Homily 5 — Second Thessalonians 3, verses 3 to 18

“But the Lord is faithful, who will establish you and guard you from the evil one. And we have confidence in the Lord concerning you, that you both are doing and will do the things we command you. And may the Lord direct your hearts into the love of God, and into the endurance of Christ.” [a]

We ought not, having committed everything to the prayers of the saints, to sit idle ourselves, slide into wickedness, and take hold of nothing. Nor again, when we are doing good, should we despise that help. For great indeed are the things that prayer for us can accomplish — but only when we ourselves are also working. That is why Paul too, while praying for them, and again giving them assurance from the promise, says, “But the Lord is faithful, who will establish you and guard you from the evil one.” For if he has chosen you for salvation, he does not deceive you, nor will he let you perish utterly.

But so that they themselves would not sleep, see how he also demands their cooperation, saying, “And we have confidence in the Lord concerning you.” He “is faithful,” and since he has promised to save, he will certainly save — but in the way he promised. And how did he promise? If we are willing and listen to him; not simply by hearing, and not lying idle like blocks of wood and stones.

And he did well to bring in the words “We have confidence in the Lord,” that is, we trust in his love for humankind. Again he brings them low, making everything depend on him. For if he had said, “We have confidence in you,” the praise would indeed have been great, but it would not have taught them to make everything depend on God. And if he had said, “We have confidence in the Lord that he will keep you safe,” and had not added “concerning you” and “that you are doing and will do the things we command you,” he would have made them lazier, by throwing everything onto the power of God. For it is right for us to throw everything onto him — yet while working ourselves as well, throwing ourselves into the labors and the contests. And he shows that even if our virtue alone were enough to save us, it would still have to persevere, and stay with us until we come to our last breath.

“But may the Lord,” he says, “direct your hearts into the love of God, and the endurance of Christ.” [b]

Again he praises them, and prays, showing his care for them. For when he is about to begin rebuking them, he first softens their minds: by saying, “I am confident that you will listen,” by asking them for their prayers, and by calling down countless blessings on them once more.

“But may the Lord,” he says, “direct your hearts into the love of God.” For there are many things that turn us away from love, and many paths that draw us away from it. First there is the path of mammon. Laying shameless hands, as it were, on our soul, and holding it tightly in its grip, it pulls and drags us away even against our will. Then empty glory, and often afflictions and trials, turn us aside. That is why we need the help of God like a wind, so that our sail may be driven, as by some strong wind, toward the love of God.

For do not tell me, “I love him even more than myself.” Those are words. Show me by your deeds that you love him more than yourself. Love him more than money, and then I will believe that you love him even more than yourself. But you who do not despise riches for God’s sake — how will you despise yourself? But why do I say riches? You who do not despise greed — which you ought to do even without God’s commands — how will you despise yourself?

“And into the endurance of Christ,” he says. What does “into the endurance” mean? That we should endure as he endured; or that we should do the same things he did; or that we should also wait for him with endurance — that is, that we should be ready. For since he has promised many things, and is himself coming to judge the living and the dead, let us wait for him and let us hold out. But wherever he speaks of endurance, he of course implies affliction. For this is what it is to love God: to endure, and not to be troubled. [d]

Verse 6: “Now we command you, brothers and sisters, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, to withdraw from every brother who walks in a disorderly way and not according to the tradition they received from us.”

That is, it is not we who say these things, but Christ. That is what “in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ” means; it is the same as “through Christ.” He says “through Christ” to show how fearful the message is. So Christ commanded us never to be idle. “To withdraw,” he says, “from every brother.” Do not tell me about the rich, do not tell me about the poor, do not tell me about the holy: this is disorder. “Who walks,” he says — that is, who lives. “And not according to the tradition they received from me.” He means the tradition that is handed on through deeds; and this is what he always calls tradition in the proper sense.

