The texts from the Roman Catholic Lectionary today invite us to contemplate the contrast between the new life of the Thessalonians’ experience of Christ with the lifelessness of the religious discipline of the Pharisees.
The reading from the First Letter of Paul to the Thessalonians celebrates the Thessalonians’ faith and example.
* [1:3] Faith…love…hope: this, along with 1 Thes 5:8, is the earliest mention in Christian literature of the three “theological virtues” (see 1 Cor 13:13). The order here stresses eschatological hope, in line with the letter’s emphasis on the Lord’s second, triumphal coming, or parousia (1 Thes 1:10; 2:12, 19; 3:13; 4:13–5:11; 5:23). (1 Thessalonians, CHAPTER 1, n.d.)
Psalm 149 offers praise for God’s Goodness to Israel.
* [Psalm 149] A hymn inviting the people of Israel to celebrate their God in song and festive dance (Ps 149:1–3, 5) because God has chosen them and given them victory (Ps 149:4). The exodus and conquest are the defining acts of Israel; the people must be ready to do again those acts in the future at the divine command (Ps 149:6–9).
In the Gospel of Matthew, Jesus condemns the hypocrisy of the scribes and Pharisees.
* [23:13–36] This series of seven “woes,” directed against the scribes and Pharisees and addressed to them, is the heart of the speech. The phrase woe to occurs often in the prophetic and apocalyptic literature, expressing horror of a sin and punishment for those who commit it. Hypocrites: see note on Mt 6:2. The hypocrisy of the scribes and Pharisees consists in the difference between their speech and action (Mt 23:3) and in demonstrations of piety that have no other purpose than to enhance their reputation as religious persons (Mt 23:5). (Psalms, PSALM 149, n.d.)
Jeanne Schuler comments that we cannot avoid making judgments. To live well we reflect and act. Judgments flow through our day. Many are small: “Do the tomatoes need water?” Others are weighty “Do I take the risk to get involved?” Jesus turns to the margins to form judgments in the company of outsiders, not with those in power. From those in the street he takes the measure. Being an insider for too long skews our vision. Richard Rohr calls this way of judging “revolutionary”:
As we will see in the Bible, the bottom, the edge, and the outside are the privileged spiritual positions. That is why the biblical revelation is revolutionary, and even subversive. (Things Hidden, 94) (Schuler, 2023)
Don Schwager quotes “Shutting the Kingdom of Heaven,” by Origen of Alexandria (185-254 AD).
"There are those who dare to say that God is not good because of the curses in his law that he places against their sin. And yet the one who is truly the Son of God who gave that same law is also the same one who put blessings into the law. The same God who provides blessings for those who are saved in a similar way applies curses which he placed in the law against sinners. 'Woe,' he says. Woe to you and to those hearing these things who plead the God of the law and yet do not understand that these words were spoken by God in a kindly way. So we understand why Jesus said, 'Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees.' They believe that it is in fact a good thing to pronounce these curses against sinners. They consider the arrangement of the law's curses to be a part of God's design. The chiding father frequently urges his advice on his son for his improvement - advice that may seem to be a curse. He does not wish the curses to be actualized, however, but rather he desires to avert him from even more such curses."(excerpt from COMMENTARY ON MATTHEW 13) (Schwager, n.d.)
The Word Among Us Meditation on 1 Thessalonians 1:1-5, 8-10 comments that it is clear that the Thessalonians hadn’t done everything perfectly. Even so, Paul begins by recounting how much they have grown. They might have disappointed him, but he responded with mercy instead of harshness. In this way, he reflects our heavenly Father’s heart toward us, his imperfect children, and he shows us a blueprint for loving people: see the whole person, highlight the positives, and then acknowledge and forgive the failures.
We may not be tasked with building a church, but we are called to love the people around us every day. And there will be times when this is difficult! When that happens, we probably find it easier to focus on their weaknesses and not their strengths. But like Paul, we can call to mind their progress and labors of love instead. We can ask God to help us to see them as he does. And we can ask him to fill our hearts with mercy and our mouths with encouragement. As we do, we’ll be able to reflect the compassion and love of our Father in heaven.
“Father, help me to be merciful as you are merciful.” (Meditation on 1 Thessalonians 1:1-5, 8-10, n.d.)
Franciscan Media comments on Saint Augustine, Bishop and Doctor of the Church.
Augustine 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. (Saint Augustine of Hippo, n.d.)
Friar Jude Winkler comments on the role of Silvanus and Timothy in the development of the first of Paul’s letters. Pauline Jewish exaggeration, the theological threesome, justification, and working out of salvation are features of this letter. Friar Jude reminds us of the essential role of service and surrender in our relationship with God that appears to be missing in the description of the action of the Pharisees in the Gospel of Matthew.
James Finley shares his wisdom on living a contemplative way of life in the world. What is so extraordinary about such moments is that nothing beyond the ordinary is present. It is just a starlit sky, a child at play. It is just the primal stuff of life that has unexpectedly broken through the mesh of opinions and concerns that all too often hold us in their spell. It is just life in the immediacy of the present moment before thought begins. Here, in this unforeseen defenselessness, is granted the contemplative experience, however obscure it might be, that we are the cosmic dance of God, that the present moment, just the way it is, is already, in its deepest actuality, the fullness of union with God we seek. [2]
But sometimes what happens is that although the moment has passed, you reflect back upon it, and you realize that the subtle moment was a kind of homecoming. You settled, with a sense like “I belong here.” When you start understanding your life in the light of these moments, you realize this feeling that you’re skimming over the surface of the depths of your own life. It’s all the more unfortunate because God’s unexplainable oneness with us is hidden in the depths over which we’re skimming. Then there’s the gift of a holy discontent. We say to ourselves “I don’t like living this way.” I don’t like living exiled from this inner richness that from time-to-time visits me and quickens me from within…. I want to abide in the depths so fleetingly glimpsed. [3] (Rohr, 2023)
We too often seek and settle for adherence to the practices of our spiritual tradition and fail to experience the transformation led by the Spirit to contemplation of the deeper relationship we are invited to treasure with God and our neighbour.
References
Meditation on 1 Thessalonians 1:1-5, 8-10. (n.d.). The Word Among Us: Homepage. Retrieved August 28, 2023, from https://wau.org/meditations/2023/08/28/768690/
1 Thessalonians, CHAPTER 1. (n.d.). USCCB. Retrieved August 28, 2023, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/1thessalonians/1?1
Psalms, PSALM 149. (n.d.). USCCB. Retrieved August 28, 2023, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/psalms/149?1
Rohr, R. (2023, August 28). Waking up to Life — Center for Action and Contemplation. CAC Daily Meditations 2023. Retrieved August 28, 2023, from https://cac.org/daily-meditations/waking-up-to-life-2023-08-28/
Saint Augustine of Hippo. (n.d.). Franciscan Media. Retrieved August 28, 2023, from https://www.franciscanmedia.org/saint-of-the-day/saint-augustine-of-hippo/
Schuler, J. (2023, August 28). Creighton U. Daily Reflection. Online Ministries. Retrieved August 28, 2023, from https://onlineministries.creighton.edu/CollaborativeMinistry/082823.html
Schwager, D. (n.d.). Do Not Close the Door to God's Kingdom. Daily Scripture Readings and Meditations – Daily Scripture Readings and Meditations. Retrieved August 28, 2023, from https://www.dailyscripture.net/daily-meditation/?ds_year=2023&date=aug28
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