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Ad Majorem Dei Gloriam (To the Greater Glory of God)

For: Sunday, December 1, 2019

1st Sunday of Advent

From: Matthew 24:37-44

The Time of the Second Coming of Christ and of the Last Judgment

(Jesus said to his disciples,) [37] “As were the days of Noah, so will be the
coming of the Son of man. [38] For as in those days before the flood they were
eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day when Noah
entered the ark, [39] and they did not know until the flood came and swept them
all away, so will be the coming of the Son of man. [40] Then two men will be in
the field; one is taken and one is left. [41] Two women will be grinding at the mill;
one is taken and one is left.

Vigilance. The Faithful Servant

[42] “Watch therefore, for you do not know on what day your Lord is coming.
[43] But know this, that if the householder had known in what part of the night
the thief was coming, he would have watched and would not have let his house
be broken into. [44] Therefore you also must be ready; for the Son of man is co-
ming at an hour you do not expect.

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Commentary:

37-39. In a few strokes our Lord sketches man’s perennial insensitivity and care-
lessness towards the things of God. Man thinks it is more important to eat and
drink, to find a husband or wife; but if that is his attitude he is forgetting about
the most important thing — eternal life. Our Lord also foretells that the end of the
world will be like the great flood; the Son of man’s second coming will happen
unexpectedly, taking people by surprise, whether they are doing good or evil.

40. It is in the context of the ordinary affairs of life — farmwork, housework, etc.
— that God calls man, and man responds: that is where his eternal happiness
or eternal punishment is decided. To be saved, one does not need to meet any
special conditions, or to be in a special position in life: one simply has to be
faithful to the Lord in the middle of ordinary everyday affairs.

42. Jesus himself draws from this revelation about the future the practical moral
that a Christian needs to be on the watch, living each day as if it were his last.
The important thing is not to be speculating about when these events will hap-
pen and what form they will take, but to live in such a way that they find us in
the state of grace.

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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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“Ignorance of Scripture is ignorance of Christ.” — St Jerome

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Matthew
	English: Douay-Rheims	Latin: Vulgata Clementina	Greek NT: Byzantine/Majority Text (2000)
	Matthew 24
37.	And as in the days of Noe, so shall also the coming of the Son of man be.	Sicut autem in diebus Noë, ita erit et adventus Filii hominis :	ωσπερ δε αι ημεραι του νωε ουτως εσται και η παρουσια του υιου του ανθρωπου
38.	For as in the days before the flood, they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, even till that day in which Noe entered into the ark,	sicut enim erant in diebus ante diluvium comedentes et bibentes, nubentes et nuptum tradentes, usque ad eum diem, quo intravit Noë in arcam,	ωσπερ γαρ ησαν εν ταις ημεραις ταις προ του κατακλυσμου τρωγοντες και πινοντες γαμουντες και εκγαμιζοντες αχρι ης ημερας εισηλθεν νωε εις την κιβωτον
39.	And they knew not till the flood came, and took them all away; so also shall the coming of the Son of man be.	et non cognoverunt donec venit diluvium, et tulit omnes : ita erit et adventus Filii hominis.	και ουκ εγνωσαν εως ηλθεν ο κατακλυσμος και ηρεν απαντας ουτως εσται και η παρουσια του υιου του ανθρωπου
40.	Then two shall be in the field: one shall be taken, and one shall be left.	Tunc duo erunt in agro : unus assumetur, et unus relinquetur.	τοτε δυο εσονται εν τω αγρω ο εις παραλαμβανεται και ο εις αφιεται
41.	Two women shall be grinding at the mill: one shall be taken, and one shall be left.	Duæ molentes in mola : una assumetur, et una relinquetur.	δυο αληθουσαι εν τω μυλωνι μια παραλαμβανεται και μια αφιεται
42.	Watch ye therefore, because ye know not what hour your Lord will come.	Vigilate ergo, quia nescitis qua hora Dominus vester venturus sit.	γρηγορειτε ουν οτι ουκ οιδατε ποια ωρα ο κυριος υμων ερχεται
43.	But know this ye, that if the goodman of the house knew at what hour the thief would come, he would certainly watch, and would not suffer his house to be broken open.	Illud autem scitote, quoniam si sciret paterfamilias qua hora fur venturus esset, vigilaret utique, et non sineret perfodi domum suam.	εκεινο δε γινωσκετε οτι ει ηδει ο οικοδεσποτης ποια φυλακη ο κλεπτης ερχεται εγρηγορησεν αν και ουκ αν ειασεν διορυγηναι την οικιαν αυτου
44.	Wherefore be you also ready, because at what hour you know not the Son of man will come.	Ideo et vos estote parati : quia qua nescitis hora Filius hominis venturus est.	δια τουτο και υμεις γινεσθε ετοιμοι οτι η ωρα ου δοκειτε ο υιος του ανθρωπου ερχεται

