Ad Majorem Dei Gloriam (To the Greater Glory of God)
From: Hebrews 13:1-8
Duties Towards Others--Charity, Hospitality, Fidelity in Marriage
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[1] Let brotherly love continue. [2] Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers,' for thereby some have entertained angels unawares. [3] Remember those who are in prison, as though in prison with them; and those who are ill-treated, since you also are in the body. [4] Let marriage be held in honor among all, and let the marriage bed be undefiled; for God will judge the immoral and adulterous. [5] Keep your life free from love of money, and be content with what you have; for he has said, "I will never fail you nor forsake you." [6] Hence we can confidently say, "The Lord is my helper, I will not be afraid; what can man do to me?"
Religious Duties--Obeying Lawful Pastors; Religious Worship
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[7] Remember your leaders, those who spoke to you the word of God; consider the outcome of their life, and imitate their faith. [8] Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and for ever.
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Commentary:
1-3. The teaching on moral questions which takes up this chapter follows on logically from the trend of the whole letter, particularly the previous chapter: faithfulness to Christ means being faithful to him as a person and to his teaching. As he himself said, "If you love me, you will keep my commandments" (Jn 14:15). Among the essential teachings of our faith is the supreme importance of charity: "A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another; even as I have loved you, that you also love one another. By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another" (Jn 13:34-35). As Tertullian attests, pagans bore witness to how well the early Christians practised this virtue, when they would say, "See how they love one another: they are ready to die for one another" ("Apologeticum", 39).
Brotherly love expresses itself in all kinds of ways. One of them is hospitality, which is one of the traditional corporal works of mercy. The virtue of hospitality is given high praise in this passage which contains implicit references to episodes in the life of Abraham and Sarah (Gen 18), Lot (cf. Gen 19), Manoah (cf. Judg 13:3-22) or Tobit (cf. Job 12:1-20), who gave hospitality to wayfarers who turned out to be angels. Similarly, Christians who practise this virtue are in fact welcoming Christ himself (cf. Mt 25:40). They should also see Christ in everyone who is experiencing any kind of suffering. "He himself is the one who in each individual experiences love; he himself is the one who receives help, when this is given to every suffering person without exception. He himself is present in this suffering person, since his salvific suffering has been opened once and for all to every human suffering" (John Paul II, "Salvifici Doloris", 30).
4. For anyone to practise charity towards God and towards others, the virtue of chastity is essential. It expands one's capacity for love. The text earnestly exhorts Christians to show their appreciation of marriage by practising marital chastity. Marriage is a personal calling by God to seek holiness in that state in life. "In God's plan, all husbands and wives are called in marriage to holiness, and this lofty vocation is fulfilled to the extent that the human person is able to respond to God's command with serene confidence in God's grace and in his or her own will" (John Paul II, "Familiaris Consortio", 34).
However, this also calls for marital chastity, which is a manifestation and proof of true love. "Human love--pure, sincere and joyful—cannot subsist in marriage without the virtue of chastity, which leads a couple to respect the mystery of sex and ordain it to faithfulness and personal dedication [...]. "When there is chastity in the love of married persons, their marital life is authentic; husband and wife are true to themselves, they understand each other and develop the union between them. When the divine gift of sex is perverted their intimacy is destroyed, and they can no longer look openly at one another" (St J. Escriva, "Christ Is Passing By", 25).
5-6. In teaching against love of money and exaggerated desire for material things, the text may be echoing what our Lord said: "Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust consume and where thieves break in and steal, but lay up treasures in heaven [...]" (Mt 6:19-20). The epistle is encouraging us to trust God at all times and to be detached from earthly things. "Detach yourself from the goods of the world. Love and practise poverty of spirit: be content with what enables you to live a simple and sober life [...]" ([St] J. Escriva, "The Way", 631).
It uses some words spoken by Moses on God's behalf to remind the reader that it is God himself who has told man that he will never abandon him (cf. Deut 31:6). These words should fill us with consolation, allowing us to say with the psalmist (cf. Ps 118:6) that we can do anything provided God helps us, and there is nothing for us to fear provided we abandon ourselves to divine providence (cf. Mt 6:25-32).
"If Christ is yours, then wealth is yours; he satisfies all your wants. He will look after you, manage all your affairs for you most dutifully; you will need no human support to rely on [...]. Put all your trust in God; center in him all your fear and all your love; he will make himself responsible for you, and all will go well as he sees best" ("The Imitation of Christ", 1, 2-3).
