Daily Scripture Reflection & Prayer: August 30, 2023

Date in the Ordine: Wednesday of the 21st Week in Ordinary Time

Scripture Text: 1 Thessalonians 2:9-13

You recall, brothers and sisters, our toil and drudgery. Working night and day in order not to burden any of you, we proclaimed to you the Gospel of God. You are witnesses, and so is God, how devoutly and justly and blamelessly we behaved toward you believers. As you know, we treated each one of you as a father treats his children, exhorting and encouraging you and insisting that you walk in a manner worthy of the God who calls you into his Kingdom and glory. And for this reason, we too give thanks to God unceasingly, that, in receiving the word of God from hearing us, you received it not as the word of men, but as it truly is, the word of God, which is now at work in you who believe.

Breaking the text open – background and summary:

The first reading for today is from Paul’s 1st Letter to the Thessalonians and speaks of the apostles’ (Paul, Silvanus, and Timothy) missionary efforts to bring the word of God to the people of Thessalonia. When Paul writes that the apostles “treated each one of you as a father treats his children,” we see that while they were filled with the zeal of their mission for Christ, they also carried within them Christ’s love for the people who were being called to the Kingdom. Paul gives thanks to the LORD for the reception of the Thessalonians to the word of God; the people accepted their evangelical efforts “in a manner worthy of the God who calls”. Because of the people’s acceptance of the word, the word was “at work” in them, the hearers of the word.

How does this pertain to us today?

This message is not just a historical letter from the apostles to a 1st century CE community. It is a letter that evokes loving pastoral care of the people by today’s clerics as well as lay missionaries, loving the people they are sent to as Christ loves them. It is also a call to us who are blessed to have the Word shared with us to receive it in a manner worthy of the LORD who calls us through the Word.

Meditating on the text with personal questions:

How open am I to the Word of the God? How open am I to those who share the Word with me? Do I receive it in a manner worthy of the LORD who calls me through it? And when I share the Word with others, do I do so lovingly, loving them as Christ does, not arrogantly?

Praying:

LORD, Almighty Father, from the time of humanity’s beginning, You have called us to yourself and to relationship with You, with one another, and with your total creation. When we were unable to hold fast and true to your commandments given so that we might flourish in our relationships with You, with one another, and with ourselves, You sent your only begotten Son to dwell among us, to teach us through word and example, what it means to be a child of the LORD. He gave his life upon a cross to reconcile us with You and to conquer sin. Send your Spirit to strengthen our resolve to live as your Word calls us to live, as your daughters and sons, as disciples of Christ. We ask this in the name of our Lord, Jesus Christ, who lives and reigns with you and the Spirit, one LORD, forever and ever. Amen.