Building the Kingdom with Love

The texts from the Roman Catholic Lectionary today inspire contemplation of the practical ways in which we have been gifted to build the Kingdom.

Gifts for the Kingdom

The text from 1 Thessalonians links mutual charity and working with our own hands.

 USCCB 1 Thessalonians Mutual Charity1

In Psalm 98 people are summoned to welcome God’s coming to rule over the world.

* [Psalm 98] A hymn, similar to Ps 96, extolling God for Israel’s victory (Ps 98:1–3). All nations (Ps 98:4–6) and even inanimate nature (Ps 98:7–8) are summoned to welcome God’s coming to rule over the world (Ps 98:9)2. 

In the Gospel from Matthew, Jesus presents The Parable of the Talents.

 * [25:26–28] Wicked, lazy servant: this man’s inactivity is not negligible but seriously culpable. As punishment, he loses the gift he had received, that is now given to the first servant, whose possessions are already great.3

The USCCB Bible comments consider the phrase “There will be wailing and grinding of teeth.

There will be wailing and grinding of teeth: the first occurrence of a phrase used frequently in this gospel to describe final condemnation (Mt 13:42, 50; 22:13; 24:51; 25:30). It is found elsewhere in the New Testament only in Lk 13:28.4 

Matt Slick, President and Founder of the Christian Apologetics and Research Ministry has prepared a word study on “weeping and gnashing of teeth.”

Finally, in each instance of the phrase weeping and gnashing of teeth," we see that the person is experiencing agony. This is important because, in annihilationist thought, the final judgment means a person doesn't exist anymore. Their idea of eternal punishment is eternal nonexistence. But the biblical pattern of punishment is to experience the punishment, not have it be eternal nonexistence as annihilationism would require.5 

Susan Naatz comments that, like the master in the parable, God lavishes us with abilities, strengths, skills, knowledge and many other gifts/charisms and invites us to develop and use these precious capacities for others.

 As James and Evelyn Whitehead write …charisms appear in individuals but they are given for the community.  They are personal but not private gifts. Charisms appear among us…to empower our contribution to the group’s life. [1]. God invites, encourages and loves us to become all that we can be.  Unlike the master in the parable, even when we are fearful, reticent or feeling inadequate God is there whispering to us through any means or any person who will help us hear the message. We may not know the fullness of the moment right away but when we look back, we will smile and say, “Aha, there you were, God.”6

Don Schwager quotes “Eternal Joys,” by Gregory the Great (540-604 AD).

"All the good deeds of our present life, however many they may appear to be, are few in comparison with our eternal recompense. The faithful servant is put in charge of many things after overcoming all the troubles brought him by perishable things. He glories in the eternal joys of his heavenly dwelling. He is brought completely into the joy of his master when he is taken into his eternal home and joined to the company of angels. His inner joy at his gift is such that there is no longer any external perishable thing that can cause him sorrow."  (excerpt from FORTY GOSPEL HOMILIES 9.2)7 

The Word Among Us Meditation on 1 Thessalonians 4:9-11 shares that we have been taught by God to love one another. (1 Thessalonians 4:9) and cites some real life opportunities to grow that love.

“Thank you for loving me just as I am... “ Lord, help me to love the people in my family... “Lord, help me to love my colleagues as well, those with whom I worship, study, or work… “Lord, help me not to turn aside from the people I encounter who seem so different from me... “Lord, there are so many people whom I will never meet. Many of them are in distressing situations. Show me how to pray for them. Show me some practical steps I can take to make the world a better place for them. Teach me how to see them as my brothers and sisters in you. Teach me to love as you love.”8 

Friar Jude Winkler shares how the uplifting nature of paternal charity can be damaged in groups by gossip and establishment of cliques. Focus on the end times may tend to blunt our daily effort and produce lazy workers. Friar Jude reminds us that the parable today refers to faith that grows with practice and disappears if neglected.

Fr. Richard Rohr, OFM, comments that too many Christians think that God only started interacting with humans 6,000 years ago. That’s unthinkable to him! Creation has existed for billions of years. His Franciscan tradition says that creation was the first Bible. Everything we need to know about God was revealed in creation from the beginning: “For in Christ all things in heaven and on earth were created, things visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or powers—all things have been created through him and for him. Christ is before all things, and in Christ all things hold together” (Colossians 1:16-17). For today’s practice he invites us to meditate on our unfathomably vast, primordial, and complex cosmos.

