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From: 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18

The Second Coming of the Lord

[13] But we would not have you ignorant, brethren, concerning those
who are asleep, that you may not grieve as others do who have no
hope. [14] For since we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even
so, through Jesus, God will bring with him those who have fallen asleep.
[15] For this we declare to you by the word of the Lord, that we who
are alive, who are left until the coming of the Lord, shall not precede
those who have fallen asleep. [16] For the Lord himself will descend
from heaven with a cry of command, with the archangel’s call, and with
the sound of the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise
first; [17] then we who are alive, who are left, shall be caught up
together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air; and so we
shall always be with the Lord. [18] Therefore comfort one another with
these words.

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Commentary:

13. “Those who are asleep”: this expression, already to be found in
some pagan writings, was often used by the early Christians to refer to
those who died in the faith of Christ. In Christian writings it makes
more sense, given Christian belief in the resurrection of Jesus and in
the resurrection of the body. It is not just a euphemism: it underlines
the fact that death is not the end. “Why does it say that they are
asleep”, St Augustine asks, “if not because they will be raised when
their day comes?” (”Sermon 93”, 6). Hence Monsignor Escriva’s advice:
“When facing death, be calm. I do not want you to have the cold
stoicism of the pagan, but the fervor of a child of God who knows that
life is changed, not taken away. To die is to live!” (”Furrow”, 876).

Even though we have this hope, it is perfectly understandable for us to
feel sad when people we love die. This sadness, provided it is kept
under control, is a sign of affection and piety, but “to be excessively
downcast by the death of friends is to act like someone who does not
have the spirit of Christian hope. A person who does not believe in the
resurrection and who sees death as total annihilation has every reason
to weep and lament and cry over those friends and relations who have
passed away into nothingness. But you are Christians, you believe in
the resurrection, you live and die in hope: why should you mourn the
dead excessively?” (Chrysostom, “Hom. on 1 Thess, ad loc.”).

14. “It is appointed for men to die once” (Heb 9:27). However, for a
person who has faith, death does not just mean the end of his days on
earth. Our Lord Jesus Christ died and rose again, and his resurrection
is a pledge of our resurrection: death “in Christ” is the climax of a
life in union with him, and it is the gateway to heaven. And so St Paul
tells Timothy, “If we have died with him, we shall also live with him;
if we endure, we shall also reign with him” (2 Tim 2:11-12).

The resurrection the Christian will experience is not only similar to
our Lord’s; his resurrection is in fact the cause of ours. St Thomas
Aquinas explains this as follows: “Christ is the model of our
resurrection, because he took flesh and he rose in the flesh. However,
he is not only our model; he is also the efficient cause (of our
resurrection) because anything done by the human nature of Christ was
done not only by the power of his human nature but also by the power
of the godhead united to that nature. And so, just as his touch cured
the leper by virtue of its being the instrument of his godhead, so the
resurrection of Christ is the cause of our resurrection” (”Commentary
on 1 Thess, ad loc.”). Although this passage of the letter does not say
so explicitly, it is implied that we will rise with our bodies, just as
Jesus rose with his.

15-17. The religious instruction of the Thessalonians was cut short
because St Paul had to leave the city in a hurry. One of the doubts
remaining in their minds can be expressed as follows: Will the dead
be under any disadvantage “vis-a-vis” those who are still alive when
the Parousia of the Lord happens? The Apostle replies in two stages:
first he says that we will have no advantage of any kind over them
(vv. 15- 18); then he makes clear that we do not know when that even
will come about (5:1-2).

In his reply he does not explicitly speak about the general resurrection;
he refers only to those who die “in Christ”. He distinguishes two groups
as regards the situation people find themselves in at our Lord’s second
coming—1) those who are alive: these will be “caught up”, that is
changed (cf. 1 Cor 15:51; 2 Cor 5: 2-4) by the power of God and will
change from being corruptible and mortal to being incorruptible and
immortal; 2) those who have already died: these will rise again.

