Word to the Wise
Wednesday, August 26, 2020 - Wednesday in the 21th Week in Ordinary Time
[2 Thess 3:6-10, 16-18 and Matt 23:27-32]For you know how one must imitate us. For we did not act in a disorderly way among you, nor did we eat food received free from anyone. On the contrary, in toil and drudgery, night and day we worked, so as not to burden any of you. Nor that we do not have the right. Rather, we wanted to present ourselves as a model for you, so that you might imitate us. In fact, when we were with you, we instructed you that if anyone was unwilling to work, neither should that one eat. [2 Thessalonians]
St. Paul's Letters to the Thessalonians are the earliest of the New Testament documents. They show the enthusiastic expectation that Jesus would return "soon." If one reads St. Paul's letters in chronological order, it is easy to see how Paul's own thinking on the question of the Lord's return evolved to a recognition that Jesus would not be coming any time "soon." But at the time of the Letters to the Thessalonians, the expectation was strong and it had an effect on the community. Apparently some members felt there was no need to be planning for the future or doing any kind of work to earn a living, but rather took advantage of the network of food assistance. They may have seen their kind of religious enthusiasm entitling them to this assistance, and thus became like religious "leeches." Paul makes it clear that even if he felt he was entitled to be assisted while he was with the community, he did not ask for it but earned his own keep (he was a tentmaker, cf. Acts 18:1-3). So, he repeats his instruction that the enthusiasts should not expect assistance if they were unwilling to contribute by work.
The problem Paul addresses in today's passage is perennial! Religious enthusiasts or even clergy who expect the community to support them without their corresponding efforts to contribute to the community have existed from time immemorial. Jesus denounces such things in the current gospel passages from Matthew 23. It is really a matter of simple justice that can be expressed in the old saying, "From each according to his/her work to each according to his/her need." Religious enthusiasm is no excuse for laziness! AMEN