Love and Work (4:9–12)
9On the subject of mutual charity you have no need for anyone to write you, for you yourselves have been taught by God to love one another. 10Indeed, you do this for all the brothers throughout Macedonia. Nevertheless we urge you, brothers, to progress even more, 11and to aspire to live a tranquil life, to mind your own affairs, and to work with your [own] hands, as we instructed you, 12that you may conduct yourselves properly toward outsiders and not depend on anyone.
NT: 2 Thess 3:6–13
Lectionary: 1 Thess 4:9–11; Martyrdom of Saint John the Baptist
In 2:1–12 Paul described his affection for the Thessalonians, how he loved them and worked “night and day” to share the gospel with them without placing a financial burden on them. As noted in the comments on that section, Paul did this in part to offer an example to the Thessalonians of how they ought to behave. In this section Paul addresses the issue directly, exhorting the Thessalonians to grow in love and to live orderly lives that will allow them to conduct themselves becomingly with outsiders.
[4:9–10]
In this section Paul turns to the subject of philadelphia, a Greek word that the NABRE translates as mutual charity but that could be more woodenly translated as “brotherly love.” This word ordinarily referred to the love between actual siblings.16 Some ancient Jews, however, spoke of the “brotherly love” between fellow members of God’s people (2 Macc 15:14). Paul uses the word in this sense, but he includes the Gentile members of the Thessalonian church, commending them for loving one another as brothers and sisters and urging them to do so even more. In contemporary English we tend to associate the word “love” with good feelings or romance. The love that Paul has in mind here, however, is constituted by actions (see 1 Thess 1:3, 7–8). It is something that the Thessalonians have “done.” Strikingly, this love extended beyond the local congregation to include all the brothers throughout Macedonia. The language of family that permeates this letter extends also to those who are in Christ beyond the Thessalonian congregation. Paul is already cultivating a sense of the Church as “catholic,” meaning “universal,” including all who are in Christ regardless of their location. Paul doesn’t say precisely how the Thessalonians were showing love for one another and other Christians across Macedonia. One possibility is that they were sharing their possessions. We know from 2 Cor 8:1–5 that the churches of Macedonia were quick to contribute to Paul’s collection for the poor in Jerusalem. Though almsgiving did not exhaust the meaning of love for Paul (1 Cor 13:3), he considered it an expression of love (2 Cor 8:8, 24). The sharing of resources may also be part of what is behind the reluctance of some of the Thessalonians to work (see below on vv. 11–12).
The Thessalonians’ acts of love are evidence that they are taught by God. The Greek translated as “taught by God” is one word, theodidaktoi, and it seems to be Paul’s own coinage. One might ask why Paul goes on to write this section at all. If God is their teacher, why do they need Paul? Paul regularly assured readers that they did not need to hear about a particular topic, but he would then go on to talk about it anyway. This was (and is) a common rhetorical device called “paraleipsis,” which allows the speaker to compliment the audience before making further requests (e.g., “You know better than most how important it is to tithe regularly”). More importantly, Paul is drawing on biblical promises of a coming age when God will become the teacher of all the people. For instance, the prophet Isaiah speaks of the time when “all your children shall be taught by the LORD” (54:13). Jeremiah promises a new covenant when God will write the law on the people’s hearts (31:31–34), and Micah speaks of the Gentiles receiving the teaching of God instead of waging war (4:1–3).17 Paul and other early Christians believed that texts such as these were describing the time they were living in when the Spirit was poured out even on the Gentiles. Thus, when Paul heard about the Thessalonian converts doing good deeds for the sake of Christians across Macedonia, he took it as confirmation that God was their teacher.
LIVING TRADITION
St. Augustine on Being “Taught by God”
Augustine draws on 1 Thess 4:9 to argue that God is a teacher who not only explains what must be done but also gives what is necessary for it to be done.
Let grace be called “teaching” in the sense that God may be believed to infuse it more deeply and interiorly with ineffable sweetness, not only through those who plant and water externally, but also through himself, who gives the growth unseen so that he not only reveals truth but also imparts love. For thus God teaches them who have been called according to his purpose, simultaneously giving them what they need both to know what they must do and to do what they know. Thus the Apostle speaks to the Thessalonians, “Concerning brotherly love, you have no need that I write to you, for you yourselves are taught by God to love one another.” And to show that they had been taught by God, he adds, “And indeed you do it for all the brothers in the whole of Macedonia,” as if the surest proof that you have been taught by God is that you do what you were taught. This is how it is for all who are called according to his purpose, as it is written in the prophets, “They will be taught by God” (Isa 54:13).a
a. The Grace of Christ and Original Sin 1.13.14 (my translation).