St Paul’s reply is adapted to the tenor of the question; so, when he
writes “we who are alive, who are left” he does not mean that the
Parousia will happen soon or that he will live to see the day (cf.
Pontifical Biblical Commission, “Reply” concerning the Parousia, 18
June 1915). He uses the first person plural because at the time of
writing both he and his readers were alive. However, his words were
misinterpreted by some of the Thessalonians, and that was the reason
he wrote the second epistle a few months later (in which he puts things
more clearly: “Now concerning the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and
our assembling to meet him, we beg you, brethren, not to quickly shaken
in mind or excited [...], to the effect that the day of the Lord has come”
(2 Thess 2:1-2). However, even in the first letter there are enough
indications that St Paul was not saying the Parousia was imminent,
for he implies that he does not know when it will happen (cf. 5:1-2).

To describe the signs which will mark the Lord’s coming, St Paul uses
imagery typical of apocalyptic writing—the voice of the archangel, the
sound of the trumpet, the clouds of heaven. These signs are to be found
in the Old Testament theophanies or great manifestations of Yahweh (cf.
Ex 19:16); on the day of the Parousia, too, they will reveal God’s
absolute dominion over the forces of nature, as also his sublimity and
majesty.

When the Lord Jesus comes in all his glory, those who had died in the
Lord (who already were enjoying the vision of God in heaven) and those
who have been changed will go to meet the Lord “in the air”, for both
will now have glorified bodies (cf. 1 Cor 15:43) endowed with the gift
of “agility”, “by which the body will be freed from the heaviness that
now presses it down, and will take on a capability of moving with the
utmost ease and swiftness, wherever the soul pleases” (”St. Pius V
Catechism”, I, 12, 13).

After the general judgment, which will take place that day, the
righteous will be “always with the Lord.” That is in fact the rewar
of the blessed—to enjoy forever, in body and soul, the sight of God,
thereby attaining a happiness which more than makes up for whatever
they have had to do to obtain it, for “the sufferings of this present
life are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to
us” (Rom 8:18). “If at any time you feel uneasy at the thought of our
sister death because you see yourself to be such a poor creature, take
heart. Think of this: Heaven awaits us; what will it be like when all
the infinite beauty and greatness and happiness and Love of God are
poured into the poor clay vessel that the human being is, to satisfy it
eternally with the freshness of an ever-new joy?” (J. Escriva,
“Furrow”, 891).

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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: Luke 4:16-30

Jesus Preaches in Nazareth

[16] And He (Jesus) came to Nazareth, where He had been brought up;
and He went to the synagogue, as His custom was, on the Sabbath Day.
And He stood up to read; [17] and there was given to Him the book of the
prophet Isaiah. He opened the book and found the place where it was
written, [18] “The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me, because He has anointed
Me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent Me to proclaim release
to the captives and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty
those
who are oppressed, [19] to proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord.”
[20] And He closed the book, and gave it back to the attendant, and sat
down; and the eyes of all in thesynagogue were fixed on Him. [21] And
He began to say to them, “Today this scripture has been fulfilled in your
hearing. [22] And all spoke well of Him, and wondered at the gracious
words which proceeded out of His mouth; and they said, “Is not this
Joseph’s son?” [23] And He said to them, “Doubtless you will quote to
Me this proverb, `Physician, heal yourself; what we have heard you did
at Capernaum, do here also in your own country.’” [24] And He said,
“Truly, I say to you, no prophet is acceptable in his own country. [25]
But in truth, I tell you, there were many widows in Israel in the days of
Elijah, when the heaven was shut up three years and six months, when
there came a great famine over all the land; [26] and Elijah was sent to
none of them but only to Zarephath, in the land of Sidon, to a woman
who was a widow. [27] And there were many lepers in Israel in the time
of the prophet Elisha; and none of them was cleansed, but only Naaman
the Syrian.” [28] When they heard this, all in the synagogue were filled
with wrath. [29] And they rose up and put Him out of the city, and led
Him to the brow on the hill on which their city was built, that they might
throw Him down headlong. [30] But passing through the midst of them
He went away.

