Thursday

1st Week of Advent

1st Reading: Isaiah 26:1-6

Songs of Salvation (Continuation)
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[1] In that day this song will be sung in the land of Judah: "We have a strong
city; he sets up salvation as walls and bulwarks. [2] Open the gates, that the
righteous nation which keeps faith may enter in. [3] Thou dost keep him in
perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee, because he trusts in thee. [4]
Trust in the Lord for ever, for the Lord God is an everlasting rock. [5] For he
has brought low the inhabitants of the height, the lofty city. He lays it low, lays
it low to the ground, casts it to the dust. [6] The foot tramples it, the feet of the
poor, the steps of the needy."

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Commentary:

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).

26:7-19. Now comes a personal dialogue with God in the form of a prayer or
sapiential psalm (vv. 7-10). Here the greatness of the Lord is not being described
to third parties nor are his works being praised: the prophet is addressing him
directly, to tell him that he trusts in Him (vv. 7-8), to express his innermost
feelings (v. 9a; cf. Ps 42), to ask him to reveal his righteousness (vv. 9b-10) and
intervene (v. 11) and bring peace (v. 12), and to celebrate enduring fidelity to the
Lord (vv. 13-19). Verse 19 is a ray of hope in personal resurrection, although here,
as in 25:8, it refers to the resurgence of the nation, as in the vision of the bones
restored to life in the book of Ezekiel (cf. Ezek 37:1-14). Daniel 12:1-3 clearly
predicts the resurrection of people from the dead. Commenting on v. 10, St
Bernard addresses God, saying: "Father of mercies, may your anger be roused
against me -- the anger that chastens a soul who has lost his way, not the wrath
by which you seal off the path of righteousness" ("In Cantica Canticorum", 42, 4).


Gospel Reading: Matthew 7:21, 24-27

Doing the Will of God
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(Jesus said to His disciples,) [21] "Not every one who says to Me, `Lord, Lord,'
shall enter the Kingdom of Heaven, but he who does the will of My Father who
is in Heaven.

Building on Rock
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[24] "Every one then who hears these words of Mine and does them will be like
a wise man who built his house upon the rock; [25] and the rain fell, and the
floods came, and the winds blew and beat upon that house, but it did not fall,
because it had been founded on the rock. [26] And every one who hears these
words of Mine and does not do them will be like a foolish man who built his
house upon the sand; [27] and the rain fell, and the floods came, and winds
blew and beat against that house, and it fell; and great was the fall of it."

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Commentary:

21-23. To be genuine, prayer must be accompanied by a persevering effort to
do God's will. Similarly, in order to do His will it is not enough to speak about
the things of God: there must be consistency betweenwhat one preaches--what
one says--and what one does: "The Kingdom of God does not consist in talk
but in power" (1 Corinthians 4:20); "Be doers of the word, not hearers only,
deceiving yourselves" (James 1:22).

Christians, "holding loyally to the Gospel, enriched by its resources, and joining
forces with all who love and practise justice, have shouldered a weighty task on
earth and they must render an account of it to Him who will judge all men on the
last day. Not every one who says `Lord, Lord' will enter the Kingdom of Heaven,
but those who do the will of the Father, and who manfully put their hands to the
work" (Vatican II, "Gaudium Et Spes", 93).

To enter the Kingdom of Heaven, to be holy, it is not enough, then, to speak
eloquently about holiness. One has to practise what one preaches, to produce
fruit which accords with one's words. Fray Luis de Leon puts it very graphically:
"Notice that to be a good Christian it is not enough just to pray and fast and
hear Mass; God must find you faithful, like another Job or Abraham, in times of
tribulation" ("Guide for Sinners", Book 1, Part 2, Chapter 21).

Even if a person exercises an ecclesiastical ministry that does not assure his
holiness; he needs to practice the virtues he preaches. Besides, we know from
experience that any Christian (clerical, religious or lay) who does not strive to
act in accordance with the demands of the faith he professes, begins to weaken
in his faith and eventually parts company also with the teaching of the Church.
Anyone who does not live in accordance with what he says, ends up saying
things which are contrary to faith.

The authority with which Jesus speaks in these verses reveals Him as sovereign
Judge of the living and the dead. No Old Testament prophet ever spoke with this
authority.

22. "That day": a technical formula in biblical language meaning the day of the
Judgment of the Lord or the Last Judgment.

23. This passage refers to the Judgment where Jesus will be the Judge. The
sacred text uses a verb which means the public proclamation of a truth. Since
in this case Jesus Christ is the Judge who makes the declaration, it takes the
form of a judicial sentence.

24-27. These verses constitute the positive side of the previous passage. A
person who tries to put Christ's teaching into practice, even if he experiences
personal difficulties or lives during times of upheaval in the life of the Church or
is surrounded by error, will stay firm in the faith, like the wise man who builds
his house on rock.

Also, if we are to stay strong in times of difficulty, we need, when things are
calm and peaceful, to accept little contradictions with a good grace, to be very
refined in our relationship with God and with others, and to perform the duties
of our state in life in a spirit of loyalty and abnegation. By acting in this way
we are laying down a good foundation, maintaining the edifice of our spiritual
life and repairing any cracks which make their appearance.



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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. We encourage readers to purchase
The Navarre Bible for personal study. See Scepter Publishers for details.


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