The texts from the Roman Catholic Lectionary today challenge us to assess our work in the light of the benefit it brings to the fullness of life of the people on our journey.
The reading from Second Thessalonians is a warning against Idleness.
* [3:1–18] The final chapter urges the Thessalonians to pray for Paul and his colleagues (2 Thes 3:1–2) and reiterates confidence in the Thessalonians (2 Thes 3:3–5), while admonishing them about a specific problem in their community that has grown out of the intense eschatological speculation, namely, not to work but to become instead disorderly busybodies (2 Thes 3:6–15). A benediction (2 Thes 3:16) and postscript in Paul’s own hand round out the letter. On 2 Thes 3:17–18, cf. note on 2 Thes 2:2.
* [3:6] Some members of the community, probably because they regarded the parousia as imminent or the new age of the Lord to be already here (2 Thes 2:2), had apparently ceased to work for a living. The disciplinary problem they posed could be rooted in distorted thinking about Paul’s own teaching (cf. 1 Thes 2:16; 3:3–4; 5:4–5) or, more likely, in a forged letter (2 Thes 2:2) and the type of teaching dealt with in 2 Thes 2:1–15. The apostle’s own moral teaching, reflected in his selfless labors for others, was rooted in a deep doctrinal concern for the gospel message (cf. 1 Thes 2:3–10). (2 Thessalonians, CHAPTER 3 | USCCB, n.d.)
Psalm 128 praises the Happy Home of the Faithful.
* [Psalm 128] A statement that the ever-reliable God will bless the reverent (Ps 128:1). God’s blessing is concrete: satisfaction and prosperity, a fertile spouse and abundant children (Ps 128:2–4). The perspective is that of the adult male, ordinarily the ruler and representative of the household to the community. The last verses extend the blessing to all the people for generations to come (Ps 128:5–6). (Psalms, PSALM 128 | USCCB, n.d.)
In the Gospel of Matthew, Jesus continues the Denunciation of the Scribes and Pharisees.
* [23:27–28] The sixth woe, like the preceding one, deals with concern for externals and neglect of what is inside. Since contact with dead bodies, even when one was unaware of it, caused ritual impurity (Nm 19:11–22), tombs were whitewashed so that no one would contract such impurity inadvertently.
* [23:29–36] The final woe is the most serious indictment of all. It portrays the scribes and Pharisees as standing in the same line as their ancestors who murdered the prophets and the righteous.
* [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. (Matthew, CHAPTER 23 | USCCB, n.d.)
Andy Alexander, S.J. comments that it is so tempting to pick and choose what we prefer to believe or follow. It is easy to be "religious" like the scribes and Pharisees, focusing on the external things of practice, without growing in the interior transformation that comes from a personal relationship with Jesus.
Interior freedom, which leads to greater sensitivity to the needs of others, ultimately to mercy and self-sacrificing love, is a gift. We can't earn it or "do" things to get there. We can, however, ask for it. We can ask our Lord to open our hearts to receive the gift of his love so that we might fall in love with him in return. The more we experience his love for us - messy as we are - the more attracted we are to him. And, the more attracted we are to him the more we will hear his word in ways that draw us closer to him, in affection. Affection for our Lord alone frees our hearts from the patterns, habits, addictions which hold us enslaved and keep us from being free. (Alexander, n.d.)
Don Schwager quotes “Good deeds done for God”, author unknown, 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) (Schwager, n.d.)
The Word Among Us Meditation on 2 Thessalonians 3:6-10, 16-18 comments that the Church is still growing today because of the witness of everyday believers like each one of us. It will continue to grow as you ask the Spirit to help you maintain a joyful, peaceful attitude today, even if your day is filled with “toil and drudgery” (2 Thessalonians 3:8). It will grow as you avoid the near occasion of sin so that you don’t “act in a disorderly way” and give a poor witness to the gospel (3:7). And if you should fall to temptation, the Church can still grow—as you humbly confess your sin and seek the forgiveness of anyone you might have hurt.
Yes, the Church grows because of God’s grace and not only because of our hard work and dedication. But that grace has to show itself somehow, and that’s where you come in. By the witness of your life, you can show the world what that looks like!
“Lord, help me to imitate you in holiness today.” (Meditation on 2 Thessalonians 3:6-10, 16-18, n.d.)
Friar Jude Winkler comments that the author of 2 Thessalonians needs to address the dissolute and disorderly behaviour of people who have allowed the thought of the end at hand has led to mooching off others. By the end of the First Century Christian authors addressed the reality that the end was not coming quickly. Friar Jude reminds us of the impurity associated with sepulchers in first century Judaism that Jesus connects to hypocrisy of the Pharisees.
Fr. Richard Rohr, OFM, introduces Author Sarah Bessey who writes of an evolving faith as one that can sustain disruptions and thrive in what she calls “the wilderness.”
To me, an evolving faith … has proven to be about the questions, the curiosity, and the ongoing reckoning of a robust, honest faith. An evolving faith brings the new ideas and ancient paths together. It’s about rebuilding and reimagining a faith that works not only for ourselves but for the whole messy, wide, beautiful world. For me, this has proven to be deeply centered in the Good News of Jesus. An evolving faith is sacramental, ecumenical, embodied, generous, spirit-filled, truthful, and rooted in the unconditional, never-ending love of God…. An evolving faith is a resilient and stubborn form of faithfulness that is well acquainted with the presence of God in our loneliest places and deepest questions. And an evolving faith has room for all the paths you may navigate….
Anyone who gets to the end of their life with the exact same beliefs and opinions they had at the beginning is doing it wrong. Because if we don’t change and evolve over our lifetime, then I have to wonder if we’re paying attention to the invitation of the Holy Spirit that is your life. (Rohr, n.d.)
We ponder our contribution to building the awareness and faith of the people on our journey and seek the guidance of the Spirit to direct our actions in love and compassion.
References
Alexander, A. (n.d.). Daily Reflection Of Creighton University's Online Ministries. OnlineMinistries. Retrieved August 28, 2024, from https://onlineministries.creighton.edu/CollaborativeMinistry/Archive/2018/082818.html
Matthew, CHAPTER 23 | USCCB. (n.d.). USCCB. Retrieved August 28, 2024, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/matthew/23?27
Meditation on 2 Thessalonians 3:6-10, 16-18. (n.d.). The Word Among Us: Homepage. Retrieved August 28, 2024, from https://wau.org/meditations/2024/08/28/1062034/
Psalms, PSALM 128 | USCCB. (n.d.). USCCB. Retrieved August 28, 2024, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/psalms/128?1
Rohr, R. (n.d.). Evolving Faith. Center for Action and Contemplation. Retrieved August 28, 2024, from https://cac.org/daily-meditations/evolving-faith/
Schwager, D. (n.d.). True Beauty and Goodness Come from Within. Daily Scripture Readings and Meditations – Daily Scripture Readings and Meditations. Retrieved August 28, 2024, from https://www.dailyscripture.net/daily-meditation/?ds_year=2024&date=aug28
2 Thessalonians, CHAPTER 3 | USCCB. (n.d.). USCCB. Retrieved August 28, 2024, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/2thessalonians/3?6
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