Verses 7 and 8: “For you yourselves know how you ought to imitate us. We were not disorderly among you, nor did we eat anyone’s bread for nothing.” [f]

And yet even if they had eaten it, it would not have been for nothing. “For the laborer,” he says, “deserves his wages” (Luke 10, verse 7).

“But with labor and toil we worked night and day, so as not to be a burden to any of you. It was not because we do not have the right, but to make ourselves an example to you, so that you would imitate us. For even when we were with you, we gave you this command: If anyone will not work, let him not eat.”

See how in the former letter he speaks of these things rather more mildly, as when he says, “We urge you, brothers and sisters … to abound more and more … and to make it your ambition” (First Thessalonians 4, verses 1, 10 and 11). Nowhere there does he say “we command,” or “in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ,” which was fearful and carried a threat of danger. Instead he says “that you abound” and “make it your ambition,” which are the words of someone urging people on to virtue; and “so that you may walk decently,” he says (First Thessalonians 4, verse 12). But here there is nothing of that kind, only this: “If anyone will not work,” he says, “let him not eat.” For if Paul — who was under no necessity, who had the right to be idle, and who had undertaken so great a work — nevertheless worked, and not merely worked but worked “night and day,” so that he was even able to help others, how much more ought others to do this!

Verse 11: “For we hear that some among you walk in a disorderly way, doing no work at all, but being busybodies.” [g]

This is what he says here. But there, in the first letter, he says, “so that you may walk decently toward outsiders.” Why is that? Perhaps there was not yet anything of this kind.

For on another occasion too, when he was giving advice, he says, “It is more blessed to give than to receive” (Acts 20, verse 35). But the expression “walk decently” has nothing to do with disorder; that is why he added, “so that you may have need of nothing” (First Thessalonians 4, verse 12). And here he sets down another necessity: that in this way they may do what is honorable and good toward everyone. (For as he goes on, he says, “Do not grow weary in doing good.”) For certainly the one who is idle, though able to work, is bound to become a busybody.

But alms are given only to those who cannot support themselves by the work of their own hands, or to those who teach and are wholly taken up with the business of teaching. “For you shall not muzzle the ox,” he says, “when it is treading out the grain” (Deuteronomy 25, verse 4). And, “The laborer deserves his wages” (First Timothy 5, verse 18, and Luke 10, verse 7). So such a person is not idle either; he receives the wages of work, and of great work too. But praying and fasting while idle is not the work of the hands, and the work he is speaking of here is the work of the hands. And so that you may not suspect anything of the kind, he has added, “doing no work at all, but being busybodies. Now such people we command and urge through our Lord Jesus Christ.”

Because he had struck at them severely, and wished to make his words milder, he adds “through the Lord” — which is again something authoritative and fearful. [h]

“That they work quietly,” he says, “and eat their own bread.” For why did he not say, “But if they are not disorderly, let them be supported by you”? Instead he requires both: that they be quiet, and that they work. “That they may eat their own bread,” he says — not someone else’s.

Verse 13: “But you, brothers and sisters, do not grow weary in doing good.”

See how at once the fatherly heart was overcome! He could not carry his rebuke any further, but took pity on them again. And see with what discretion! He did not say, “But pardon them until they are corrected.” What then? “But you, do not grow weary in doing good.” Withdraw from them, he says, and rebuke them; but do not let them starve. So, he says, I have prescribed a mild remedy: that you withdraw from him — that is, that you do not share free and open conversation with him. Show that you are angry. This is no small matter. For this is the kind of rebuke that is given to a brother, if we really want to correct him. We are not ignorant of the ways of rebuking. For tell me: if you had a brother in the flesh, would you look on while he wasted away with hunger? Truly, I think not; but perhaps you would even correct him.

