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From: Jeremiah 1:17-19

Vision of the boiling pot

[17] But you, gird up your loins; arise, and say to them everything that I com-
mand you. Do not be dismayed by them, lest I dismay you before them. [18]
And I, behold, I make you this day a fortified city, an iron pillar, and bronze walls,
against the whole land, against the kings of Judah, its princes, its priests, and
the people of the land.[19] They will fight against you; but they shall not prevail
against you, for I am with you, says the Lord, to deliver you.”

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Commentary:

1:13-19. Jeremiah is shown a pot that is beginning to boil over (v. 13). He is gi-
ven to understand the meaning of the disquieting news that is reaching Jerusalem
— rumours of advances by foreign armies that threaten the holy city from the north
(vv. 14-15). These reports are a warning that God sends his people to encourage
them to admit their unfaithfulness (v. 16). In this way the Lord is beginning to an-
nounce a future punishment, which we shall hear much more about as the book
develops – a chastisement to be inflicted on the people of Judah and Jerusalem
for failing to keep the Covenant.

It will be up to Jeremiah to speak to them, reproaching them for their sins and
explaining the reasons for events (vv. 17-18) – not an easy task, but God will
give him the strength to perform it (v. 19).

This passage outlines the framework, the setting, of the oracles and narratives
contained in the book. God never forgets his people and, in a time of crisis, when
the kingdom of Judah is about to collapse, he chooses Jeremiah and sends him
out on his mission. God means him to show the people the real reasons for all
the distress they will meet and, once all the various disasters have come to pass,
he intends Jeremiah to console them and assure them that God never abandons
them.

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Source: “The Navarre Bible: Text and Commentaries”. Biblical text from the
Revised Standard Version and New Vulgate. Commentaries by members of
the Faculty of Theology, University of Navarre, Spain.

Published by Four Courts Press, Kill Lane, Blackrock, Co. Dublin, Ireland, and
by Scepter Publishers in the United States.

From: 1 Thessalonians 4:9-11 (USCCB Usage)

Charity and Good Use of Time

[9] But concerning love of the brethren you have no need to have any one write to
you, for you yourselves have been taught by God to love one another; [10] and in-
deed you do love all the brethren throughout Macedonia. But we exhort you, breth-
ren, to do so more and more, [11] to aspire to live quietly, to mind your own affairs,
and to work with your hands, as we charged you; [12] so that you may command
the respect of outsiders, and be dependent on nobody.

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Commentary:

9-10. “The greatest commandment of the law is to love God with one’s whole
heart and one’s neighbor as oneself (cf. Mt 22:37-40). Christ has made this love
of neighbor his personal commandment and has enriched it with a new meaning
when he willed himself, along with his brothers, to be the object of this charity,
saying, ‘When you did it to one of the least of these my brethren, you did it to me’
(Mt. 25:40). In assuming human nature he has united to himself all mankind in a
supernatural solidarity which makes of it one single family. He has made charity
the distinguishing mark of his disciples, in the words: ‘By this all men will know
that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another’ (Jn 13:35). In the early
days the Church linked the ‘agape’ to the eucharistic supper, and by so doing
showed itself as one body around Christ united by the bond of charity. So too, in
all ages, love is its characteristic mark” (Vatican II, “Apostolicam Actuositatem”,
8). Love for the other members of the Church is fraternal love, a love which bro-
thers and sisters should have for one another, for the Church is one large family.
The Thessalonians practised this love not only among themselves but also with
the other believers living in Macedonia; fraternal charity is absolutely necessary
for the unity of Christians.

“No tongue can tell the heights to which love uplifts us”, St Clement of Rome
teaches. “Love unites us to God; love casts a veil over innumerable sins; there
are no limits to love’s endurance, no end to its patience. There is nothing base,
nothing proud, about love [...] It was in love that all God’s chosen ones were
made perfect. Without love nothing is pleasing to God” (”Letter to the Corin-
thians”, 1, 49).

11-12. Everyone has certain obligations connected with his position in life which
he should conscientiously fulfill. They include, particularly, duties to do with work
and family, and they provide us with an opportunity for conversation with God. St
John Chrysostom teaches, for example: “A woman working in the kitchen or do-
ing some sewing can always raise her thoughts to heaven and fervently invoke
the Lord. If someone is on the way to market or is traveling alone, he can easily
pray attentively. Someone else who is in his wine-cellar, engaged in stitching
wine skins, is free enough to raise his heart to the Master” (”Fifth Homily on An-
na”, 4, 6).

Work is something of immense human and supernatural value, for it is a means
readily at hand for personal sanctification and cooperation with others. It would
be unworthy of a Christian to live an idle life and expect to be supported by the
charity of others. St Paul counsels everyone who can to look after his family and
“be dependent on nobody”. And so we find the following in one of the very earli-
est Christian documents: “If someone wants to settle down among you, and is
a skilled worker, let him find employment and earn his bread. If he knows no
trade, use your discretion to make sure that he does not live in idleness on the
strength of being a Christian. If he does not want to work, he is only trying to ex-
ploit Christ. Be on your guard against people of that sort” (”Didache”, 12). So, a
person cannot be regarded as a good Christian if he does not try to work well, for
“our professional vocation is an essential and inseparable part of our condition as
Christians. Our Lord wants you to be holy in the place where you are, in the job
you have chosen” (St. J. Escriva, “Friends of God”, 60).

In addition to promoting personal sanctification and cooperation with others, work
gives the Christian a share in Christ’s work of Redemption. “Sweat and toil, which
work necessarily involves in the present condition of the human race, present the
Christian and everyone who is called to follow Christ with the possibility of sha-
ring lovingly in the work that Christ came to do (cf. Jn 17:4). This work of salva-
tion came about through suffering and death on a Cross. 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. He shows himself a true disciple of Christ
by carrying the cross in his turn every day (cf. Lk 9:23) in the activity that he is
called upon to perform” (Bl. John Paul , “Laborem Exercens”, 27).

Published by Four Courts Press, Kill Lane, Blackrock, Co. Dublin, Ireland, and
by Scepter Publishers in the United States