From: 2 Thessalonians 2:16-3:5
The need for steadfastness
Paul asks for prayers
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Commentary:
16-17. God chose believers without any merit on their part; that choice marks the
first stage in their path to salvation; the journey to the goal of salvation involves co-
operation between God’s grace and man’s freedom. Man needs the help of that
“good hope” which comes from recognizing that he is a son of God. “In my case,
and I wish the same to happen to you”, St. Escriva writes, “the certainty I derive
from feeling – from knowing – that I am a son of God fills me with real hope which,
being a supernatural virtue, adapts to our nature when it is infused in us, and so
is also a very human virtue […]. This conviction spurs me on to grasp that only
those things that bear the imprint of God can display the indelible sign of eternity
and have lasting value. Therefore, far from separating me from the things of this
earth, hope draws me closer to these realities in a new way, a Christian way,
which seeks to discover in everything the relation between our fallen nature and
God, our Creator and Redeemer” (Friends of God, 28).
By inspiring us with hope, God fills our hearts with consolation and at the same
time encourages us to put our faith into practice in daily life – “in every good work
and word.”
1. The whole Church, not just the Apostles, is given the task of spreading the
message of Jesus. All believers can and should play an active part in this, at
least by way of prayer. The Apostle’s request for prayers also shows that he rea-
lizes that the supernatural work entrusted to him is beyond him and yet he does
not shirk the work of apostolate. St John Chrysostom comments on St Paul’s ap-
proach: “The Apostle […] now encourages them to offer prayers to God for him,
but he does not ask them to pray God to free him from dangers he ought to face
up to (for they are an unavoidable consequence of his ministry); rather, he asks
them to pray ‘that the word of the Lord may speed on and triumph’” (Hom. on 2
Thess, ad loc.).
The “speed and triumph” is evocative of the Games, which had such a following in
Greece: the winner of a race was given a victory wreath. The victory, the triumph,
of the word of the Lord is its proclamation reaching everyone and being accepted
by everyone.
2. “Not all have faith”: literally, “faith is not something that belongs to all”, that is,
not everyone has believed the Apostle’s preaching though he has excluded no one
from it. The “wicked and evil men” may be a reference to certain Jews hostile to
Christianity who had persecuted Paul in Macedonia and were now putting obsta-
cles in his way at Corinth.
It must be remembered that faith is a supernatural virtue, a gift from God, and can-
not be obtained by man’s unaided effort: “Even though the assent of faith is by no
means a blind impulse, still, no one can assent to the gospel inspiration of the Ho-
ly Spirit, who gives all men their joy in assenting to and believing the truth” (Vati-
can I, Dei Filius, chap. 3).
God “desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth” (1
Tim 2:4) and so to all men he gives his grace and offers the gift of faith; however,
they are free to reject or accept the light he offers them.
3. “But the Lord is faithful”: and therefore, unlike those who are unfaithful (v. 2),
we should put our trust in God: “Do not doubt it”, Chrysostom comments, “God
is faithful. He has promised salvation, he will save you. But, as he said, he will
do so on one condition – that we love him, that we listen to his word and his
Law. He will not save us unless we cooperate” (Hom. on 2 Thess, ad loc.).
“He will strengthen you and guard you from evil”: These words may be meant to
echo the prayer contained in the Our Father (cf. Mt 6:13; cf. Mt 5:37).
4-5. The Apostle is confident that the Thessalonians will stay true to Christ, and
he asks God to give them the endurance they need in the midst of their difficul-
ties. “The steadfastness of Christ” may be a reference to the example Christ gave
during his passion by enduring unto death on the cross, out of love for the Father
and for us; believers should love God in that kind of way (cf. Heb 12:1). However,
“the steadfastness of Christ” can also be interpreted as referring to the need for
Christians to be patient as they wait for the second coming of Christ (cf. 1 Thess
1:3).
