Romans
Chapter 9
The Situation of Israel
I sincerely tell you, in Christ, and my conscience assures me through the Holy Spirit that I am not lying:
I have deep sadness and constant anguish for the Jews.
I would even prefer that I myself suffer the curse of being cut off from Christ rather than my brethren—I mean my own people, my kin.
They are Israelites whom God adopted, and on them rests his glory. Theirs are the covenants, the law, the worship, and the promises of God.
They are descendants of the patriarchs, and from their lineage, Christ was born—he who, as God, is above all distinctions. Blessed be He forever and ever: Amen!
The Election of Israel
We cannot say that God’s promise has failed because not all Israelites are truly part of Israel,
nor are they all children of Abraham because they are his descendants, but the children of Isaac will be called your descendants.
This means that the children of God are not defined by the race of Abraham, but only by the children born to him through God’s promise.
This text refers to such a promise: I shall return around this time, and Sarah will have a son.
And that is not all: something similar happened to Rebecca, the wife of our father Isaac, became pregnant,
and before the twins were born or had done anything, right or wrong, so that God’s purpose of election might continue
not on the merits but of who is called, she was told: The elder will serve the younger;
as the scripture says: I loved Jacob, but hated Esau.
Should we say that God is unjust? Of course not.
However, God said to Moses: I will forgive whom I choose to forgive, and have mercy on whom I choose to have mercy.
So what’s important is not that we worry or rush, but that God has compassion.
And he says in scripture to Pharaoh: I made you, Pharaoh, to display my power in you and so that the whole world may know my name.
And so God shows mercy to whom he chooses, and hardens the hearts of whom he desires.
Maybe you say: ‘Why then does God complain if it is impossible to evade his decision?’
But you, my friend, who are you to question God? Should the clay pot tell its maker: Why did you make me like this?
Isn’t it up to the potter to make from the same clay a vessel for beauty and a vessel for everyday use?
Thus, God endures with great patience vessels that deserve his wrath, fit to be broken, and through them, he aims to demonstrate his wrath and the extent of his power.
But he also desires to reveal the riches of his glory through others, in vessels of mercy prepared for glory.
And he called us, not only from among the Jews but also from the pagans too,
as he said through the prophet Hosea: I will call “my people” those who were not my people, and “my beloved” the one who was not beloved.
And in the same place where they were told, “You are not my people,” they will be called children of the living God.
Regarding Israel, Isaiah declares: Even if the Israelites are as countless as the sand of the sea, only a few will be saved.
This is a matter that the Lord will settle in Israel, without fail or delay.
Isaiah also announced: If the Almighty Lord had not left us some descendants, we would have become like Sodom and similar to Gomorrah.
What then shall we say? That Gentiles who were not aiming for true righteousness (I speak of righteousness through faith), found it;
while Israel, trying to follow a law of righteousness, missed the purpose of the law?
Why not? Because they did not strive for it based on faith, but as if it could be done by works. And they stumbled over the stumbling stone (Christ),
as it is written: See, I am laying a stone in Zion that will make people stumble, and a rock that will make them fall; but whoever believes in him will not be put to shame.
Commentaries
The Situation of Israel.
The flow of the discussion is interrupted, and Paul dedicates three chapters to the destiny of Israel. To him, it is puzzling that his people, after centuries of waiting for the Messiah, did not welcome him when He arrived. The solemn oath with which the Apostle begins his “dialogue” with Jewish religious history could serve as a Christian example for any beginning of interreligious dialogue. He swears to speak honestly, “as a Christian, without lying” (1), and to be entirely in accord with his people and his race. If he is an apostle to the Gentiles, he is also a brother to the Jews. His words are filled with deep family affection and a strong sense of solidarity that leads him to boldly say that he would be willing, like Christ, to become a “curse” (cf. 1 Cor 12:3; Gal 3:13; Ex 32:32) to save his people (3).
The Election of Israel.
Paul faces the mystery of the Gospel being rejected by most of his people. The Apostle swears to be honest, and he is, even though what he is about to say is painful and scandalous to reason and human justice. He does not speak as a philosopher, but as a Christian. He starts by affirming that God has not forsaken his people. Now, who are the true “Israelites”? The “chosen people,” or “the true Israel,” is much smaller than the “Jewish people”; they are not the same. It is only a “remnant,” in biblical terms. The Apostle concludes this problematic section of his letter by reiterating that the only rule for belonging to the true people of God is faith (30-33). Most Jews wanted to reach salvation through their own efforts, and they failed; they did not want to accept it as a gift, and they were left without it, “they stumbled over the stumbling stone” (32): Jesus, the Messiah. The pagans offered their faith to accept the gift, and they did not fail, “for whoever relies on it will not fail” (33). All the mysteries, all the conflicts between God’s freedom and human freedom, between the gift and its rejection through sin, between an angry God and a saving God, are considered by the Apostle on the horizon of salvation. This horizon gives meaning and unity to the whole Letter. God’s mercy is the great arc that spans human history.