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Commentary:

16-30. For the Jews the Sabbath was a day of rest and prayer, as God
commanded (Exodus 20:8-11). On that day they would gather together
to be instructed in Sacred Scripture. At the beginning of this meeting
they all recited the “Shema”, a summary of the precepts of the Lord, and
the “eighteen blessings”. Then a passage was read from the Book of
the Law—the Pentateuch—and another from the Prophets. The president
invited one of those present who was well versed in the Scriptures to
address the gathering. Sometimes someone would volunteer and request
the honor of being allowed to give this address—as must have happened
on this occasion. Jesus avails Himself of this opportunity to instruct the
people (cf. Luke 4:16ff), as will His Apostles later on (cf. Acts 13:5, 14,
42, 44; 14:1; etc.). The Sabbath meeting concluded with the priestly
blessing, recited by the president or by a priest if there was one present,
to which the people answered “Amen” (cf. Numbers 6:22ff).

18-21. Jesus read the passage from Isaiah 61:1-2 where the prophet
announces the coming of the Lord, who will free His people of their
afflictions. In Christ this prophecy finds its fulfillment, for He is the
Anointed, the Messiah whom God has sent to His people in their
tribulation. Jesus has been anointed by the Holy Spirit for the mission
the Father has entrusted to Him. “These phrases, according to Luke
(verses 18-19), are His first messianic declaration. They are followed
by the actions and words known through the Gospel. By these actions
and words Christ makes the Father present among men” (John Paul II,
“Dives In Misericordia”, 3).

The promises proclaimed in verses 18 and 19 are the blessings God
will send His people through the Messiah. According to Old Testament
tradition and Jesus’ own preaching (cf. note on Matthew 5:3), “the poor”
refers not so much to a particular social condition as to a very religious
attitude of indigence and humility towards God, which is to be found in
those who, instead of relying on their possessions and merits, trust in
God’s goodness and mercy. Thus, preaching good news to the poor
means bringing them the “good news” that God has taken pity on them.
Similarly, the Redemption, the release, which the text mentions, is to
be understood mainly in a spiritual, transcendental sense: Christ has
come to free us from the blindness and oppression of sin, which, in the
last analysis, is slavery imposed on us by the devil. “Captivity can be
felt”, St. John Chrysostom teaches in a commentary on Psalm 126,
“when it proceeds from physical enemies, but the spiritual captivity
referred to here is worse; sin exerts a more severe tyranny, evil takes
control and blinds those who lend it obedience; from this spiritual prison
Jesus Christ rescued us” (”Catena Aurea”). However, this passage is
also in line with Jesus’ special concern for those most in need. “Simi-
larly, the Church encompasses with her love all those who are afflicted
by human misery and she recognizes in those who are poor and who
suffer the image of her poor and suffering Founder. She does all in her
power to relieve their need and in them she strives to serve Christ”
(Vatican II, “Lumen Gentium”, 8).

18-19. The words of Isaiah which Christ read out on this occasion
describe very graphically the reason why God has sent His Son into
the world—to redeem men from sin, to liberate them from slavery to the
devil and from eternal death. It is true that in the course of His public
ministry Christ, in His mercy, worked many cures, cast out devils, etc.
But He did not cure all the sick people in the world, nor did He elimi-
nate all forms of distress in this life, because pain, which entered the
world through sin, has a permanent redemptive value when associated
with the sufferings of Christ. Therefore, Christ worked miracles not so
much to release the people concerned from suffering, as to demon-
strate that He had a God-given mission to bring everyone to eternal
salvation.

The Church carries on this mission of Christ: “Go therefore and make
disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and
of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I
have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, to the close of
the age” (Matthew 28:19-20). These simple and sublime words, which
conclude the Gospel of St. Matthew, point out “the obligation to preach
the truths of faith, the need for sacramental life, the promise of Christ’s
continual assistance to His Church. You cannot be faithful to our Lord
if you neglect these supernatural demands—to receive instruction in
Christian faith and morality and to frequent the Sacraments. It is with
this mandate that Christ founded His Church [...]. And the Church can
bring salvation to souls only if she remains faithful to Christ in her cons-
titution and teaching, both dogmatic and moral.

