2nd Reading, 30th Sunday in Ordinary Time

From: 1 Thessalonians 1:5-10

Thanksgiving for the Thessalonians' Fidelity

[5] For our gospel came to you not only in word, but also in power and in the Holy Spirit and with full conviction. You know what kind of men we proved to be among you for your sake. [6] And you became imitators of us and of the Lord, for you received the word in much affliction, with joy inspired by the Holy Spirit; [7] so that you became an example to all the believers in Macedonia and in Achaia. [8] For not only has the word of the Lord sounded forth from you in Macedonia and Achaia, but your faith in God has gone forth everywhere, so that we need not say anything. [9] For they themselves report concerning us what a welcome we had among you, and how you turned to God from idols, to serve a living and true God, [10] and to wait for his Son from heaven, whom he raised from the dead, Jesus who delivers us from the wrath to come.
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Commentary:

5. St Paul reminds them that what he preached was the "gospel" foretold by the prophets (cf. Is 40:9; 52:7; 60:6; 61:1) and fulfilled by the Incarnation of the Word and by his work of salvation. The Apostle was pressed into service by the Holy Spirit to forward his work of sanctification. The Thessalonians were not won over by mere human words but by the "power" of God, who made those words effective. The term "power" refers not only to miraculous actions but also to the Holy Spirit moving the souls of those who heard Paul's preaching.

It is true that this activity, like all actions of God outside himself, is something done by all three Persons of the Blessed Trinity; but in the language of Scripture and of the Church it is customary "to attribute to the Father those works of the Divinity in which power excels; to attribute to the Son, those in which wisdom excels; and to the Holy Spirit, those in which love excels" (Leo XIII, "Divinum Illud Munus", 5).

In the early years of the Church the proclamation of the Gospel was often marked by special graces of the Holy Spirit, such as prophecy, miracles, or the gift of tongues (cf. Acts 2:8). This profusion of gifts made it clear that the messianic era had begun (cf. Acts 2:16), for it meant the fulfillment of the ancient prophecies: "I will pour out my spirit on all flesh; your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, and your young men shall see visions. Even upon the menservants and maidservants in those days, I will pour out my spirit" (Joel 3:1-3).

"In power and in the Holy Spirit": in line with the divine plan of salvation, the time of the Old Testament, which prepared the way for the coming of the Messiah, has reached its end, and a new era has begun, the Christian era, the key feature of which is the activity of the Spirit of God: "It must be said that the Holy Spirit is the principal agent of evangelization: it is he who impels each individual to proclaim the Gospel, and it is he who in the depths of consciences causes the word of salvation to be accepted and understood" (Paul VI, "Evangelii Nuntiandi", 75).

6. St Paul rejoices at the effect God has had on the Thessalonians. It is true that Christ is "the" model to be imitated, but the Apostle's own example played its part in leading them to Christ (cf. 1 Cor 11:1). "To follow Christ: that is the secret. We must accompany him so closely that we come to live with him, as the first Twelve did; so closely, that we become identified with him. Soon we will be able to say, provided we have not put obstacles in the way of grace, that we have put on, have clothed ourselves with, our Lord Jesus Christ (cf. Rom 13:14). Our Lord is then reflected in our behavior, as in a mirror. If the mirror is as it ought to be, it will capture our Savior's most lovable face without distorting it or making a caricature of it; and then other people will have an opportunity of admiring him and following him" (St. J. Escriva, "Friends of God", 299).

"Joy", which is one of the fruits of the Holy Spirit (cf. Gal 5:22-23), is linked to unconditional acceptance of the word of God, and helps a person to overcome any obstacle he or she may meet on his way (cf. Acts 5:41). "One can be joyful despite lashes and blows, when these are accepted in the cause of Christ", St John Chrysostom comments. "A feature of the joy of the Holy Spirit is that it causes an uncontainable happiness to grow even out of affliction and sorrow [...]. In the natural course of events afflictions do not produce joy: joy is the privilege of those who accept sufferings for Jesus Christ's sake; it is one of the good things bestowed by the Holy Spirit" ("Hom. on 1 Thess, ad loc.").

7-8. Thessalonica was an important center of trade and a hub of communications for all Greece. The Christians in the city included a number of important people and even some women of the aristocracy (cf. Acts 17:4). The social standing of the converts and the prestige of the city partly explain the rapid spread of Christian teaching throughout the region.

What the Apostle says here only goes to show that when the Christian life is given full rein it spreads far and wide. This should give us every encouragement "always to act in public in accordance with our holy faith" (St. J. Escriva, "Furrow", 46).

9. We can see how happy the Apostle is to learn that the work of evangelization has borne fruit of conversion to God--which is the whole purpose of Gospel preaching. "For the Church, evangelization means bringing the Good News into all the strata of humanity, and through its influence transforming humanity from within and making it new" (Paul VI, "Evangelii Nuntiandi", 18).

It is moving to see the way good news spread among the early Christian communities. Obviously anecdotes about the apostolate would go from church to church; this gave them an occasion to praise God while at the same time providing encouragement to stay true to Christ and to spread the Gospel.

10. The Christian message has this feature which differentiates it from Judaism-hope in Christ and expectation of Christ. Two central points of Christian teaching emerge from this verse: Jesus Christ is the Son of God, who rose from the dead, and he will come again to judge all. St John Chrysostom observes that "in a single text St Paul brings together a number of different mysteries concerning Jesus Christ--his glorious resurrection, his victorious ascension, his future coming, the judgment, the reward promised to the righteous, and the punishment reserved for evildoers" ("Hom. on 1 Thess, ad loc.").

This verse probably contains a form of words used in oral preaching, and perhaps a profession of faith belonging to early Christian liturgy.

"To wait for his son (to come) from heaven": that Jesus Christ will come again is a truth of faith professed in the Creed: "He will come again in glory to judge the living and the dead." Christ will be the Judge of all mankind. Everyone will be personally judged by God twice: "The first judgment takes place when each one of us departs this life; for then he is instantly placed before the judgment-seat of God, where all that he has ever done or spoken or thought during life shall be subjected to the most rigid scrutiny. This is called the particular judgment. The second occurs when on the same day and in the same place all men shall stand together before the tribunal of their Judge, that in the presence and hearing of all human beings of all time each may know his final doom and sentence [...]. This is called the general judgment" ("St Pius V Catechism", I, 8, 3).

The "wrath to come" is a metaphor referring to the just punishment of sinners. Our Lord Jesus Christ will exempt from it those who have consistently tried to live in the state of grace and fellowship with God. St Teresa of Avila warns that "it will be a great thing at the hour of death to know that we are going to be judged by him whom we have loved above all things. We can approach this trial with confidence. It will not be like going into a strange land but into our own land, for it is the land that belongs to him whom we love so much and who loves us" ("Way of Perfection", 70, 3).
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Source: "The Navarre Bible: Text and Commentaries". Biblical text taken from the Revised Standard Version and New Vulgate. Commentaries made by members of the Faculty of Theology of the University of Navarre, Spain. Published by Four Courts Press, Kill Lane, Blackrock, Co. Dublin, Ireland. Reprinted with permission from Four Courts Press and Scepter Publishers, the U.S. publisher.