Spirit of Hope

  Rom 2:17  But if thou art called a Jew, &c. This if affects all to the end of v. 20, where we should put a colon: then comes the second part of this long, compound sentence: well then, thou that teachest another, &c. (v. 21). There is an inferior reading, ἰδέ for εἰ δέ , lo, thou art called a Jew .   Rom 2:18  Approvest the more profitable things, δοκιμάζεις τὰ διαφέροντα , of which testest the things that differ is a more accurate translation. It does not refer to the legal differences of meats (Lev 11), since the apostle prays that the Philippians may have the same gift (Phil. 1:9, 10); but to the power of drawing a clear line in moral and spiritual matters, between “contraries, as justice and injustice, temperance and licentiousness, piety and impiety,” as Theodoret says, not calling evil good , and good evil ; putting darkness for light , and light for darkness ; turning bitter to sweet , and sweet to bitter (Isa 5:20). Being instructed by the la...

  Rom 2:1  O man, whosoever thou art that judgest. The expression is general, but St. Paul already has the Jew in view, and passes soon from this generality to him in particular. Verses 21—23, addressed to the Jew, are but an expansion of what we have here: Thou doest the same things which thou judgest. Rom 2:2  According to truth , i.e. a judgment rigorously just and surely executed. Rom 2:3  And thinkest thou that thou shalt escape? Again pointed at the Jews, who considered themselves safe without repentance, because they were children of Abraham (Matt. 3:7, 9). Rom 2:4  Goodness, benignity, χρηστότης , the same word. The χρηστός is one who makes himself useful to others, one who lays himself out to do them good. Goodness is a more active quality than patience and long-suffering, and therefore it alone is mentioned as leading men to penance. God truly leads , i.e. tries to lead, even those who will not go. Rom 2:5  Wrath against the day of wrath, ἐν ἡμ...

  For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven. At this point the Apostle abruptly quits the subject, which he had just introduced, of the justice of God, to speak of the wrath of God, provoked by the prevarications of Gentile and Jew. Of this wrath is born the sore need in which all men stand of the justice of God , that is, of justification and sanctification, to which subject the Apostle returns, iii. 21. Is revealed , in the gospel, not yet written, but preached, e.g. Acts 14:25. Detain the truth of God in injustice. Detain, κατέχουσιν, hold back, restrain, prevent from going forth at liberty (so the word is used in 2 Thess. 2:6; Luke 4:42), or as we say, suppress truth. It is question of people suppressing truth within themselves in injustice , that is, by leading wicked lives, as we read (John 3:19, 20): Men loved darkness rather than the light, for their works were evil: for every one that doeth evil hateth the light, and cometh not to the light that his works may not b...

 Rom 1:8 . Your faith is spoken of in the whole world . Cf. for similar praises 1 Thess. 1:7-88 ; 2 Thess. 1:3-4; Eph.1:15-16, &c. But, spoken to the Romans, these words are specially significant. For first, as St. Leo says, "what nations anywhere could be ignorant of what Rome had learned?" Then the flourishing state of the Roman church here implied affords a probable indication of some great apostolate working at Rome. Whose that apostolate was we learn from Catholic tradition, of which tradition suffice it here to quote two witnesses. "Peter had preached there, but he (Paul) regarded his (Peter's) work as his own: so free was he from all envy" (St. Chrysostom in v. 8). "Since the great Peter had been the first to bring them the gospel, he of necessity added, to strengthen you : for he says, it is not a different teaching that I wish to bring you, but to strengthen the teaching already brought, and to water the plants already planted" (Theodoret ...

 The following was produced with ChatGPT Part I “The Sign of Immanuel: Faith, Crisis, and Promise” — An Essay on Isaiah 7:10–14 When Isaiah the prophet stood before King Ahaz, the air of Jerusalem was thick with fear and intrigue. It was around 734 B.C., and Judah, the small southern kingdom of David’s line, stood on the edge of political annihilation. The mighty empire of Assyria, under Tiglath-Pileser III, was sweeping across the Near East, and in response, two smaller nations—Aram (Syria) under King Rezin and Israel (Ephraim) under King Pekah—had formed an alliance to resist Assyria’s expansion. Their plan was to compel Judah to join their rebellion, and when Ahaz refused, they invaded Judah, intending to depose him and place a puppet ruler, “the son of Tabeel,” on the throne of David (Isa 7:6). This historical moment, known as the Syro-Ephraimite Crisis , is the immediate backdrop for the Immanuel prophecy. The situation placed Ahaz in an excruciating dilemma: should he resis...

  Fr. McIntyre's Commentary on John 2:13-22. 13. And the pasch of the Jews was at hand. Some take ‘and’ in the sense of ‘for,’ as though explaining, why our Lord remained not many days at Capharnaum (v. 12). But it is simply continuative. The phrase ‘not many days’ marks a contrast with the subsequent longer stay. St. John calls the feast ‘the Pasch of the Jews,’ because he writes from a Christian standpoint. All male adults were bound to go up to the Temple at the three great annual festivals of Pasch, Pentecost, and Tabernacles (Deut. 16:16). The first and the greatest was the Pasch, or Passover (also called Phase). It was celebrated in the first month of the religious year, the month Nisan or Abib (between March and April), from the 14th to the 21st of the month. A characteristic feature in its celebration was the eating of unleavened bread during the seven days of the festival, and the sacrifice of the Paschal Lamb (Deut. 16:1–8; Exod. 12:1–28). Hence it was also...

  I. Setting: The Passover and the Temple John situates this scene at Passover, the feast commemorating Israel’s liberation from Egypt (cf. Exodus 12). This setting is crucial: the Passover Lamb, the Temple, and divine deliverance are all converging symbols that will ultimately point to Christ Himself. By placing this event early, John introduces a theme that will run through the Gospel: Jesus as the new Temple, the new Passover, and the manifestation of divine glory. The mention that Jesus “went up to Jerusalem” follows Jewish custom, as pilgrims ascended to the city’s elevated site for major feasts (Deut 16:16). The “temple” (Greek: hieron, referring to the whole temple complex) was bustling with sacrificial commerce. Pilgrims needed animals approved for sacrifice and temple coinage free from idolatrous images. The money changers and animal sellers provided necessary services, but the sacred space had been turned into a marketplace (emporion) — a word suggesting...