“Let us reject, therefore, the suggestion that the Church, ignoring the
Sermon on the Mount, seeks a purely human happiness on earth, since
we know that her only task is to bring men to eternal glory in Heaven.
Let us reject any purely naturalistic view that fails to value the super-
natural role of divine grace. Let us reject materialistic opinions that ex-
clude spiritual values from human life. Let us equally reject any secu-
larizing theory which attempts to equate the aims of the Church with
those of earthly states, distorting its essence, institutions and activities
into something similar to those of temporal society” ([Blessed] J. Es-
criva, “In Love with the Church”, 23 and 31).

18. The Fathers of the Church see in this verse a reference to the three
persons of the Holy Trinity: the Spirit (the Holy Spirit) of the Lord (the
Father) is upon Me (the Son); cf. Origen, “Homily 32”. The Holy Spirit
dwelt in Christ’s soul from the very moment of the Incarnation and de-
scended visibly upon Him in the form of a dove when He was baptized
by John (cf. Luke 3:21-22).

“Because He has anointed Me”: this is a reference to the anointing
Jesus received at the moment of His Incarnation, principally through
the grace of the hypostatic union. “This anointing of Jesus Christ was
not an anointing of the body as in the case of the ancient kings, priests
and prophets; rather it was entirely spiritual and divine, because the full-
ness of the Godhead dwells in Him substantially” (”St. Pius X Catechism”
77). From this hypostatic union the fullness of all graces derives. To
show this, Jesus Christ is said to have been anointed by the Holy Spirit
Himself—not just to have received the graces and gifts of the Spirit, like
the saints.

19. “The acceptable year”: this is a reference to the jubilee year of the
Jews, which the Law of God (Leviticus 25:8) lays down as occurring
every fifty years, symbolizing the era of redemption and liberation which
the Messiah would usher in. The era inaugurated by Christ, the era of
the New Law extending to the end of the world, is “the acceptable year”,
the time of mercy and redemption, which will be obtained definitively in
Heaven.

The Catholic Church’s custom of the “Holy Year” is also designed to
proclaim and remind people of the redemption brought by Christ, and
of the full form it will take in the future life.

20-22. Christ’s words in verse 21 show us the authenticity with which
He preached and explained the Scriptures: “Today this scripture has
been fulfilled in your hearing.” Jesus teaches that this prophecy, like
the other main prophecies in the Old Testament, refers to Him and finds
its fulfillment in Him (cf. Luke 24:44ff). Thus, the Old Testament can be
rightly understood only in the light of the New—as the risen Christ
showed the Apostles when He opened their minds to understand the
Scriptures (cf. Luke 24:45), an understanding which the Holy Spirit
perfected on the day of Pentecost (cf. Acts 2:4).

22-29. At first the people of Nazareth listened readily to the wisdom
of Jesus’ words. But they were very superficial; in their narrow-minded
pride they felt hurt that Jesus, their fellow-townsman, had not worked
in Nazareth the wonders He had worked elsewhere. They presume
they have a special entitlement and they insolently demand that He
perform miracles to satisfy their vanity, not to change their hearts. In
view of their attitude, Jesus performs no miracle (His normal response
to lack of faith: cf., for example, His meeting with Herod in Luke 23:7-11);
He actually reproaches them, using two examples taken from the Old
Testament (cf. 1 Kings 17:9 and 2 Kings 5:14), which show that one
needs to be well-disposed if miracles are to lead to faith. His attitude
so wounds their pride that they are ready to kill Him. This whole epi-
sode is a good lesson about understanding Jesus. We can understand
Him only if we are humble and are genuinely resolved to make ourselves
available to Him.

30. Jesus does not take flight but withdraws majestically, leaving the
crowd paralyzed. As on other occasions men do Him no harm; it was
by God’s decree that He died on a cross (cf. John 18:32) when His hour
had come.

Published by Four Courts Press, Kill Lane, Blackrock, Co. Dublin, Ireland, and
by Scepter Publishers in the United States.