7-19. In this passage this more practical section of the epistle examines specifically ecclesial duties, placing special emphasis on the Christian's duty to maintain unity with and to obey and respect those have the mission to govern the community. This exhortation is made twice (vv. 7 and 17) to show the importance of obedience to lawful pastors(cf. 1 Thess 5:12-13; 1 Cor 16:16). We should see in the pastors of the Church a model of how we should practise the faith (v. 7; cf. Phil 3:17), and in particular we should see them as Christ's representatives (cf. Gal 4:12-14). Obedience to the hierarchy of the Church naturally involves accepting its teaching and eschewing heretical opinions (v. 9; cf. 1 Tim 6:3; Gal 1:6-9). Unity of faith, moreover, has to be expressed in unity of worship (v. 10; cf. Phil 3:3; Eph 4:4-5): no one may take part in Christian worship while continuing to take part in Jewish worship (cf. 1 Cor 10:16-21), nor is it lawful to regard rabbinical rules about food as still applying (v. 9; Col 2:16-18; 1 Tim 4:3-5). One needs to undergo a real conversion (vv. 11-13; Rom 3:23-26) and to put aside outdated rites and practices if one is to share in Christ's Cross (1 Cor 2:21-25; Gal 6:14-15). We must not put our trust in earthly things, but instead bear in mind that our end and goal is heaven (cf. Phil 3:20). Finally, unity of faith, discipline and sacraments must express itself in a consistent, coherent lifestyle whereby we are always in the presence of God, use everything as an opportunity for prayer and sacrifice, and practise a continuous charity towards others (vv. 15-16; cf. Gal 6:9-10; Rom 12:9-13; Eph 5:1-2; etc.). This short passage gives a very attractive outline of what Christian life involves. As Vatican II put it, "A life like this calls for a continuous exercise of faith, hope and charity. Only the light of faith and meditation on the Word of God can enable us to find everywhere and always the God 'in whom we live and move and have our being' (Acts 17:28); only thus can we seek his will in everything, see Christ in all men, acquaintance or stranger, and make sound judgments on the true meaning and value of temporal realities both in themselves and in relation to man's end" (Apostolicam Actuositatem, 2).
7-14. The sacred text emphasizes the need to be at one with those in charge, the pastors and teachers of the Christian communities. Reference, in the past tense, to their faith suggests it is referring to those who have already obtained the crown of martyrdom--people like Stephen and St James the Greater (cf. Acts 7:59-60; 12:2), and other members of the community who were victims of Jewish persecution (cf. Acts 8:1; Heb 6:10; 10:32-34). They were admirable people; however, unity with one's leaders was not and is not conditional on the personal quality of these leaders: "What a pity that whoever is in charge doesn't give you good example! But, is it for his personal qualities that you obey him? (cf. Acts 7:59-60; 12:2), and other members of the community who were victims of Jewish persecution (cf. Acts 8:1; Heb 6:10; 10:32-34). They were admirable people; however, unity with one's leaders was not and is not conditional on the personal quality of these leaders: "What a pity that whoever is in charge doesn't give you good example! But, is it for his personal qualities that you obey him? Or do you conveniently interpret Saint Paul's "obedite praepositis vestris": obey your leaders' with a qualification of your own ..., 'always provided they have virtues to my taste'?" ([St] J. Escriva, "The Way", 621). Faithfulness to and solidarity with one's lawful pastors is faithfulness towards Christ himself, for the "bishops, as vicars and legates of Christ, govern the particular churches assigned to them by their counsels, exhortations and example, but over and above that also by the authority and sacred power which indeed they exercise exclusively for the spiritual development of their flock in truth and holiness, keeping in mind that he who is greater should become as the lesser, and he who is the leader as the servant (cf. Lk 22:26-27)" (Vatican II, "Lumen Gentium" 27). Thus, it is rightly said that he who hears them hears Christ (cf. Lk 10:16). For their part, pastors should have the same love and solicitude for those in their charge as our Redeemer had; in this wonderful unity of charity the mystery of Christ will shine forth; it is Christ's right "to be the sole ruler of the Church; and for this reason also he is likened to the Head. The head (to use the words of St Ambrose) is 'the royal citadel' of the body ("Hexameron", VI, 9, 55), and because it was endowed with more perfect gifts it naturally rules all the members, being purposely placed above them to have them under its care. In like manner the divine Redeemer wields the supreme power and government over the whole commonwealth of Christians" (Pius XII, "Mystici Corporis", 16).