From: Isaiah 2:1-5

The Glory of Zion and Peace Among the Nations

[1] The word which Isaiah the son of Amoz saw concerning Judah and
Jerusalem.
[2] It shall come to pass in the latter days
that the mountain of the house of the Lord
shall be established as the highest of the mountains,
and shall be raised above the hills;
and all the nations shall flow to it,
[3] and many peoples shall come, and say:
“Come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord,
to the house of the God of Jacob;
that he may teach us his ways
and that we may walk in his paths.”
For out of Zion shall go forth the law,
and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem.
[4] He shall judge between the nations,
and shall decide for many peoples;
and they shall beat their swords into ploughshares,
and their spears into pruning hooks;
nation shall not lift up sword against nation,
neither shall they learn war any more.
[5] O house of Jacob,
come, let us walk
in the light of the Lord.

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Commentary:

2:1-4:6. This section opens with a new “dispute” (”rib”) in which we find echoes
of the teaching about the “day of the Lord” (2:12; cf. Amos 5:18-20). Previously,
the people were accused of forsaking God (cf. 1:2-3); now we are told why God
has forsaken them (cf. 2:6): it was on account of their arrogance and their idola-
try (cf. 2:6-4:1). However, it is not really the case that God has forsaken his peo-
ple; his “forsaking” them is a way of describing the punishment he inflicts on
them on account of their sins. When the Lord’s sentence is revealed, human
arrogance will be brought low, and the Lord will be exalted (cf. 2:9, 11, 17).

Oracles about the splendor that will be Zion’s on that day introduce (cf. 2:1-5)
and round off (4:2-6) this “dispute”.

2:1-5. Despite the sins of the people and the disastrous situation in Judah that
is described in this first part of the book, from the very start a glimmer of hope
is provided in this vision of messianic and eschatological restoration which
shows that the salvation of the world centers on Zion, “the mountain of the Lord”,
that is, Jerusalem.

All the nations will converge on the holy city, but not to despoil it of its wealth:
they will come in peace to hearken to the word of the Lord and receive instruc-
tion in his law. This note of hope, struck, strategically, at the very start of the
book, and at its end (66:18-24), constitutes one of its most important messa-
ges.

The poem in vv. 2-5 (found also, with slight variations, in Micah 4:1-3) links the
Law with the temple, the spiritual center of Jerusalem after the national recon-
struction that took place when the exiles returned from Babylon.

In contrast with the strife and desolation that sin brings in its wake (cf. 1:2-9),
peace is the outcome of reverence for God and readiness to obey his precepts,
of the practice of virtue and of love of neighbor. The weapons of war become
tools for development and agriculture: “Insofar as men are sinful, the threat of
war hangs over them, and hang over them it will until the return of Christ. But
insofar as men vanquish sin by a union of love, they will vanquish violence as
well and make these words come true: ‘They shall turn their swords into plough-
shares, and their spears into sickles. Nation shall not lift up sword against na-
tion, neither shall they learn war any more’ (Is 2:4)” (”Gaudium Et Spes”, 78).

These words of Isaiah announcing God’s salvific intervention in the fullness of
time will come true with the birth of Christ, who will open up an era of perfect
peace and reconciliation. The Church uses this text in the liturgy of the first Sun-
day in Advent, encouraging us to look forward to the second coming of Christ as
we prepare to recall his first coming at Christmas.

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