From: Amos 6:1a; 4-7
A life of luxury gives a false sense of security
[4] Woe to those who lie upon beds of ivory,
and stretch themselves upon their couches,
and eat lams from the flock,
and calves from the midst of the stall;
[5] who sing idle songs to the sound of the harp,
and like David invent for themselves instruments of music;
[6] who drink wine in bowls,
and anoint themselves with the finest oils,
but are not grieved over the ruin of Joseph!
[7] Therefore they shall now be the first of those to go into exile,
and the revelry of those who stretch themselves shall pass away.”
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Commentary:
6:1-7. The third “woe” (v. 1; cf. 5:7, 18) marks the start of the last section of this
part of the book. Two distinct fragments can be detected in this passage, but
they both attack pleasure-seeking and pride. The first (vv. 1-7) reproaches those
who live thoughtlessly (vv. 4-6), be they in Samaria or in Zion (v. 1), putting their
trust in the ruling classes of “the first of the nations”, that is, the Northern king-
dom, Samaria. In describing the country in that way, Amos is being sarcastic.
But there is no sarcasm about his threat that those who “anoint themselves with
the finest oils” (v. 6) “will be the first of those who go into exile” (v. 7). The main
charge laid against them is that of living a life of luxury, heedless of the misfor-
tunes of others, of “the ruin of Joseph (v. 6). Concern for others is always a religi-
ous duty: “Coming down to practical and particularly urgent consequences, this
council [Vatican II] lays stress on reverence for man; everyone must consider his
every neighbour without exception as another self, taking into account first of all
his life and the means necessary to living it with dignity. […] In our times a spe-
cial obligation binds us to make ourselves the neighbour of every person without
exception and to actively help him when he comes across our path, whether he
be an old person abandoned by all, a foreign labourer unjustly looked down upon,
a refugee, a child born of an unlawful union and wrongly suffering for a sin he did
not commit, or a hungry person who disturbs our conscience by recalling the
voice of the Lord, ‘As long as you did it for one of these the least of my brethren,
you did it for me’ (Mt 35:40)” (Gaudium et spes, 27).
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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: 1 Timothy 6:11-16
An Appeal to Defend the Faith
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Commentary:
11-16. The letter’s final piece of advice is given with special solemnity. There are
two reasons for constancy in the fight (v. 12): the call to eternal life, and fidelity to
the confession of faith made at Baptism. The second obligation, to keep what is
commanded (v. 14), is urged with an appeal to the presence of two witnesses —
God the Father, and Jesus Christ (v. 13), who firmly proclaimed his kingship to
Pontius Pilate.
There is a very close connection between perseverance and the eternal sovereign-
ty of God (v. 16): “The eternity of God”, St Bernard teaches, “is the source of per-
severance [...]. Who hopes and perseveres in love but he who imitates the eterni-
ty of his charity? Truly, perseverance reflects eterni ty in some way; only to per-
severance is eternity granted or, to put it better, only perseverance obtains eterni-
ty for man” (”Book of Consideration”, 5, 14).
11. “Man of God”: this expression was used in the Old Testament of men who
performed some special God-given mission — for example, Moses (Deut 33:1;
Ps 40:1), Samuel (1 Sam 9:6-7); Elijah and Elisha(1 Kings 17:18; 2 Kings 4:7,
27, 42). In the Pastoral Epistles (cf. also 2 Tim 3:17) it is applied to Timothy in-
sofar as ordination has conferred on him a ministry in the Church. Through ordi-
nation “the priest is basically a consecrated man, a “man of God” (1 Tim 6:11)
[...]. The ministerial priesthood in the people of God is something more than a
holy public office exercised on behalf of the community: it is primarily a configu-
ration, a sacramental and mysterious transformation of the person of the man-
priest into the person of Christ himself, the only mediator (cf. 1 Tim 2:5) “ (A.
del Portillo, “On Priesthood”, pp. 44-45).
