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Live
Letters Thirty-first
Sunday in Ordinary Time |
The Catholic Telegraph
November 2, 2001Like the first letter to the Thessalonians, the second is also a letter of consolation and encouragement. The Thessalonians seem to have been fascinated with the Church’s teaching about the second coming of Christ at the end of time (which theologians call the "parousia"), and seemed to need reassurance about certain aspects of it. II Thessalonians treats the parousia at greater length than does I Thessalonians, but it is prominent enough in both letters to make them appropriate for reading as the Church’s year draws to an end. We have a series of semi-continuous readings from I Thessalonians at the end of year A and from II Thessalonians on Sundays 31 to 33 in year C.
Scholars are not clear about whether II Thessalonians is the immediate and personal work of Paul. Some think the letter was written later than Paul’ time. Others that it was written in Paul’s name by one or more of his collaborators. Whoever the author, this short letter is nonetheless the inspired word of God.
The reading for this Sunday is composed of the ending of the blessing that begins the letter and the beginning of the main body of the letter in which the author sets forth his teaching about the parousia.
The author assures the Thessalonians that they are in his prayers. He prays that God will continue to help them mature in their discipleship, and assist them in the pursuit of goodness and the deepening of their faith that has already begun. At the same time, he also prays that they themselves may respond appropriately to the gifts they have been given so as to become agents of God’s glory.
Next the author begins to deal with the Thessalonians’ concerns about the parousia. Apparently somebody had been telling them that the definitive gathering of God’s holy ones that would constitute the context for the final coming of Christ had already begun. Christ would appear any day now! The author appeals to them not to allow themselves to be upset by such ideas, whether the ideas’ source be some supposedly spirit-inspired utterance, or a philosophical teaching, or even a letter claiming to be from Paul. The author (in verses that follow our Sunday reading) then goes on to remind them that they had been taught that great tribulations had to come before the end and that these tribulations had not yet appeared.
Although what the author has to say to the Thessalonians in these verses is immediately addressed to issues that no longer seem urgent to us, his teaching still has something to say to us.
In the blessing section of this Sunday’s reading, we are reminded of several basic realities in our relationship with God. First of all, in speaking of our being made worthy of God’s calling and of the fulfillment that lies ahead for our efforts, the author is teaching us that faith and discipleship are not once and for all matters, like objects that we are to hang on to. No, faith and discipleship constitute a relationship that admits of growth and development. We are not true disciples unless we are deepening our personal connection with the Lord.
This growth requires the ongoing action of God. It is God who makes us worthy of His calling and who brings our good purposes to fulfillment. All growth, all gift comes from Him. Yet we have a part to play, too. We are not just passive recipients of God’s grace. Just as God is to be glorified by the generosity that is manifest in us, so also we are to be glorified by the degree to which we assimilate and respond to what God offers us. Holiness is God’s doing, but it won’t happen unless we do our part.
The fascination of the Thessalonians at the prospect of the immediate coming of Christ and the response that II Thessalonians offers to them have something to teach us, too. They suggest that we need to be cautious about buying into what might be called "shortcut spirituality." It is not unusual for believers to run across self-appointed prophets who claim to offer quick and simple access to final fulfillment. All you have to do is say this prayer a certain number of times! All you have to do is go on pilgrimage to a certain place! All you have to do is get more involved in the liturgy! All you have to do is put social justice into a more prominent place in your life! Everything is simple, everything is speedy if you just find the one universal key. No further struggle will be required, no uncertainty, no perseverance. "All you have to do is ..."
Of course it’s not that simple, whether the "all you have to do" is sit down and wait for the Lord to come or dedicate yourself to more up-to-date spiritual fashions. Christian life is an ongoing effort that is contextualized in time and complexity. You have to work at it and it’s not easy. That’s the message that we begin to hear in this reading and that we will hear more of in the next couple of Sundays’ live letters. It’s a message that will help us keep our spiritual balance.
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Conversation Questions.
Is my spirituality a matter of collaboration between God and me?
Have I ever been tempted to get involved in "shortcut spirituality"?
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