While you are away

The letter of Paul to the Thessalonians from the Roman Catholic Lectionary today expresses the love and concern of the apostle for the people he has met and has had to leave as he continues his missionary journey. He thanks the people for the encouragement he has received from their faith during the persecution he is encountering. He offers to pray for them. This contact of believers through faith, remembrance and prayer is the essence of "pray for me" which we ask and do for people all the time. The genuine concern and empathy is the spiritual connection which is made between those in a prayer communion. We experience both the action and consolation of Paul when we pray for those from whom distance or circumstance causes separation. The Gospel from Matthew presents a different type of action during separation. "What can I get away with when the  other is absent?" Unfortunately this is also a common experience of many. The absence of the sense of connectedness over distance and circumstance which the devious behavior causes is the first negative consequence. The disappointment of the beloved and the inadvisability of attempting to control the revelation of our activity give us an insight into the impossible strategy of trying to "second guess" the Divine of the psalmist praise "For a thousand years in your sight are like yesterday".