The mystery of the Incarnation is indissolubly linked to the mystery of the Church, in such a way that the unity of the Church is a sign of the unity of the Lord's Body, which is one body with many different members (cf. 1 Cor 12:1-12; "Lumen Gentium", 7). Therefore, fidelity to the Church derives not from human reasons but from a desire to be faithful to Christ himself.
Fidelity to Christ, his preaching, to his commandments and the sacraments he instituted leads to loving fulfillment of everything the Church lays down with regard to worship--particularly to interior practice of the faith, repentance for sin and fervent reception of the sacraments (cf. Council of Trent, "De Iustificatione", chaps. 6 and 8; Rom 3:22-24; 11:16; Eph 2:8; 1 Cor 4:7- 15:10 2 Cor 3:5). There are no clean or unclean foods (cf. Col 2:16; Rom i4:2-4) whether they are offered to idols or not (cf. 1 Cor 8; 10:14-33), whether they are eaten or abstained from on certain days (cf. Rom 14:5; Col 2:16; Gal 4:10); there is no food which readers a person unclean or leads him to salvation (cf. Mk 7:15, 18; Rom 14:17, 20): for one whose heart is pure all things are pure (cf. Tit 1:15). The important thing is the grace of God, which is given us in the sacraments and which enables us to practise all the commandments out of love for God. The letter moves from these remarks about legal purity and impurity to point out that there is now an entirely new situation and what really matters is sharing in the paschal mystery of Christ, that is, in his passion, death and resurrection.
8. This verse expresses the foundation of the life of every Christian. It is a wonderful expression of faith constituting an act of adoration and reverence similar to the praise of the one God in Deuteronomy 6:4 ("The Lord our God is one Lord") or of the eternal God in Psalm 102:12 ("Thou, O Lord, art enthroned for ever; thy name endures to all generations"), only here it is Jesus Christ who is being extolled. Though their first teachers and guides may have died to bear witness to their faith, Christians will always have a teacher and guide who will never die, who lives for ever crowned with glory. Men come and go but Jesus remains for ever. He exists from all eternity, he is the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End (cf. Rev 1:8; 22:13); he lived "yesterday" among men in a specific period of history; he lives "today" in heaven, at the right hand of the Father, and he is "today", at our side providing us with grace and forever interceding for us (cf. Mt 28:20; Heb 4:14); he will remain "for ever" as High Priest and Redeemer (cf. Heb 6:20; 7:17) until he establishes his Kingdom and hands it to his Father (cf. 1 Cor 15:24-28).
It is moving to think that Christ did not take on human nature for a limited period only. The Incarnation was decreed from all eternity, and the Son of God, born of the Virgin Mary, in time and space, in the reign of Caesar Augustus, remains a man for ever, with a glorious body bearing the resplendent marks of his passion. In Christ's human nature, now indissolubly joined to the divine person of the Son, all Creation is in some way glorified (cf. Col 1:15-20; Eph 1:9-10). Therefore, we can be absolutely sure that Christ's teaching cannot change: it is as immutable as he is and it will eventually transform the world. We know that all dimensions of human life--work, family life, life in society, affections, suffering--acquire in Christ a new and lasting purpose. "The Church believes that Christ, who died and was raised for the sake of all, can show man the way and strengthen him through the Spirit in order to be worthy of his destiny: nor is there any other name under heaven given among men by which they can be saved. The Church likewise believes that the key, the center and the purpose of the whole of man's history is to be found in its Lord and Master. She also maintains that beneath all that changes there is much that is unchanging, much that has its ultimate foundation in Christ, who is the same yesterday, and today, and forever" (Vatican II, "Gaudium Et Spes", 10). This is the source of the Christian's confidence. "Jesus is the way. Behind him on this earth of ours he has left the clear outlines of his footprints. They are indelible signs which neither the erosion of time nor the treachery of the evil one have been able to erase. "Iesus Christus herd et hodie; ipse et in saecula". How I love to recall these words! Jesus Christ, the very Jesus who was alive yesterday for his Apostles and the people who sought him out--this same Jesus lives today for us, and will live forever" (St J. Escriva, "Friends of God", 127).