Love and steadfastness are two Christian virtues which make us resemble God:
“Therefore be imitators of god, as beloved children. And walk in love, as Christ
loved us and gave himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God” (Eph
5:1-2). So, love and endurance are interconnected and complement each other:
“Jesus came to the Cross after having prepared himself for thirty-three years, all
his life! If they really want to imitate him, his disciples have to turn their lives into
a co-redemption of Love, by means of active and passive self-denial” (St. J. Es-
criva, Furrow, 255).
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Source: “The Navarre Bible: Text and Commentaries”. Biblical text from the
Revised Standard Version and New Vulgate. Commentaries by members of
the Faculty of Theology, University of Navarre, Spain.
Published by Four Courts Press, Kill Lane, Blackrock, Co. Dublin, Ireland, and
by Scepter Publishers in the United States.
From: Luke 20:27-38
The Resurrection of the Dead
[34] And Jesus said to them, “The sons of this age marry and are given
in marriage; [35] but those who are accounted worthy to attain to that
age and to the resurrection from the dead neither marry nor are given
in marriage, [36] for they cannot die any more, because they are equal
to angels and are sons of God, being sons of the resurrection. [37]
But that the dead are raised, even Moses showed, in the passage about
the bush, where he calls the Lord the God of Abraham and the God of
Isaac and the God of Jacob. [38] Now He is not God of the dead, but of
the living; for all live to Him.”
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Commentary:
27-38. The Sadducees did not believe in the resurrection of the body or
the immortality of the soul. They came along to ask Jesus a question
which is apparently unanswerable. According to the Levirate law (cf.
Deuteronomy 25:5ff), if a man died without issue, his brother was duty
bound to marry his widow to provide his brother with descendants. The
consequences of this law would seem to give rise to a ridiculous situation
at the resurrection of the dead.
Our Lord replies by reaffirming that there will be a resurrection; and by
explaining the properties of those who have risen again, the Sadducees’
argument simply evaporates. In this world people marry in order to
continue the species: that is the primary aim of marriage. After the
resurrection there will be no more marriage because people will not
die anymore.
Quoting Sacred Scripture (Exodus 3:2, 6) our Lord shows the grave
mistake the Sadducees make, and He argues: God is not the God of
the dead but of the living, that is to say, there exists a permanent
relationship between God and Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, who have
been dead for years. Therefore, although these just men have died as
far as their bodies are concerned, they are alive, truly alive, in God—their
souls are immortal—and they are awaiting the resurrection of their
bodies.
See also the notes on Matthew 22:23-33 and Mark 12:18-27.
[The note on Matthew 22:23-33 states:
23-33. The Sadducees argue against belief in the resurrection of the
dead on the basis of the Levirate law, a Jewish law which laid down
that when a married man died without issue, one of his brothers,
according to a fixed order, should marry his widow and the first son
of that union be given the dead man’s name. By outlining an extreme
cases the Sadducees make the law and belief in resurrection look
ridiculous. In His reply, Jesus shows up the frivolity of their objections
and asserts the truth of the resurrection of the dead.]
[The note on Mark 12:18-27 states:
18-27. Before answering the difficulty proposed by the Sadducees, Jesus
wants to identify the source of the problem—man’s tendency to confine
the greatness of God inside a human framework through excessive
reliance on reason, not giving due weight to divine Revelation and the
power of God. A person can have difficulty with the truths of faith;
this is not surprising, for these truths are above human reason. But
it is ridiculous to try to find contradictions in the revealed word of
God; this only leads away from any solution of difficulty and may make
it impossible to find one’s way back to God. We need to approach
Sacred Scripture, and, in general, the things of God, with the humility
which faith demands. In the passage about the burning bush, which
Jesus quotes to the Sadducees, God says this to Moses: “Put off your
shoes from your feet, for the place on which you stand is holy ground”
(Exodus 3:5).]
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Source: “The Navarre Bible: Text and Commentaries”. Biblical text from the
Revised Standard Version and New Vulgate. Commentaries by members of
the Faculty of Theology, University of Navarre, Spain.
Published by Four Courts Press, Kill Lane, Blackrock, Co. Dublin, Ireland, and
by Scepter Publishers in the United States.