“Fight the good fight”: St Paul often uses military comparisons to describe the
Christian life (cf., e.g., 2 Cor 10:3-6; Eph 6:10-17; Col 1:29; 2 Tim 2:3; 4:7), and
they have found their way into the ascetical tradition of the Church (cf. note on
1 Tim 1:17-19). Here and in 2 Timothy he is referring more to keeping the truth
unsullied, and to preaching: the “good fight of the faith” is of great importance
to everyone.
“Confession in the presence of many witnesses”: in addition to the day of his
consecration (cf. 1 Tim 4:14), Timothy would have often had occasion to make
public confession of his faith. However, this phrase is couched in such formal
terms that it seems to refer rather to the profession of faith which has been
made at Baptism ever since the early years of the Church (cf. Acts 2:38-41).
13-14. “Keep the commandments”: the Greek may be referring to one specific
commandment (as the RSV reflects); but it can also mean law as a whole and,
more likely, the truths of Revelation, that is, the deposit of the faith professed
at Baptism.
St Paul very formally calls in, as witnesses to this instruction, God the Father
and Christ Jesus, “who in his testimony before Pontius Pilate made the good
confession”. Jesus’ “testimony” includes his entire passion and the declaration
he made to the Roman procurator about messianic kingship and his true identi-
ty (cf. Jn 18:36-37).
“Until the appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ”: when referring to the second co-
ming of Christ the New Testament often uses the term “parousia” (cf. 1 Cor 15:
23; 2 Pet 3:4) or “revealing” (cf., e.g., 1 Cor 1:7); the Pastoral Epistles prefer
“appearing”, epiphany, manifestation (cf. 2 Tim 4:1, 8; Tit 2:13), which better re-
flect the coming of Christ in glory as Savior (cf. 2 Tim 1:10). There is, of course,
a wonderful continuity between the redemptive work of Christ, the action of the
Church in conserving Revelation and passing it on, and the final coming of Christ
at the end of time.
15-16. This doxology or hymn of praise, one of the richest and most beautiful in
the New Testament, may have been taken from the Church’s liturgy (which may
also be the case with the other hymns in this letter: cf. 1:17 and 3:15 -16). It
was possibly a reply to pagan hymns honoring rulers and emperors as gods.
However, it is more likely that this particular hymn was inspired by the Old Tes-
tament, which speaks of God in similar language. Whatever its origin, the impor-
tant thing about the hymn is that it expresses faith in God who merits all praise.
At a time known only to him (cf. Mt 24:36), God the Father will bring about the
glorious manifestation of Jesus Christ. The text refers to four attributes which
show the power and sublimity of God: he is the “only Sovereign”, from whom
all lawful rulers on earth receive their authority (cf. Jn 19:11). He is the “King of
kings and Lord of lords” (literally, “the King of those who reign and the Lord of
those who wield lordship”); this is not, then, a merely honorific title: he does ac-
tually exercise sovereignty over those who claim to possess it (cf. Rev 17:14;
19: 16). He is “immortal”, for immortality is proper to God, who is Life (cf. Jn 1:
4); angels and souls are immortal only by virtue of the nature given them by God.
Finally, he is “light” and brightness: these are attributed to God (cf. Ps 104:2) to
show his sublimity: God transcends all created things and cannot be fully com-
prehended by man. St Thomas explains that an object can be invisible on two
counts either because it lacks brightness, as occurs with things which are dark
and opaque, or because it is too bright, as occurs in the case of the sun, which
is so bright that the human eye cannot look at it; God is so far beyond the capa-
city of the human mind that man cannot entirely take him in even though what
we can learn about him by the right use of reason and through revelation is true
and accurate (cf. “Commentary on 1 Tim, ad loc.”). The conclusion of the hymn,
which is liturgical and pedagogical in style, is similar to that found in 1:17: there
it says “honor and glory”, here “heaven and eternal dominion”, putting more
stress on God’s sovereignty.
This and the other hymns which appear in the letter show that the first Christians
were fully aware that man’s true purpose in life is to give glory to God. “We do
not live for the world, or for our own honor, but for the honor of God, for the glory
of God, for the service of God. That is what should motivate us!” (St. J. Escriva,
“The Forge”, 851).
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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.