[4:11–12]
For Paul, there is no tension between being taught by him and taught by God, for he believes that he is God’s chosen emissary to the Thessalonians. He goes on to ask them “to progress even more” (1 Thess 4:10), listing specific ways for them to do this. They are to aspire to live a tranquil life. The word translated as “aspire” (philotimeomai) means “to love honor” and frequently refers to the desire for public recognition that motivated extravagant gifts to one’s city. The Thessalonian Christians, however, are to aspire to “live a tranquil life,” or a “quiet” life. Instead of making it their ambition to draw attention to themselves they are to mind their own business, just as Paul has sought to please God rather than seeking glory from people (2:4–6). Paul also asks them to work with your [own] hands, a command that he had already given them when he was in Thessalonica and that he had exemplified through his own labor. The purpose of this hardworking way of life was that you may conduct yourselves properly toward outsiders and not depend on anyone. Stated negatively, if some members of the church refused to work, they would make a poor witness to those outside the church, and if they were not wealthy, they would mooch off the goodwill of others.
LIVING TRADITION
Manual Labor
Manual labor is described here as a means of loving fellow Christians and earning what one needs (see also 2 Thess 3). Ephesians 4:28 adds another argument in favor of manual labor: it allows one to produce something to give to the needy. This emphasis on labor in the Pauline tradition is paralleled by the early rabbis. The Mishnah records a saying of Rabban Gamaliel (who, according to Acts 22:3, was Paul’s teacher) that the study of Torah combined with labor makes one forget sin, whereas Torah study on its own leads to iniquity.a In his instructions for monks, St. Basil the Great repeatedly cites Paul to argue that their prayers must not lead them to neglect manual labor.b Many religious orders share this concern. Benedictine monks, for instance, are known for the saying ora et labora (“pray and work”). In his commentary on 1 Thessalonians, St. Thomas Aquinas says that it is important to work with one’s hands in order to avoid evil and to have something to share with the poor, citing Sir 33:28–29 and Ezek 16:49.c Even in the postindustrial age the Magisterium continues to stress the importance of manual labor and, along with it, all human labor. St. John Paul II’s encyclical Laborem Exercens (On Human Work) appeals to the example of Christ himself, who worked with his hands (6), as does Pope Francis’s encyclical Laudato Si’ (On Care for Our Common Home):
Jesus worked with his hands, in daily contact with the matter created by God, to which he gave form by his craftsmanship. It is striking that most of his life was dedicated to this task in a simple life which awakened no admiration at all: “Is not
this the carpenter, the son of Mary?” (Mark 6:3). In this way he sanctified human labour and endowed it with a special significance for our development. As Saint John Paul II taught, “by enduring the toil of work in union with Christ crucified for us, man in a way collaborates with the Son of God for the redemption of humanity.” (98)
a. Mishnah Avot 2:2.
b. Asketikon: Longer Responses 37, citing Acts 20:35; 2 Cor 11:27; Eph 4:28; 2 Thess 3:10.
c. Super ad Thessalonicenses I reportatio 4.1.90.
Paul’s emphasis on love is well known, but he speaks much less often on the importance of work. How do we explain the emphasis on this issue here? One theory that has been popular in modern times is that some of the new converts had stopped working because they thought that the return of Jesus was imminent. One trouble with this theory is that Paul himself never links his teaching on the Lord’s return with idleness. Another possibility is that the generosity of other Christians allowed them to stop working. Paul had already given the command to do manual labor when he was in Thessalonica (4:11), so perhaps he saw problems in this area beginning to develop. If Paul is the author of 2 Thessalonians, then it would seem that this problem grew worse after 1 Thessalonians was written. What is clear is that Paul sets out work and orderly living as a means of loving both those in the church and those outside of it (1 Thess 3:12) because it allows Christians to conduct themselves becomingly with outsiders and avoid sponging off of one another.