 Theologian Denis Edwards writes:
The concept of praxis . . . refers to our participation in the shaping of the world in which we live. It is based upon the idea that we are meant to make a difference. We are called to be contributors, people of reflection and action. . . . This is our common human task. It is our call to be participators in God’s continuous creation. [1]9

In the cosmic picture, we also find our talents have been given so we too can contribute to the common good that is part of building the Kingdom of God.

References

1	(n.d.). 1 Thessalonians, chapter 4 - United States Conference of Catholic .... Retrieved August 31, 2019, from http://www.usccb.org/bible/1thessalonians/4
2	(n.d.). Psalms, chapter 98 - United States Conference of Catholic Bishops. Retrieved August 31, 2019, from http://www.usccb.org/bible/psalms/98
3	(n.d.). Matthew, chapter 25 - United States Conference of Catholic Bishops. Retrieved August 31, 2019, from http://www.usccb.org/bible/mt/25:51
4	(n.d.). Matthew, chapter 8 - United States Conference of Catholic Bishops. Retrieved August 31, 2019, from http://www.usccb.org/bible/matthew/8
5	(2018, October 11). Word study on weeping and gnashing of teeth | CARM.org. Retrieved August 31, 2019, from https://carm.org/word-study-weeping-gnashing-of-teeth
6	(n.d.). Creighton U Daily Reflections - Creighton .... Retrieved August 31, 2019, from http://www.creighton.edu/CollaborativeMinistry/daily.html
7	(n.d.). Daily Scripture Readings and Meditations. Retrieved August 31, 2019, from https://dailyscripture.servantsoftheword.org/
8	(n.d.). Common of the Blessed Virgin Mary - Mass Readings and Catholic .... Retrieved August 31, 2019, from https://wau.org/meditations/2019/08/31/
9	(n.d.). Cosmology - Center for Action and Contemplation. Retrieved August 31, 2019, from https://cac.org/cosmology-part-one-weekly-summary-2019-08-31/

Prepare to wait in holiness

The texts from the Roman Catholic Lectionary today invite contemplation of how a change in our behaviour toward others may align us better with holiness as we build up our relationships through acts of Love.

Prepare our encounter

The reading from 1 Thessalonians urges holiness in sexual contact.

* [4:3–8] Many think that this passage deals with a variety of moral regulations (fornication, adultery, sharp business practices). It can be more specifically interpreted as bringing general norms to bear on a specific problem, namely, marriage within degrees of consanguinity (as between uncle and niece) forbidden in Jewish law but allowed according to a Greek heiress law, which would insure retention of an inheritance within the family and perhaps thereby occasion divorce. In that case, “immorality” (1 Thes 4:3) should be rendered as “unlawful marriage” and “this matter” (1 Thes 4:6) as “a lawsuit.” The phrase in 1 Thes 4:4, “acquire a wife for himself,” has often been interpreted to mean “control one’s body.”1 

In Psalm 97 Israel rejoices in the overthrowing of idol worshipers and their gods (Ps 97:7–9) and the rewarding of the faithful righteous.

* [Psalm 97] The hymn begins with God appearing in a storm, a traditional picture of some ancient Near Eastern gods (Ps 97:1–6); cf. Ps 18:8–16; Mi 1:3–4; Heb 3:3–15. Israel rejoices in the overthrowing of idol worshipers and their gods (Ps 97:7–9) and the rewarding of the faithful righteous (Ps 97:10–12).2 

In the Gospel from Matthew, Jesus uses the Parable of the Ten Virgins to underline our need to be prepared.

* [25:13] Stay awake: some scholars see this command as an addition to the original parable of Matthew’s traditional material, since in Mt 25:5 all the virgins, wise and foolish, fall asleep. But the wise virgins are adequately equipped for their task, and stay awake may mean no more than to be prepared; cf. Mt 24:42, 44.3 

Larry Gillick, S. J. shares that the oil is faith which is a way of seeing ourselves and others as belonging to the King. Each person has been given a longing, a sense that somehow, life is an invitation seeking a response. The oil is a symbol of a faith which lives reverently with that sense of longing, of waiting, watching. That can seem rather passive and self-absorbed. ”I want to be in that number.” Faith as well as religion can be “all about me!” Perhaps the “unwise” young maidens were foolish, because being included was their preoccupation.

