21st Week, Thursday, August 31
1 Thess 3:7-13 / Matthew 24:42-51
Paul prays for the Thessalonians; May God make your love grow.
James Baldwin is a topflight author. His books include Nobody Knows My Name, Fire Next Time, and Go Tell It on the Mountain. During a TV show based on his childhood, Baldwin said: “My father said I was the ugliest child he had ever seen. He told me that all his life and I believed him. ... And I accepted that nobody would ever love me... . But do you know, nobody cares what a writer looks like. ... For me writing... was an attempt to be loved.” God intended love to be the Christian’s gift not just to one another but to everyone especially those who need it most.***
How loving are we in our daily relationships with people, especially those who need special attention and affection? “There is more pleasure in loving than in being loved.” Thomas Fuller
***
In the first reading, Paul congratulates the Christians of Thessalonica for their loyalty to the Lord and asks them to hold on to the faith and to have world-wide charity, so as to be prepared for the Lord’s coming.
***
Riddle: What is it that you cannot touch or see and yet it can be broken? Two possible answers to it. One is silence. The other is a promise. In our baptismal promises, we pledged to renounce evil in all its forms and professed our faith in God. So, our faith is also about our promise to God that we will be faithful to Him and that we cannot keep silent or hide our faith. Others should be able to see our faith in the good works that we do and they should also be touched by our faith.
In the 1st reading, St. Paul wrote this to the Thessalonians: Brothers, your faith has been a great comfort to us in the middle of our own troubles and sorrows. He continued by saying, "Now we can breathe again, as you are still holding firm in the Lord." So the faith of the Thessalonians was a faith that was like a bright light that touched others and brought comfort and relief to St. Paul.
***
Faith can also be said to be like an active and alert servant who is ready for the coming of his master. That is how Jesus put it in the gospel parable. So as much as faith is a great gift from God, yet it also has its duties and responsibilities. Today's readings tell us that faith should be alive and active, it should bring comfort and relief to others. In other words, our faith should point others to Jesus. We cannot be silent or hide our faith. By our faith, Jesus will be made present.
***
Especially to the leaders of the community, the Lord says that at his coming, he should find them doing what they are supposed to do, that is, serving the community in love.
***
Prayer: Lord our God, we affirm that we believe in you, but we are in danger of forgetting that deeds have to prove the sincerity of our faith. Help us to be wise and faithful servants of steadfast faith and fervent love, who follow the example of Jesus Christ, your Son and our Lord forever. Amen
