1st Reading, 20th Sunday in Ordinary Time

From: Isaiah 56:1, 6-7

Worship Open to All

[1] Thus says the Lord: “Keep justice, and do righteousness, for soon my salvation will come.

[6] ”And the foreigners who join themselves to the Lord, to minister to him, to love the name of the Lord, and to be his servants, every one who keeps the sabbath, and does not profane it, and holds fast my covenant -- [7] these I will bring to my holy mountain, and make them joyful in my house of prayer; their burnt offerings and their sacrifices will be accepted on my altar; for my house shall be called a house of prayer for all peoples.
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Commentary:

56:1-66:24. These chapters make up the third part of the book of Isaiah, sometimes called “Third Isaiah”. It consists of prophetic visions and oracles about the new Zion and the nations of the earth. The variety of style and content here makes it difficult to identify any clear structure: the sacred writer seems to have drawn these oracles together, apparently content that they are all to do with the End and all refer to the whole world and not just to Israel. But he has carefully positioned chapter 61 in the middle, making it the high-point of these chapters. Also, 56:1-8 and 66:18-24, which stress the universality of justice and worship, are very appropriately positioned at start and finish. To make this part easier to read, we have divided it into three sections in this edition. The first (56:1-59:21) is a series of oracles that show salvation being extended to all mankind, even though the sins of the people of God will cause delays. In the second (60:1-64:11), the salvation that the Lord will provide is proclaimed to all the nations from Jerusalem. And the third section (65:1-66:24) has as its theme the judgment of God, handed down to each according to his or her merits, be it punishment for sin, or salvation.

Historically, the oracles have to do with the years following the return from exile after Cyrus issued his decree of repatriation (539 BC). It was for Judah a time for “beginning again”. God sent messages of hope to raise the Jews’ spirits during their years in exile and on their return, when they were confronted by a scene of devastation. They cannot fail to see that, from now on, peace and salvation are linked with a return to God, conversion, the practice of righteousness, and holiness.

This means that the horizon of divine salvation extends to include the whole world, extending beyond the narrow limits of Jewish nationalism. When the prophetic texts speak of Zion, they see it as the center of a new view of mankind, as a source of light for all nations. The new Jerusalem stands for a new order, as it will in the Revelation to John. Although all the energies of repatriates are focused on the rebuilding of the temple (60:7-13), the message here is that the ultimate goal is not material reconstruction, for the throne of God is to be found in heaven, and the earth is only his footstool (66:1-2). Hope in a glorious future is not measured in terms of external institutions--in the monarchy (which does not exist), or in any other human authority, or in force of arms. Even divine worship, and the rules and regulations to do with fasting and sacrifices, will be cleansed of the old formalism (58:1-14). God will act directly to save his people (62:2-12). The new horizon opened up by “Third Isaiah” has its parallel in Haggai and Zechariah, and, above all, it prepares the way for the still-distant eschatological vision found in the Revelation to John.

56:1-59:21. The new section looks forward to a salvation that is open to everyone who practises righteousness (56: 1-12). However, the first announcement of this is put on hold, as it were, due to the sins of the people of God; these delay the manifestation of God’s salvific power, for he refuses to hearken to the prayers of the ungodly (57:1-21). Therefore, first and foremost, the prophet issues a call to conversion (58: 1-14), while promising that the Lord, who is faithful to his Covenant, will reward people according to their actions: he will punish those who are faithless and redeem those who return to him (59:1-21).

56:1-8. In the restored Jerusalem, the temple will begin to open its doors to all peoples. What we were told at the start of the book (cf. 2:2-5) would happen “in the latter days” is beginning to happen: the temple of the Lord will be a house of prayer for those who previously could not enter it; it will be open to all peoples. The old rulings (Lev 22:25; Deut 23:2-9) did not permit eunuchs or foreigners to take part in the assembly of Israel (a similar approach is found in Ezra 9:1-12 and Nehemiah 9:1-2); but this oracle displays a much more open and universalist attitude (cf. V/is 3:14):there is no objection to eunuchs and foreigners provided that they observe the sabbath and the Covenant (cf. vv. 2, 4,6) Blood ties are no longer the criteria for membership of the community of the people of God now it suffices that a person keep to the moral teaching laid down in the old Covenant, and worship the true God.

The mission of the temple, rebuilt by the exiles after their return with its open invitation to all without exception to come and worship God as part of his people, will reach its fullness in the redemption wrought by Christ Jesus. When he cleanses the temple (Mt 21:12-13 and par.), appealing to the words of v. 6 (along with Jeremiah 7:11; cf. note on same), this prophecy will be fulfilled.
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Source: "The Navarre Bible: Text and Commentaries". Biblical text taken from the Revised Standard Version and New Vulgate. Commentaries made by members of the Faculty of Theology of the University of Navarre, Spain. Published by Four Courts Press, Kill Lane, Blackrock, Co. Dublin, Ireland. Reprinted with permission from Four Courts Press and Scepter Publishers, the U.S. publisher.