Jesus is asking in this entire chapter, as well as in the whole of His life, to know and live the difference between “self-awareness” and “self-absorption”. The wise are those, who by the light of faith, can see themselves and then all others in the Light of Christ, belonging in and to Christ. The “unwise” have lost sight, light, and live in the darkness of a self-contained prison. They do not know themselves except in the darkness of exclusion and fear.4

Don Schwager quotes “The Kingdom of God compared with ten maidens,” by Hilary of Poitiers (315-367 AD).

"The whole story is about the great day of the Lord, when those things concealed from the human mind will be revealed through our understanding of divine judgment. Then the faith true to the Lord's coming will win the just reward for unwavering hope. For in the five wise and five foolish virgins (Matthew 25:2), a complete separation between the faithful and unfaithful is established... The wise virgins are those who, embracing the time available to them, were prepared at the first onset of the coming of the Lord. But the foolish were those who were lax and unmindful. They troubled themselves only over present matters and, forgetting what God said, did not direct their efforts toward hope for resurrection." (excerpt from the commentary ON MATTHEW 27.3,5)5 

The Word Among Us Meditation on Matthew 25:1-13 comments the wise people are the ones who strive to stay open to the Spirit, who refuse to give up on prayer, and who persist in doing good for the people around them. Jesus promises that anyone who follows the example of the wise women in today’s Gospel will receive the ultimate reward: they will see him face-to-face.

It’s not always easy to be kind and loving to your spouse day in, day out, or to be patient with your children when they’re acting out. You might find it difficult to carve out time for prayer every day or to accept the Spirit’s wisdom and guidance. It takes real effort as well as a generous helping of God’s grace. But every act of love and service, every prayer, every act of trust and faith is like a drop of precious oil in your lamp.6 

Friar Jude Winkler offers background information on the difference between Judeo Christian morality and the neglect of morality in pagan worship. Betrayal of a spouse has serious consequences. Friar Jude picks the wisdom of being prepared to meet Jesus as the point of today’s parable.

Fr. Richard Rohr, OFM, attends to the science of physics commenting that the term “quantum entanglement” names something that we have long intuited, but science has only recently observed. Here is the principle in everyday language: in the world of quantum physics, it appears that one particle of any entangled pair “knows” what is happening to another paired particle—even though there is no known means for such information to be communicated between the particles, which are separated by sometimes very large distances. He shares the writing of Judy Cannato (1949-2011), a visionary of a “new cosmology.”

Emergent theories seem to confirm what mystics have been telling us all along—that we are one, not just all human beings, but all creation, the entire universe. As much as we may imagine and act to the contrary, human beings are not the center of the universe—even though we are a vital part of it. Nor are we completely separate from others, but live only in and through a complex set of relationships we hardly notice. Interdependent and mutual connections are integral to all life. . . .
My heart tells me that the new physics is not new at all, but simply expresses in yet another way the fundamental truth that underpins creation. . . . What science is saying is not contradictory to but actually resonates with Christian faith and my own experience of the Holy. As I continue to reflect, the new physics gives a fresh framework from which to consider the action of God’s grace at work in human life. [1]7 

Our lives have consequences for others. Building up our “Spiritual fuel” will enlighten our relationships through which we see the Bridegroom.

References

1	(n.d.). 1 Thessalonians, chapter 4 - United States Conference of Catholic .... Retrieved August 30, 2019, from http://www.usccb.org/bible/1thessalonians/4
2	(n.d.). Psalms, chapter 97 - United States Conference of Catholic Bishops. Retrieved August 30, 2019, from http://www.usccb.org/bible/psalms/97
3	(n.d.). Matthew, chapter 25 - United States Conference of Catholic Bishops. Retrieved August 30, 2019, from http://www.usccb.org/bible/matthew/25
4	(n.d.). Creighton U Daily Reflections - Creighton .... Retrieved August 30, 2019, from http://www.creighton.edu/CollaborativeMinistry/daily.html
5	(n.d.). Daily Scripture Readings and Meditations. Retrieved August 30, 2019, from https://dailyscripture.servantsoftheword.org/
6	(n.d.). 21st Week in Ordinary Time - Mass Readings and Catholic Daily .... Retrieved August 30, 2019, from https://wau.org/meditations/2019/08/30/
7	(2019, August 30). Quantum Entanglement — Center for Action and Contemplation. Retrieved August 30, 2019, from https://cac.org/quantum-entanglement-2019-08-30/

Truth trust and terror

The texts from the Roman Catholic Lectionary today invite contemplation of the challenge in following Jesus by speaking truth to power.

