From: Jeremiah 1:17-19
Vision of the boiling pot
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Commentary:
1:13-19. Jeremiah is shown a pot that is beginning to boil over (v. 13). He is gi-
ven to understand the meaning of the disquieting news that is reaching Jerusalem
— rumours of advances by foreign armies that threaten the holy city from the north
(vv. 14-15). These reports are a warning that God sends his people to encourage
them to admit their unfaithfulness (v. 16). In this way the Lord is beginning to an-
nounce a future punishment, which we shall hear much more about as the book
develops – a chastisement to be inflicted on the people of Judah and Jerusalem
for failing to keep the Covenant.
It will be up to Jeremiah to speak to them, reproaching them for their sins and
explaining the reasons for events (vv. 17-18) – not an easy task, but God will
give him the strength to perform it (v. 19).
This passage outlines the framework, the setting, of the oracles and narratives
contained in the book. God never forgets his people and, in a time of crisis, when
the kingdom of Judah is about to collapse, he chooses Jeremiah and sends him
out on his mission. God means him to show the people the real reasons for all
the distress they will meet and, once all the various disasters have come to pass,
he intends Jeremiah to console them and assure them that God never abandons
them.
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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.
Memorial: The Passion of St. John the Baptist
From: 1 Thessalonians 3:7-13
Paul Rejoices over the Good Reports Brought by Timothy (Continuation)
He Prays for the Thessalonians
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Commentary:
6-8. St Paul discreetly allows the Thessalonians to see how zealous he is for
their souls: far from being indifferent to their state of spiritual health, he sees it
as a matter of life or death. Concern for the solid faith of those entrusted to him
is his very life. Timothy has reported that the Thessalonians were “standing fast
in the Lord” and that makes him very happy.
9. The fact that the Thessalonians are steadfast in the faith in spite of persecu-
tion is not due only to their own merits; the credit must go mainly to the grace
of God; and so St Paul thanks the Lord for the help he has given them.
“For all the joy we feel...before our God”: that is, in the presence of God. Prayer
provides the outlet the Christian needs for expressing his feelings and desires; it
is an intimate conversation with God which he can have at any time: “While we
carry out as perfectly as we can (with all our mistakes and limitations) the tasks
allotted to us by our situation and duties, our soul longs to escape. It is drawn
towards God like iron drawn by a magnet. One begins to love Jesus, in a more
effective way, with the sweet and gentle surprise of his encounter” (St. J. Escri-
va, “Friends of God”, 296).
10. St Paul’s first stay in Thessalonica was a very short one, because unrest
caused by Jews forced him to leave in a hurry (cf. Acts 17:5-10). That meant
that he was unable to give any advanced religious instruction to the believers
— which is why he wants to see them again.
He does not confine himself to wishing he could see them; he uses his super-
natural resources (including prayer) to obtain what he wants, for prayer should
precede and accompany preaching. Otherwise there is no reason to expect
apostolic work to bear fruit. Although faith is born of preaching (cf. Rom 10:17),
preaching alone cannot produce faith; St Thomas teaches that it is necessary
for grace to act on the heart of the listener (cf. “Commentary on Rom”, 10, 2).
11. Earlier St Paul referred to the obstacles Satan put in the way of his return
to Thessalonica (cf. 2:18). That is why he now prays the Lord to “direct his way”
— prayer being the best resource he has.
“May our God and Father himself, and our Lord Jesus, direct [singular verb] our
way”: it is interesting to note that the verb is singular even though it has two sub-
jects. It would be wrong to dismiss this as insignificant, for it hints at the myste-
ry of the three Persons in the one God.
12-13. Love is a supernatural virtue which inclines us to love God (for his own
sake) above all things, and our neighbor as ourselves for the love of God. Given
that charity is a virtue which God infuses into the soul, it is something we must
not only practise but also ask God to increase in us.
Supernatural love, or charity, embraces everyone without exception. “Loving
one person and showing indifference to others”, St John Chrysostom observes,
“is characteristic of purely human affection; but St Paul is telling us that our love
should not be restricted in any way” (”Hom. on 1 Thess, ad loc.”). When a per-
son practices this virtue in an uninhibited way, his holiness gains in strength: he
becomes irreproachable “before our Lord and Father”; “in this does the true merit
of virtue really consist—and not in simply being blameless before men [...]. Yes,
I shall say it again: it is charity, it is love, which makes us blameless” (”ibid.”).
“With all his saints”: referring to believers who died in the grace of God.
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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.