October 19, 2014

1 Thessalonians 1: 1-5b

Paul, Silvanus, and Timothy, To the church of the Thessalonians in God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ: Grace to you and peace.

We always give thanks to God for all of you and mention you in our prayers, constantly remembering before our God and Father your work of faith and labor of love and steadfastness of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ. For we know, brothers and sisters beloved by God, that he has chosen you, because our message of the gospel came to you not in word only, but also in power and in the Holy Spirit and with full conviction; just as you know what kind of persons we proved to be among you for your sake.

New Revised Standard Version, copyright 1989, by the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved. USCCB approved. http://www.usccb.org/bible/approved-translations

Chosen by God

Aristotle tells us that “The human person is a political animal.” Those words are likely the best known of the philosopher’s. And they ring true to our human experience: We are meant for community.

In Paul’s letter to Philemon, he spells out the implications of that reality for Christians: First, we thank God for one another; second, we pray for one another; third, we take account of one another’s faith, hope, and love; and fourth, we remind one another of the most basic and sustaining truth of our lives: we are brothers and sisters loved and chosen by God.

—Fr. Martin Connell, S.J. is a professor of education and Rector of the Jesuit community at John Carroll University, University Heights OH.

Prayer

Keep us, O God, from all pettiness. Let us be large in thought, in word, in deed. Let us be done with fault-finding and leave off all self-seeking. May we put away all pretense and meet each other face to face, without self-pity and without prejudice. Grant that we may realize that it is the little things of life that create differences, that in the big things of life we are as one. And, O God, let us not forget to be kind.

—Mary Stuart