Prophet in place

The use of fear to manipulate our decisions and actions remains a tool of oppression and control in our society. The passage from Jeremiah indicates he was destined to become a prophet.

* [1:5] Jeremiah was destined to become a prophet before his birth1 

 The Psalmist turns to a complaint contrasting God’s eternity with the brevity of human life.

* [Psalm 90] A communal lament that describes only in general terms the cause of the community’s distress. After confidently invoking God (Ps 90:1), the Psalm turns to a complaint contrasting God’s eternity with the brevity of human life (Ps 90:2–6) and sees in human suffering the punishment for sin (Ps 90:7–12). The Psalm concludes with a plea for God’s intervention (Ps 90:13–17).2 

The Gospel from Mark presents the truth telling of John the Baptist in contrast to the weakness of Herod.

* [6:17–29] Similarities are to be noted between Mark’s account of the imprisonment and death of John the Baptist in this pericope, and that of the passion of Jesus (Mk 15:1–47). Herod and Pilate, each in turn, acknowledges the holiness of life of one over whom he unjustly exercises the power of condemnation and death (Mk 6:26–27; 15:9–10, 14–15). The hatred of Herodias toward John parallels that of the Jewish leaders toward Jesus. After the deaths of John and of Jesus, well-disposed persons request the bodies of the victims of Herod and of Pilate in turn to give them respectful burial (Mk 6:29; 15:45–46).3 

Andy Alexander, S.J. observes that we live in a nasty world today as well. The pressure to "fit in" with the predominant culture around us is very strong. It is not easy or simple to live, let alone witness to Gospel values today. We are bitterly divided on cultural issues, to such a degree that it is difficult to sort out which are my deepest values, based upon our faith. It can be difficult to hold onto a consistent ethic of life, which holds sacred the dignity of every human life, in the face of deep bigotry, racism, and even nationalism. Some life is too often seen as less valuable. It is difficult to imagine that our God is happy with how this world has turned out - the tremendous injustices everywhere, and the degradation of our planet in ways that are threatening human life all over the world.

It may sound overly simple, but the way of Jesus has always been our way. Developing an intimate relationship with Jesus draws us closer to him, especially to his way. The closer I grow in affection with Jesus, the better I I get at knowing the answer to the question, "What would Jesus do?" The close I grow in affection with him, the easier it is to instinctively know that the way I've been relating with the people closest to me isn't working out to be the way of Jesus. Stripping away the impatience, harshness, punishing and constant bickering, is the first step in living a life more in harmony with Jesus' way. I can only change of my heart begins to change. If I grow in gratitude for being a forgiven sinner myself, I can become softer, more compassionate and more loving at home. It is this "dying to self" that allows me to love those closest to me. It is the first step in allowing me to be better at loving the "neighbor" around me, with mercy and compassion, and self-sacrificing love. Then, the inner fire of anger at so many people, fear of so much, and conflict with those who have different ideas than mine, begins to change. Then, "What would Jesus do?" become a challenging question to ask in very concrete situations.4 

Don Schwager quotes “The Weakness of the Tyrant and the Power of the Beheaded,” by John Chrysostom (347-407 AD).

"Note well the weakness of the tyrant compared to the power of the one in prison. Herod was not strong enough to silence his own tongue. Having opened it, he opened up countless other mouths in its place and with its help. As for John, he immediately inspired fear in Herod after his murder - for fear was disturbing Herod's conscience to such an extent that he believed John had been raised from the dead and was performing miracles (Mark 6:14-16)! In our own day and through all future time, throughout all the world, John continues to refute Herod, both through himself and through others. For each person repeatedly reading this Gospel says: 'It is not lawful for you to have the wife of Philip your brother' (Mark 6:18). And even apart from reading the Gospel, in assemblies and meetings at home or in the market, in every place... even to the very ends of the earth, you will hear this voice and see that righteous man even now still crying out, resounding loudly, reproving the evil of the tyrant. He will never be silenced nor the reproof at all weakened by the passing of time." (excerpt from ON THE PROVIDENCE OF GOD 22.8-9)5 

The Word Among Us Meditation on Mark 6:17-29 comments that John did not hesitate to speak truth to the powerful, even if it cost him his freedom and his life. But we sometimes forget that he was not a lone ranger preaching in the desert. Scripture tells us several times that John had gathered his own disciples. While in prison, John sent his disciples to Jesus to confirm that he was the Messiah (Matthew 11:2; Luke 7:18). At his death, John’s disciples came to take his body for burial (Mark 6:29). How they must have loved him! It’s likely that they also visited him in prison, encouraging him as he sat in his chains.

