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Letters Thirty-First
Sunday in Ordinary Time |
The Catholic Telegraph
November 1, 2002Paul continues his long ballad of gratitude. At the beginning of chapter two he reminds the Thessalonians how he and his colleagues had come to them after having been mistreated in Philippi and urged to leave town. They came to Thessalonica and announced the gospel there in an honest and straightforward manner, without rhetorical frills. They could have made demands on the Thessalonians, but they didn’t.
As our passage begins, Paul recalls the gentleness and affection that had characterized his relationship with them. He treated them like a mother treats her child. The missionaries offered their converts not only the gospel but their very own selves.
They even worked at a trade, earning their own keep so that they would not constitute a burden to the new Christians. (We shouldn’t underestimate the importance of this gesture on the part of Paul and his companions. For one thing, in Paul’s time itinerant preachers expected to be paid. For another, the day and night toil that Paul mentions would have been more characteristic of a slave than of a free person. He and his companions were giving up benefits that they would have had a right to in order to share their very lives, everything they had, with the Thessalonians.)
Paul is grateful not only for this affectionate relationship with the Thessalonians, but also for the depth and sincerity with which they accepted what these preachers had to say. They received it not as a human word but as God’s word which was now at work in them because of their faith.
Some years ago I met with all the priests of our local church in small groups to talk about their ministry and to listen to what they wanted to tell me about their service to God’s people. Among other things, I asked them to tell me what they found most invigorating, most positive about the work they did. I still remember vividly one priest’s answer to that question. "I am always astounded how the people keep coming, week after week," he said. "I am not always at my best. Our parish’s music is not all that great. Many of our parishioners have sizeable families, and it requires a lot of effort to get the kids ready to come to church. It would be so easy for them just to stay home. But they come, and I get to celebrate the Eucharist for them and talk to them about God. It never ceases to amaze me. I can’t tell you how grateful I am."
Priests (and other Church ministers) will resonate to that reaction, even as they resonate to Paul’s congenial memory of his work among the Thessalonians. What’s at issue here is not just gratitude to the flock we serve for their attention to us. It’s also gratitude to the Lord for having given us the gift of being able to help look after His people.
It’s not always easy to be a minister of God’s word. Those who speak for the Lord are often victims of misunderstanding and unrealistic expectations. Sometimes there are personality clashes between shepherd and flock. Sometimes we get tired and discouraged. Not every priest is gifted with limitless energy and talent, and not every parishioner is particularly receptive. There’s a lot of humanity in the Church!
Yet most of us wouldn’t dream of spending our lives in any other way than in ministry. We are grateful for the opportunity to express the love of the Lord Jesus for His people, to act as His representatives in the celebration of the Church’s sacraments. We take pleasure in speaking God’s word to His people, in offering them hope and meaning for their lives. We get to set before our "customers" the most important and the most beneficial "wares" that anybody would ever want to offer: participation in the life of God and in unending happiness. Everything we do in our ministry is directed toward bringing about the coming of the kingdom of God. Every aspect of our work has dimensions of eternity.
Those of us who are called to spend our lives in service to salvation like what we do. We are thankful for our vocation. We love the people we have been sent to serve and we are grateful for the respect and response that our people give to us. We are happy to spend ourselves in their service. Pastors’ love affairs with their congregations have not been limited to first century Thessalonica.
Yet it isn’t just full-time "professional" ministers who have been called to preach the gospel and reach out to God’s people. Every Christian believer shares some measure of responsibility for bringing about the fullness of the kingdom. No Church member is called to passivity. We are all called to share the blessings that have been entrusted to us, even if all we can do is let others see how much we appreciate what we have received from the Lord. We may not all be called to working night and day in the Lord’s vineyard, but we all have at least a part-time job there.
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Conversation Questions.
In what ways do I perceive the dedication of the Church’s ministers addressed to me?
How hard do I myself work at spreading the gospel?
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