Verse 14: “And if anyone does not obey our word in this letter …” [j]

He did not say, “Whoever disobeys, disobeys me,” but “take note of that man.” This is no slight punishment. “Have nothing to do with him.” Then again he says, “so that he may be ashamed.” And he does not allow them to go further. For just as, after saying, “If anyone does not work, let him not eat,” he feared they might perish of hunger and added, “But you, do not grow weary in doing good,” so here: having said, “Withdraw from him, and have nothing to do with him,” he then feared that this very thing might cut the man off from the brotherhood — for someone who gives himself up to despair will quickly be lost if he is shut out of free and open conversation — and so he added,

Verse 15: “Yet do not regard him as an enemy, but warn him as a brother.”

By this he shows that he had laid a heavy punishment on him in shutting him out of free and open conversation.

For if merely receiving, even along with many others, is felt as a disgrace — when the givers even rebuke while they give, and withdraw from them — how great is the shame! It is quite enough to sting the soul. For if, merely by giving rather slowly and with grumbling, people inflame those who receive — and do not tell me about shameless beggars; I am speaking of the faithful — then if they were to rebuke while they give, what would they not do? What punishment would that not equal? We do not even do that. Instead, as though we had been badly wronged, we insult those who beg from us and turn away from them. You do not give — but why do you also hurt him?

“Warn them,” he says, “as brothers”; do not insult them as enemies. The one who warns his brother does not do it publicly. He does not make a show of the insult; he does it privately and with great tact, grieving as though he himself were hurt, weeping and lamenting. So let us give with a brother’s heart; let us warn with a brother’s goodwill — not as though we grieved at giving, but as though we grieved that he breaks the commandment. Otherwise, what good is it? If you insult him even after giving, you destroy the pleasure of the gift. But when you do not give and still insult him, what wrong do you not do to that wretched and unfortunate man? He came to you to receive pity, but he goes away having received a deadly blow, and he weeps all the more. For when poverty forces him to beg, and he is insulted for begging, think how great the punishment of those who insult him will be.

“Whoever dishonors the poor,” it says, “provokes his Maker” (Proverbs 14, verses 21 and 31, in the Greek Old Testament). For tell me: did God allow him to be poor for your sake, so that you might be able to heal yourself — and do you insult the one who is poor for your sake? What obstinacy this is! What ingratitude! “Warn him as a brother,” he says; and after you have given, he tells you to warn him. But if we insult him even without giving, what excuse will we have?

Verse 16: “Now may the Lord of peace himself give you peace at all times, in every way.”

See how, whenever he speaks of what must be done, he seals it with prayer, adding prayer and petition like seals placed on goods laid up in store. “Give you peace,” he says, “at all times, in every way.” For since quarrels were likely to arise from these things — those men growing exasperated, and the others no longer supplying such people as readily as before — he rightly offered this prayer for them now, saying, “Give you peace at all times.” For this is what is wanted: that they may always have it. “In every way,” he says. What does “in every way” mean? That they may have no occasion for quarreling from any quarter. For peace is good everywhere, even toward those outside. Hear him saying elsewhere, “If it is possible, so far as it depends on you, be at peace with everyone” (Romans 12, verse 18). For nothing helps us so much to do well the things we want to do as being peaceable and undisturbed, being free from all hatred, and having no enemy.

“The Lord be with you all.” [k]

Verses 17 and 18: “The greeting of Paul, in my own hand, which is the sign in every letter; this is how I write. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all.”

He says that he writes this in every letter so that no one may be able to forge his letters, his signature, added at the end, being a great sign. And he calls the prayer a greeting, showing that everything they did then was spiritual. Even when it was proper to give a greeting, the thing brought benefit with it; it was a prayer, not merely a token of friendship. With this he began, and with this he ended. Guarding with strong walls everything else he had said, and having laid safe foundations, he brought the letter to a safe end as well. “Grace to you and peace,” he says; and again, “The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all. Amen.”

The Lord also promised this, when he said to his disciples, “Look, I am with you always, even to the end of the world” (Matthew 28, verse 20). But this happens when we are willing. For he will not be fully with us if we put ourselves at a distance. “I will be with you,” he says, “always.” So let us not drive grace away.