Reflection and Application (4:9–12)
In 4:9–12 Paul urges the Thessalonians to work with their hands and mind their own business in order to win the respect of non-Christians (“so that you may walk becomingly toward outsiders” [my translation]). This advice seems sensible enough: if some in the congregation were conspicuously lazy, it could bring the young church into disrepute (see also 1 Cor 10:32–33; Col 4:5). Yet Paul’s concern for the congregation’s reputation seems at first glance to contradict his own example of refusing to please people or seek praise from anyone (1 Thess 2:4, 6). Are Christians supposed to work to make good impressions on outsiders or not? This question becomes thornier when one considers the contrast that Paul draws between Christian and pagan ways of life. He celebrates the converts’ renunciation of idols (1:9) and dismisses those outside the Church as children of darkness (5:5) and slaves of passion (4:3–8) destined for God’s wrath (1:10; 5:1–11; see also 4:13). Even stronger contrasts appear in Paul’s later letters, such as 1 Corinthians, which sets the message of Christ crucified in opposition to the wisdom and power of the world (1:18–2:16; see also Rom 12:2; 2 Cor 4:3–4). Is it possible to lead a countercultural life, disregarding the praise of others, while also working to establish a good reputation? Sharp debates in today’s Church swirl around this question, with disagreements about whether the Church should be inward focused, withdrawing to ensure fidelity to a countercultural mandate, or outward focused, seeking to attract the wider world.
Origen (ca. 185–254) addresses this question while commenting on Rom 15:2 (“Let each of us please our neighbor for the good, for edification” [my translation]). Origen notes that the words “for the good, for edification” clarify in what sense the Christian should seek to please others: “For he is advising not that ‘praise from people’ (1 Thess 2:6) be sought but that edification be given to our neighbors by our deeds and words.”18 Origen then links these verses to the Sermon on the Mount, where Jesus teaches that good deeds should be done in secret—for God’s eyes only (Matt 6:1–18)—but also instructs disciples to let others see their good works (Matt 5:16):
As also in that place where the Savior says, “Let your light shine before people, and when they see your good works they praise your Father in heaven” (Matt 5:16). Through this he is certainly not exhorting the disciples to seek “praise from people.” Rather, living righteously and honorably, they should edify those who see so that God may be praised.19
According to Origen, the motive driving one to make a good impression on others is of central importance. One might seek to impress others for one’s own glory—which Paul and Jesus condemn—or for the good of others and the glorification of God.
1. Interpretatio in xiv epistulas sancti Pauli (PG 82:644 [my translation]).
2. See the careful attempt to ascertain the situation in Thessalonica in Nijay K. Gupta, “Mirror-Reading Moral Issues in Paul’s Letters,” JSNT 34 (2012): 361–81.
3. For detailed weighing of the options and a different conclusion from the one presented here, see Matthias Konradt, “Εἰδέναι ἕκαστον ὑμῶν τὸ ἑαυτοῦ σκεῦος κτᾶσθαι . . . Zu Paulus’ sexualethischer Weisung in 1Thess 4,4f.,” ZNW 92 (2001): 128–35.
4. Others propose “live with one’s own wife.” According to this interpretation, Paul was not telling the Thessalonians that they all needed to find a wife. He was telling them that they must live with their wives in “holiness and honor,” without surrendering to lust. Unfortunately, however, this interpretation retains the translation “wife,” which almost certainly is incorrect, as noted above.
5. Interpretatio in xiv epistulas sancti Pauli (PG 82:644 [my translation]).
6. Homiliae in epistulam i ad Thessalonicenses (PG 62:424).
7. E.g., Epictetus, Discourses 4.7.
8. E.g., Rom 1:24–26; Didache 1.4: “Abstain from fleshly and bodily desires” (my translation).
9. Paul’s younger contemporary, Josephus, imagined Moses as someone who had mastered his passions (Jewish Antiquities 4.328).
10. On Musonius Rufus and many other parallels between Paul and the philosophy of his day, see Abraham J. Malherbe, The Letters to the Thessalonians: A New Translation with Introduction and Commentary, AB 32B (New Haven: Yale University Press, 2000), 230.
11. Chrysostom, Homiliae (PG 62:424); Theodoret, Interpretatio in xiv epistulas sancti Pauli (PG 82:644).
12. Homiliae (PG 62:424 [my translation]).
13. Kyle Harper, “Porneia: The Making of a Christian Sexual Norm,” JBL 131 (2012): 363–83.
14. On the Government of God 7.22. Cited by Harper, “Porneia,” 369.
15. Homiliae (PG 62:425–26 [my translation]).
16. E.g., Plutarch, Paul’s younger contemporary, wrote a treatise on the importance of philadelphia, by which he meant the love between actual siblings.