Of course, spiritual friendship is not one-way. Even as someone comforts you, your openness and faith can lift them up. You can support them in their time of need and rejoice with them in times of success.6 

Friar Jude Winkler provides the backstory of Harod Antipas and family were not fervent converts but were prone to immorality. We learn to avoid foolish promises and to put people ahead of promises. Friar Jude refers to the multiple relics of the Head of John the Baptist.

Daniel P. Horan, OFM, speaks on how we can be manipulated by people who play on our fear in his address on Natural and Unnatural Fear Rational and Irrational Hope to the Oblate School of Theology's Summer Institute where he cites work by sociologist Barry Glassner, on “fear mongering”, who demonstrates in his book, The Culture of Fear, that it is our perception of danger that has increased, not the actual level of risk.

Glassner exposes the people and organizations that manipulate our perceptions and profit from our fears, including advocacy groups that raise money by exaggerating the prevalence of particular diseases and politicians who win elections by heightening concerns about crime, drug use, and terrorism.7 

Poster summary

 At minute 49 Horan refers to Glazner on fear and three contributing factors in manipulation.8

Fr. Richard Rohr, OFM, explores that religion and astronomy have never been too far apart. Throughout time, humans have looked to the night sky for guidance and meaning. Dr. Barbara Holmes writes about the experience of enslaved Africans who were kidnapped from their homes and carried across the ocean. Their sense of reality was displaced, disordered, disrupted. And yet their connection to the cosmos endured. In studying the past, we are better equipped to move into the future. Holmes writes:

Interest in the historical retrieval of sub-Saharan African archaeo-astronomy is relatively recent. But there is evidence of scientific engagement on the African continent that may rival European probes of the cosmos. Whether this information can be recovered is not known at this time [2002], but initial findings are intriguing. Examples of cosmological artifacts have been found at many African sites, including Lake Turkana, the Sudan, Zimbabwe, Mali, and Burkina Faso. . . . The children of the African diaspora should know that their ancestors also looked up and considered the cosmos as an integral part of their lives.
In North America, cosmology played an important part in slave escapes to freedom. They knew that freedom was north, and they knew that the North Star (Polaris) could guide their feet. The North Star is located at the end of the Big Dipper. As slaves used hollowed-out gourds to dip water, they renamed the constellation “the drinking gourd” to match their own cultural understandings. However, many natural obstacles stood between the star and the land journey. After a few mishaps, members of the Underground Railroad began to send teachers south to teach the slaves the most advantageous route. . . .9 

The texts today alert us to the challenge of living our Baptismal mission as prophet as we try to act as Jesus would in the face of powerful forces using fear to attempt to manipulate our understanding of the cry of the earth and the cry of the poor.

References

1	(n.d.). Jeremiah, chapter 1 - United States Conference of Catholic Bishops. Retrieved August 29, 2019, from http://www.usccb.org/bible/jeremiah/1
2	(n.d.). Psalms, chapter 90 - United States Conference of Catholic Bishops. Retrieved August 29, 2019, from http://www.usccb.org/bible/psalms/90
3	(n.d.). Mark, chapter 6 - United States Conference of Catholic Bishops. Retrieved August 29, 2019, from http://www.usccb.org/bible/mark/6
4	(n.d.). Creighton U Daily Reflections - Creighton .... Retrieved August 29, 2019, from http://www.creighton.edu/CollaborativeMinistry/daily.html
5	(n.d.). Daily Scripture Readings and Meditations. Retrieved August 29, 2019, from https://dailyscripture.servantsoftheword.org/
6	(n.d.). The Passion of Saint John the Baptist (Memorial) - Mass Readings .... Retrieved August 29, 2019, from https://wau.org/meditations/2019/08/29/
7	(n.d.). The Culture of Fear: Why Americans Are Afraid of the ... - Amazon.com. Retrieved August 28, 2019, from https://www.amazon.com/Culture-Fear-Americans-Minorities-Microbes/dp/0465003362
8	(2019, June 17). Natural and Unnatural Fear; Rational and Irrational Hope | Daniel P .... Retrieved August 28, 2019, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gWEDeTxmwwg
9	(n.d.). 2019 Daily Meditations - Center for Action and Contemplation. Retrieved August 29, 2019, from https://cac.org/category/daily-meditations/2019/08/

Reacting to the Word

The texts from the Roman Catholic Lectionary invite us to contemplate our response to encounter with the Word as we recall the life of St Augustine of Hippo.

