Ad Majorem Dei Gloriam (To the Greater Glory of God)
For: Sunday, November 8, 2009
32nd Sunday in Ordinary Time
From: Hebrews 9:15, 24-28
The Rites of the Old Covenant Prefigure Those of the New
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[24] For Christ has entered, not into a sanctuary made with hands, a copy of the
true one, but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God on our be-
half. [25] Nor was it to offer himself repeatedly, as the high priest enters the Holy
Place yearly with blood not his own; [26] for then he would have had to suffer re-
peatedly since the foundation of the world. But as it is, he has appeared once for
all at the end of the age to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself. [27] And just
as it is appointed for men to die once, and after that comes judgment, [28] so
Christ, having been offered once to bear the sins of many, will appear a second
time, not to deal with sin but to save those who are eagerly waiting for him.
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Commentary:
23-28. In these verses the sacred writer adds some additional considerations to
the main line of his argument. His thought centers on linking the sanctuary, the
sacrifices which were offered in the Old Testament sanctuary, and the sacrifice
of the New Covenant. It was "necessary" for Christ to shed his blood so that
men might" receive the promised eternal inheritance" (9:15), that is, forgiveness
of their sins (cf. 9:14). This shedding of blood is also necessary for the "purifica-
tion" of the heavenly things (9:23). The sacrifices of the Mosaic liturgy purified the
things of the old sanctuary and, in some way, pointed to forgiveness of sins (9:9,
10). The sacrifice of Christ, on the other hand, really does blot out sin and opens
for us the way to heaven itself, giving us entry into that new sanctuary (7:25; 9:
12). But the parallel is not a perfect one, for the old sacrifices were multiple and
were constantly repeated in petition of forgiveness (9:25). The sacrifice of Christ,
on the contrary, is a unique sacrifice, because it is eternally effective (7:27; 9:
12). Moreover, whereas the high priest offered a sacrifice not with his own blood
but with the blood of animals, Christ offered his own blood in sacrifice. Therefore,
Christ has offered himself "once" (7:28; 9:12, 26, 28) in the same sort of way as
every man has to die only once and then undergoes judgment. Furthermore,
through his sacrifice Christ has passed through the heavens once and for all and
will not return to earth to renew his sacrifice. He will not return until the end of
time, when he will come in glory.
Two truths interweave here a number of times. The first is that Christ entered for-
ever not into a temple made by man but into heaven itself (9:24; 7:26; 8:1). The
second is that Christ also enables us to enter into glory; that is, his sacrifice and
his entry into heaven enable man to attain his last end.
27-28. These verses look at three basic truths of Christian belief about the last
things--1) the immutable decree of death; 2) the fact that there is a judgment im-
mediately after death; 3) the second coming of Christ, in glory.
"Not to deal with sin": this phrase means that the second coming of Christ or Pa-
rousia, will not be for the purpose of redeeming men from sin but rather to bring
salvation, that is, glory, to those who placed their hope in him. Christ will come
into the world for a second time, but not as Redeemer, for his sacrifice has alrea-
dy eliminated sin once for all; rather, he will come as Judge of all. His coming "is
appointed": it is as necessary as death and judgment. These three truths are
closely interconnected.
Although man is mortal, "a spiritual element survives and subsists after death, an
element endowed with consciousness and will, so that the 'human self' subsists.
To designate this element, the Church uses the word 'soul', the accepted term in
the usage of Scripture and Tradition" (SCDF, "Letter on Certain Questions Con-
cerning Eschatology", 17 May 1979).
Man, then, is made up of a spiritual and immortal soul and a corruptible body.
However, when God originally endowed man with supernatural grace, he gave him
additional gifts, the so-called "preternatural" gifts, which included bodily immorta-
lity. Adam's disobedience resulted in the loss of his friendship with God and the
loss of this preternatural gift. From that point onwards death is "the wages of sin"
(Rom 6:23), and it is to this divine decision that the text refers when it says that
it "is appointed for men to die" (cf. Gen 3:19, 23; Rom 5:12). The Church has re-
peatedly stressed that death is apunishment; cf., for example, Pius VI, "Aucto-
rem Fidei", prop. 1, 7: "in our present state (death) is inflicted as a just punish-
ment for sin"; immortality was an "unmerited gift and not a natural condition".
Verses 27-28 are an implicit exhortation to watchfulness (cf. also 1 Cor 7:29;
Sir 14:12; and "Lumen Gentium", 48).
Immediately after death everyone will be judged on the conduct of his life. All
"are to give an account of their lives; those who have done good deeds will go in-
to eternal life; those who have done evil will go into everlasting fire" ("Athanasian
Creed"). This is something which reason with the help of God's Word can disco-
ver, because people with a correct moral sense realize that good deserves to be
rewarded and evil punished, and that it is impossible for this to occur completely
in this life. It is difficult to say whether Hebrews 9:27 is referring to the "particular
judgment", which happens immediately after death, or to the general judgment,
which will take place on the last day. Both interpretations can be supported, for
the judgment the verse refers to is connected, on the one hand, with death, and
on the other with the second coming of Christ. In any event, it is clear that what
is meant is a "personal" judgment, a trial at which each individual will be judged
by Christ (cf. 2 Cor 5:10; Rom 14:10). The existence of a general judgment does
not conflict with the certainty that there is a particular judgment, for the Church,
in line with Sacred Scripture, although it awaits the glorious revealing of our Lord
Jesus Christ on the last day, sees that event as distinct from and separate in
time from the judgment which every individual will undergo immediately after
death (cf. "Letter on Eschatology, op. cit.").
The idea of death and judgment, however, should not only inspire fear; it should
also lead us to hope in Christ, for our Lord will come a second time to show him-
self a merciful judge to "those who are eagerly waiting for him".
Christians, therefore, combine their joyful hope in the establishment of the King-
dom of God, which they wholeheartedly desire, with a desire to make the best
possible use of the time allotted to them in this life. "This urgent solicitude of the
Church, the Spouse of Christ, for the needs of men--for their joys and hopes, their
griefs and labors--is nothing other than her intense desire to share them in full, in
order to illuminate men with the light of Christ and to gather together and unite all
in him who alone is the Savior of each one of them. This solicitude must never be
taken to mean that the Church conforms herself to the things of this world, or that
her longing for the coming of her Lord and his eternal reign grows cold" (Paul VI,
"Creed of the People of God".
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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.
"Ignorance of Scripture is ignorance of Christ." -- St Jerome
"The Father uttered one Word; that Word is His Son, and He utters Him forever
in everlasting silence: and in silence the soul has to hear it.
-- St John of the Cross
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