for August 26
Wednesday of the Twenty-first Week of Ordinary Time

In yesterday’s and today’s first readings, we have heard just about all of the Second Letter to the Thessalonians. This short letter has nonetheless generated its share of scholarly discussion about whether it was in fact written by Paul and when. There is agreement though, on the letter’s purpose: it was written for a jittery community anxious about just how soon Jesus Christ would be coming again. 

The central message of Second Thessalonians is a familiar one, heard from prophets, angels and Jesus himself: do not be afraid. Don’t be alarmed or deceived, the Thessalonians are told, by false rumors that the day of the Lord is at hand. Instead, hold fast to all that “we”—Paul, Silvanus and Timothy, or whoever is writing in their names—have taught.

Today’s reading continues in the same vein, giving more specific instruction to the Thessalonians to avoid disorderly ways and imitate the apostles’ hard work. Then comes a line that’s been quoted by people from a colonial official in Jamestown VA to Vladimir Lenin to a Texas lawmaker opposed to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP): “if anyone [is] unwilling to work, neither should that one eat.”

It is sometimes said that Satan can quote scripture for his own purposes, and so can politicians, especially in an election year that feels if not apocalyptic, then surely nearly so. It is the responsibility of people of faith not to take such proof-texting at face value. So when you hear “if anyone is unwilling to work. . .”, hold fast to the traditions we have received: Scripture’s consistent witness to the compassion and mercy of God. Remember the injunction not to harvest to the edge of the field, so that the widow, stranger and orphan may glean for themselves. Remember giving your coat as well, going the second mile, coming to the aid of a hated stranger. Remember  the love of God and neighbor on which all the law and the prophets depend. Remember your own experience of the compassion of God.

In this light, today’s instructions from the end of the Second Letter to the Thessalonians read quite differently. The work of discerning how to live in the between times—including in 2020—may sometimes feel as hard as Paul’s missionary journey. But we do not belong to a doomsday cult that has withdrawn from the world to await an imminent rapture and divine rescue. No; we are instructed to stay engaged, to work and eat, to live in the world as if we are already governed by the reign of God and finally, to rely on the peace that God gives us “at all times and everywhere.”
—BJ Brown

Today’s readings can be found on the US Conference of Catholic Bishops’ website.