Journey to faith

The reading from the first letter to the Thessalonians describes Paul’s ministry among them.

 Further Thanksgiving Paul’s Ministry Among Them1

Psalm 139 praises God’s presence in every part of the universe.

* [Psalm 139] A hymnic meditation on God’s omnipresence and omniscience. The psalmist is keenly aware of God’s all-knowing gaze (Ps 139:1–6), of God’s presence in every part of the universe (Ps 139:7–12), and of God’s control over the psalmist’s very self (Ps 139:13–16). Summing up Ps 139:1–16, 17–18 express wonder. There is only one place hostile to God’s rule—wicked people. The psalmist prays to be removed from their company (Ps 139:19–24).2 

In the Gospel from Matthew, Jesus declares scribes and Pharisees are true children of their ancestors.

* [23:29–32] In spite of honoring the slain dead by building their tombs and adorning their memorials, and claiming that they would not have joined in their ancestors’ crimes if they had lived in their days, the scribes and Pharisees are true children of their ancestors and are defiantly ordered by Jesus to fill up what those ancestors measured out. This order reflects the Jewish notion that there was an allotted measure of suffering that had to be completed before God’s final judgment would take place.3 

Kimberly Grassmeyer comments that today’s Gospel reading from Matthew reminds her more than anything else that she is both sinner and hypocrite.

In Matthew, Jesus was talking to ME.  I am a faith hypocrite. And while I can’t know what Jesus meant when he said “fill up what your ancestors measured out”, one way I can make sense of that is to own my white, educated, middle-class privilege.  To actively live out – in daily intention and action – my faith words, and to love my neighbor as I love my God. To be less of a hypocrite.4 

Don Schwager, in his daily quote from the early church fathers, shares “Good deeds done for God,” by an unknown author from the 5th century A.D.

"Every good deed that is done for God is universally good for everything and everyone. Deeds that are not seen to benefit everything and everyone, however, are done on account of man, as the present matter itself demonstrates. For example, those who build reliquaries and adorn churches seem to be doing good. If they imitate the justice of God, if the poor benefit from their goods and if they do not acquire their goods through violence against others, it is clear that they are building for the glory of God. If they fail to observe God’s justice... and if the poor never benefit from their goods and if they acquire their goods from others by means of violence or fraud, who is so foolish not to understand that they are building for human respect rather than for the glory of God? Those who build reliquaries in a just manner ensure that the poor do not suffer as a result of it. For the martyrs do not rejoice when they are honored by gifts for which the poor paid with their tears. What kind of justice is it to give gifts to the dead and to despoil the living or to drain blood from the poor and offer it to God? To do such things is not to offer sacrifice to God but to attempt to make God an accomplice in violence, since whoever knowingly accepts a gift which was acquired by sinful means participates in the sin." (excerpt from an incomplete Commentary on the Gospel of Matthew, HOMILY 45)5 

The Word Among Us Meditation on 1 Thessalonians 2:9-13 shares that when St Ambrose, Bishop of Milan, took Augustine under his wing and treated him like a son, the walls around Augustine’s heart began to crumble. “I began to love him at first not as a teacher of the truth . . . but simply as a man who was kind and generous to me” (Confessions, 5.13). Clearly, it was the love that Ambrose showed him that made the biggest difference. For Augustine, Ambrose had become a living word of God. Similarly, the word was at work in the witness of Paul, Silvanus, and Timothy as they ministered to the Thessalonians. The way they loved the people, their dedication to the gospel, and their hard work moved the people to hear and embrace the good news of Christ.

