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in Ordinary Time |
The Catholic Telegraph
October 25, 2002In this Sunday’s reading we continue to hear from the extended thanksgiving section that opens Paul’s letter to his beloved Thessalonians. Paul speaks in this section of a kind of chain reaction that reaches from his preaching to them to the rest of the world.
He begins by reminding them how he had preached the gospel to them and how, in spite of the turmoil that the gospel brought into their midst, they received it joyfully and so became imitators of himself. (Elsewhere, e.g., I Cor. 4.16 and 11.1, Paul does not hesitate to encourage his readers to become his imitators. The point is not that they copy the personal characteristics of Paul, but that they be touched by Christ and become participants in Christ’s life as Paul was.)
The Thessalonians’ imitation of Paul caused them in turn to become a model for other believers, not only in the Roman provinces of Achaia and Macedonia (modern Greece, Albania, and Macedonia) but all over the world! The example of their faith and commitment has become so appealing that preachers of the gospel need only mention it without having to say anything else.
The last verses of the passage detail what it was that was so attractive in the example of the Thessalonians. First of all, they welcomed Paul and his message with great warmth. Then they abandoned the worship of false gods to commit themselves fully to the service of the one true God. Finally, they had accepted the deliverance brought by the risen Christ and were now looking forward to His final coming in glory.
Paul’s grateful memories of the Christians of Thessalonica and his great affection for them may have led him into a bit of overstatement here. It seems a bit much to say that the example of their faith has assumed so energetic a life of its own that now preachers of the gospel all over the world don’t need to do any more than hold them up for imitation. Yet what Paul says here does teach us something about the nature of faith and the effects that faith is supposed to bring with it.
The commitment of ourselves to God through faith is not just a private relationship between the individual and God. It does involve God and the individual, of course, but it also involves a present relationship with everybody else that shares our faith and a potential relationship with all those who do not. We are all linked together by the one life of the risen Christ either in fact or in possibility.
This profession of faith on our part should have a public, visible dimension. We are called to encourage the faith of others by allowing them to perceive the effects of our faith. One dimension of evangelization, of the proclamation of the gospel in which we are all called to partake, is an invitation to imitate and that which is to be imitated must be perceptible. You can’t follow what you don’t see.
This doesn’t mean that we have to go around making a spectacle of our faith, posturing in the spotlight so that everybody will be impressed with us. The issue is not promoting ourselves, but promoting God. We have to be willing to let others see what it means to have our heavenly Father as the center of our lives, to live in the Lord Jesus, to be energized by the Holy Spirit. We have to broadcast with our lives the contentment that comes from being in touch with God. We have to demonstrate the sense of direction and meaning that comes from responding to God’s love for us. We have to appreciate and treasure our faith in such a way that it becomes appealing to others. Our faith should be so attractive that the people around us want to be part of it. Our faith should call for imitation, not because it is ours, but because it is faith, i.e., because of the inherent attractiveness of the salvation that God has given us.
It is in this context that we can see the value of living in the community of other Christians. Being surrounded by other believers keeps reminding us of the importance of our commitment to God. Seeing how others practice faith, hope, and love in their lives encourages us to continuous efforts in our own life. We get clearer ideas of the multitudinous ways in which our Christian profession can be lived out if we have before us the examples of large numbers of other believers. How many ways are there to express and respond to the grace of Christ? As many ways as there are believers, and each way can teach us something about our own relationship with God. Without the ongoing example of large numbers of other believers, our own faith runs the risk of becoming thin and self-centered. Similarly, without the rich and varied example of lots of believers, those in our midst who do not believe will get only a limited exposure to the implications of faith.
We owe each other the example of our faith. Sincerely following out the implications of our dedication to God and of God’s dedication to us is not just a blessing for ourselves. It is a gift to those around us, believers and non-believers alike.
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Conversation Questions.
What examples of faith have influenced me?
How and to whom am I an example of faith?
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