Chosen to a Life of Faith, a Labor of Love and Endurance in Hope

In today's first reading, 1 Thes 1:1-5, 8b-10, St. Paul says to the people: We give  thanks to God always for all of you,... unceasingly calling to  mind your work of faith and labor of love and endurance in hope of our Lord Jesus Christ,...knowing...how you were chosen.  For our Gospel did not come to you in word alone, but also in power and in the Holy Spirit and with much conviction.  ...In every place your faith in God has gone forth...."

As I reflect upon those words, I think of my parents. They, too, "were chosen."   Like the people of Thessalonia,  "the Gospel did not come to [them] in word alone, but also in power and in the Holy Spirit and with much conviction."  Their faith was alive and well. It was powerful and changed their lives.  They endured all that they encountered in life with the same faith that Jesus had in God's will for Him and thus they were survivors, not victims of suffering. The sufferings that my parents endured in their lives deepened their faith and dependence upon God and one another. 

How do you and I cope with suffering? Is suffering a catalyst that nurtures our faith and dependence upon God and each other, making us spiritually strong individuals? Or do we use suffering to feel sorry for ourselves, to vent our anger upon others, and to play the "poor me" role in life? Suffering itself is not harmful. It is the way we cope with pain and suffering that can harm us or others.  The choice is ours!

It is also important to remember that God does not send us pain or suffering. Such comes to us through sin. Jesus Himself suffered, as all of us do, because of sin in the world, in his case because of sin in the leaders of his time who were jealous of Him and therefore determined to put him to death. He was a threat to their power and therefore they found a way to destroy Him, so they thought, in death.  Jesus teaches us to approach suffering and death in faith, knowing that these realities of life here on earth do not have the last say. God does and God gives new life in spite of and through that which causes us pain and leads to a dying and rising--new life here on earth or to eternal life in heaven!

The Power of the Gospel That Is Ours Each Day

In today's first reading, 1 Thes 1: 1-5, 8b-10, St. Paul, praises the Thessalonians for their "work of faith and labor of love, and endurance in hope of our Lord Jesus Christ,...knowing...how [they] are loved by God, how [they] were chosen."  The Gospel, Paul says to them, has come to them "in power and in the Holy Spirit."  He thanks God that they have "turned to God from idols to serve the living and true God and to await his Son from heaven,...Jesus, who deliver[ed them] from the coming wrath" of Satan and Satan's followers.

May you and l also praise and thank God for the "work of faith and labor of love, and endurance in hope of our Lord Jesus Christ"  that has been given to us through our parents and so many other faith-filled men and women, who to this very day, lead us to Jesus.  Like the Thessalonians, we, too, have been given the "Gospel...in power and in the Holy Spirit and with much conviction." That conviction grows as we stand in awe of God each day,  pondering the readings of each liturgy or seeking God in the events of our lives as they unfold each day.  Through grace, as with the Thessalonians,  we are given the choices each day to turn "to God from idols to serve the living and true God and to await his Son from heaven,...Jesus, who delivers [us] from the coming wrath" of Satan and his followers!  Every day, God is at work in  our lives, delivering us from Satan's lies. How aware are we of this gift of God's love, this concern on God's part, to redirect us to the right path--the path that Jesus modeled for us while here on earth and to this very day.

THANK YOU, JESUS!