Can it be any different for us? It’s through our actions that we show people what it means to live the good news. It’s in the rough-and-tumble of everyday life that the Spirit can make us into living words of God.
How does this happen? Think about your own experience of faith. Recall the people who have taken you under their wings, especially when you were struggling or felt directionless. God gave them to you so that you could see what it looks like to live for him. Their commitment to prayer and their willingness to care for you touched you and drew you to the Lord.6 

Friar Jude Winkler connects the work of Paul to support himself to encounters with Stoics and Sophists in the marketplace. Fatherly love for the Thessalonians is declared today. Friar Jude observes that the heart of the Pharisees was not in their religious action.

The Franciscan Media Reflection on St Augustine of Hippo notes that he is still acclaimed and condemned in our day. He is a prophet for today, trumpeting the need to scrap escapisms and stand face-to-face with personal responsibility and dignity.

Having been so deeply immersed in creature-pride of life in his early days and having drunk deeply of its bitter dregs, it is not surprising that Augustine should have turned, with a holy fierceness, against the many demon-thrusts rampant in his day. His times were truly decadent: politically, socially, morally. He was both feared and loved, like the Master. The perennial criticism leveled against him: a fundamental rigorism.
In his day, Augustine providentially fulfilled the office of prophet. Like Jeremiah and other greats, he was hard-pressed but could not keep quiet. “I say to myself, I will not mention him/I will speak in his name no more/But then it becomes like fire burning in my heart/imprisoned in my bones/I grow weary holding it in/I cannot endure it” (Jeremiah 20:9).7 

Bishop Michael Campbell, the first Augustinian Friar to be ordained in England since the Reformation, looks at the Saint of Hippo’s continuing influence on the Church today.

Augustine lived in an age different in so many respects from our own, yet also with remarkable similarities. There were many dubious offers of salvation and happiness on offer, remedies which were and are ephemeral; yet none of them addressed or could satisfy the deepest needs of the human person, or the desire of the human mind for a truth which would not deceive. Augustine of Hippo stands as a witness to every age that in God alone do we find the answer to our most profound longings. That, I feel, is his outstanding contribution to subsequent generations both within and beyond the boundaries of the Church.8 

Fr. Richard Rohr, OFM, shares that for indigenous people, the stories (of the ineffable) hint of something unspoken. Theologian Megan McKenna and storyteller Tony Cowan refer to this element as “the thing not named.”

In more theological or religious terms it is the Midrash, the underlying truth, the inspired layers that are hinted at, that invite but do not force themselves upon us. They must be searched out, struggled with and taken to heart. It is, at root, the mystery that makes the story memorable, worth telling over and over again, and staking your life on it. [4]
Hopi elders engage multiplicity by referring to the ineffable as “a mighty something [a’ni himu].” [5] Wisdom instructs the elders that one cannot stake life on limited human perspectives; there must be more. And so the elders inquire into the nature of ontology, social location, and the universe with the humble acceptance of an abiding wonder for “the thing not named.”9 

The journey of St Augustine and his response to encounter of the living Word continue to inspire our journey today as we wrestle with the mystery of our place in the universe.

References

1	(n.d.). 1 Thessalonians, chapter 2 - United States Conference of Catholic .... Retrieved August 28, 2019, from http://www.usccb.org/bible/1thessalonians/2
2	(n.d.). Psalms, chapter 139 - United States Conference of Catholic Bishops. Retrieved August 28, 2019, from http://www.usccb.org/bible/psalms/139
3	(n.d.). Matthew, chapter 23 - United States Conference of Catholic Bishops. Retrieved August 28, 2019, from http://www.usccb.org/bible/matthew23:6
4	(n.d.). Creighton U Daily Reflections - Creighton .... Retrieved August 28, 2019, from http://www.creighton.edu/CollaborativeMinistry/daily.html
5	(n.d.). Daily Scripture Readings and Meditations. Retrieved August 28, 2019, from https://dailyscripture.servantsoftheword.org/
6	(n.d.). Meditations - The Word Among Us. Retrieved August 28, 2019, from https://wau.org/meditations/2019/08/28/
7	(n.d.). Saint Augustine of Hippo - Franciscan Media. Retrieved August 28, 2019, from https://www.franciscanmedia.org/saint-augustine-of-hippo/
8	(2009, August 27). St Augustine of Hippo – Saint for all Seasons | Thinking Faith: The .... Retrieved August 28, 2019, from https://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/20090827_1.htm
9	(2019, August 28). A Mighty Something — Center for Action and Contemplation. Retrieved August 28, 2019, from https://cac.org/a-mighty-something-2019-08-28/