17. See also Deut 30; Ezek 36–37.
18. Origen, Commentary on the Epistle to the Romans (according to Rufinus) 10.6 (my translation).
19. Origen, Commentary on the Epistle to the Romans 10.6 (my translation).
The Fate of Dead Christians and the Return of the Lord
1 Thessalonians 4:13–18
In this, the most famous portion of Paul’s letters to the Thessalonians, Paul provides new teaching on the return of Jesus and the fate of dead Christians. When he was in Thessalonica, Paul told the new converts to wait for Jesus’s return from the heavens to gather his people (1:10; 4:6, 14; 5:1–11). But when Timothy returned to check on them, he found them grieving the loss of some of their number. These unexpected deaths seem to have raised new, troubling questions for the Thessalonians. They may have assumed that they would all live to see the Lord’s return, but now that some of them were dead, the remaining members worried that the deceased would be at some disadvantage when the Lord returned. In his response, Paul seeks to curb their grief and correct their understanding of the fate of the dead, quoting a word of the Lord declaring that the faithful departed will not miss out on the coming of Jesus and the gathering of his people. Though this passage presents some difficult puzzles, Paul’s essential point is clear enough: those who die in Christ will rise first and will remain forever with him along with those who are alive at the time of his coming. In this way, all who belong to the Lord, whether living or dead, will always be together with the Lord.
The Fate of Those Who Have Died (4:13–18)
13We do not want you to be unaware, brothers, about those who have fallen asleep, so that you may not grieve like
the rest, who have no hope. 14For if we believe that Jesus died and rose, so too will God, through Jesus, bring with him those who have fallen asleep. 15Indeed, we tell you this, on the word of the Lord, that we who are alive, who are left until the coming of the Lord, will surely not precede those who have fallen asleep. 16For the Lord himself, with a word of command, with the voice of an archangel and with the trumpet of God, will come down from heaven, and the dead in Christ will rise first. 17Then we who are alive, who are left, will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. Thus we shall always be with the Lord. 18Therefore, console one another with these words.
OT: Dan 12:1–3
NT: 1 Cor 15; 2 Thess 1:5–10
Catechism: resurrection of the body, 988–1019
Lectionary: Commemoration of All the Faithful Departed
[4:13]
The words We do not want you to be unaware may signal that Paul is about to give them new information, unlike the majority of the letter, which is filled with reminders of what Paul had already said or done.1 The Thessalonians already knew that Jesus died and rose (4:14), and they expected him to return in the near future (1:9–10; 5:1–2, 23). The area of confusion concerned the fate of those who died before Jesus’s return. In the NABRE Paul refers to the deceased as those who have fallen asleep, a description of death that is common in the New Testament and among Greek-speakers more generally.2 This description of departed Christians has prompted speculation over the centuries that after death the soul goes to sleep to be roused at the end of time, but there is little, if any, support for this view in Paul: sleep was a common euphemism for death found in Greek literature since the time of Homer. Similar to the modern idiom “passed away,” it allows one to avoid stating bluntly that someone is dead. Even though “soul sleep” should be rejected as a literalistic misunderstanding of the idiom, it may be significant that three times in this short passage Paul refers to the dead as those who sleep, rather than simply saying they have died. The repeated language of sleep subtly reminds the Thessalonians that their loved ones are not permanently erased from existence but are only waiting to be roused on the last day. Ancient Christians certainly understood biblical descriptions of the “sleep” of death this way and by the end of the second century AD began to refer to tombs as koimētēria (“sleeping places”), a word that eventually designated the places where many people were buried and that came into English as “cemetery.”3 For instance, a funerary inscription from second- or third-century Thessalonica refers to the tomb as “the place to sleep until the resurrection” (to koimētērion heōs anastaseōs).4 A fourth-century inscription from Philippi says, “Lord, have mercy on us and raise us up, we who now sleep in the true faith.”5 St. John Chrysostom explains that in his day Christians called tombs “sleeping places” so that “you would learn that those who have perished and lie here have not died but sleep and lie at rest. . . . Since Christ, who died for the life of the world, has come, no longer is death called death, but slumber and sleep.” He then cites 1 Thess 4:15 for support, along with other passages.6
First and Second Thessalonians Page 12