the book (cf. 2:2-5) would happen “in the latter days” is beginning to happen: the temple of the Lord will be a house of prayer for those who previously could not enter it; it will be open to all peoples. The old rulings (Lev 22:25; Deut 23:2-9) did not permit eunuchs or foreigners to take part in the assembly of Israel (a similar approach is found in Ezra 9:1-12 and Nehemiah 9:1-2); but this oracle displays a much more open and universalist attitude (cf. V/is 3:14):there is no objection to eunuchs and foreigners provided that they observe the sabbath and the Covenant (cf. vv. 2, 4,6) Blood ties are no longer the criteria for membership of the community of the people of God now it suffices that a person keep to the moral teaching laid down in the old Covenant, and worship the true God.
The mission of the temple, rebuilt by the exiles after their return with its open invitation to all without exception to come and worship God as part of his people, will reach its fullness in the redemption wrought by Christ Jesus. When he cleanses the temple (Mt 21:12-13 and par.), appealing to the words of v. 6 (along with Jeremiah 7:11; cf. note on same), this prophecy will be fulfilled.
Christ Defends His Action (Continuation)
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(Jesus said to the Jews,) [33] You sent to John, and he has borne witness to the truth. [34] Not that the testimony which I receive is from man; but I say this that you may be saved. [35] He was a burning and shining lamp, and you were willing to rejoice for a while in his light. [36] But the testimony which I have is greater than that of John; for the works which the Father has granted Me to accomplish, these very works which I am doing, bear Me witness that the Father has sent Me.
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Commentary:
31-40. Because Jesus is Son of God, His own word is self-sufficient, it needs no corroboration (cf. 8:18); but, as on other occasions, He accommodates Himself to human customs and to the mental outlook of His hearers: He anticipates a possible objection from the Jews to the effect that it is not enough for a person to testify in his own cause (cf. Deuteronomy 19:15) and He explains that what He is saying is endorsed by four witnesses--John the Baptist, His own miracles, the Father, and the Sacred Scriptures of the Old Testament.
John the Baptist bore witness that Jesus was the Son of God (1:34). Although Jesus had no need to have recourse to any man's testimony, not even that of a great prophet, John's testimony was given for the sake of the Jews, that they might recognize the Messiah. Jesus can also point to another testimony, better than that of the Baptist—the miracles He has worked, which are, for anyone who examines them honestly, unmistakable signs of His divine power, which comes from the Father; Jesus' miracles, then, are a form of witness the Father bears concerning His Son, whom He has sent into the world. The Father manifests the divinity of Jesus on other occasions--at His Baptism (cf. 1:31-34); at the Transfiguration (cf. Matthew 17:1-8), and later, in the presence of the whole crowd (cf. John 12:28-30).
Jesus speaks to another divine testimony--that of the Sacred Scriptures. These speak of Him, but the Jews fail to grasp the Scriptures' true meaning, because they read them without letting themselves be enlightened by Him whom God has sent and in whom all the prophecies are fulfilled: "The economy of the Old Testament was deliberately so orientated that it should prepare for and declare in prophecy the coming of Christ, Redeemer of all men, and of the Messianic Kingdom (cf. Luke 24:44; John 5:39, 1 Peter 1:10), and should indicate it by means of different types (cf. 1 Corinthians 10:11). [...] Christians should accept with veneration these writings which give expression to a lively sense of God, which are a storehouse of sublime teaching on God and of sound wisdom on human life, as well as a wonderful treasury of prayers; in them, too, the mystery of our salvation is present in a hidden way" (Vatican II, "Dei Verbum", 15).