He tells us to withdraw from every brother who walks in a disorderly way. In those days it was a great evil to be separated. To the Corinthians he said, “With such a person do not even eat” (First Corinthians 5, verse 11). But now most people do not think this a great evil. Everything has been thrown into confusion and corrupted. We mix freely, as a matter of course, with adulterers, with the sexually immoral, with the greedy. If we ought to withdraw from someone who was only being supported in idleness, how much more from these others!

And so that you may know how fearful a thing it was to be separated from the company of the brothers and sisters, and what benefit it brings to those who take rebuke in the right spirit, hear about that man — who was puffed up in his sin, who had gone to the very limit of wickedness, who had committed sexual immorality of the most perverse kind. Even he, such as he was, was so bowed down and humbled that Paul said, “This punishment, which was inflicted by the majority, is enough for such a person. So reaffirm your love for him” (Second Corinthians 2, verses 6 and 8). For he was then like a limb cut off from the rest of the body.

But the reason this was so terrible then was that simply being with them was thought a great blessing. They lived then in every church like people who live in one house, under one father, sharing one table. How great an evil it was, then, to fall away from so great a love! But now it is not even thought a great evil, because it is not considered anything great when we are united with one another either. What was then a punishment now happens, through the great coldness of our love, even without any punishment: we withdraw from one another for no reason, out of coldness. For the cause of all evils is that there is no love. This has dissolved every bond, and has disfigured all that was venerable and splendid in the church, the things in which we ought to have gloried. [m]

Great is the teacher’s confidence when, on the strength of his own good deeds, he can say, “You yourselves know how you ought to imitate us” (Second Thessalonians 3, verse 7). A teacher ought to teach more by his life than by his words. And let no one think this was said in a boastful spirit. He said it because he was forced to, and for the good of everyone. “For we were not disorderly among you,” he says. Do you not see his humility here, in that he calls it eating “for nothing” and behaving “disorderly”? “We were not disorderly among you,” he says, “nor did we eat anyone’s bread for nothing.”

Here he shows that perhaps they too were poor; and do not tell me that they were poor. For he is speaking about the poor, and about those who got the necessities of life from no other source than the work of their own hands. He did not say, “so that they may have it from their fathers,” but that by working they should eat their own bread. For if I, he says, a herald of the word of teaching, was afraid to burden you, how much more should the man who does you no service be afraid! For this is truly a burden. It is a burden too when someone does not give very eagerly — but that is not what he hints at here; he speaks as though they were not able to do it easily. For why do you not work? God has given you hands for this purpose: not so that you should receive from others, but so that you should share with others.

“The Lord,” he says, “be with you.” We too may offer this prayer for ourselves, if we do the things of the Lord. For hear Christ saying to his disciples, “Go and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them into the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things whatever I have commanded you; and look, I am with you always, even to the end of the world” (Matthew 28, verses 19 and 20). If you do these things, he surely is with you. For it is clear that the promise was made not to them only, but also to those who walk in their steps, from his saying “to the end of the world.” [n]

What then does he say to those who are not teachers? Each of you, if he is willing, is a teacher — if not of another, then of himself. Teach yourself first. If you teach yourself to observe all things whatever he commanded, even by this means you will have many imitating you. For just as a lamp, while it is shining, can light ten thousand others, but once it is put out gives no light even to itself and cannot light other lamps, so it is with a pure life. If the light in us is shining, we will make countless disciples and teachers, since we are set before them as a pattern to copy.

The words that come from me will not be able to benefit the hearers as much as your life. For tell me: let a man be dear to God and shining in virtue, and have a wife — for it is possible for a man with a wife and children and servants and friends to please God — will he not be able to benefit them all far more than I can? They will hear me once or twice a month, or not even once; and even if they keep what they have heard as far as the church door, they soon let it slip away from them. But seeing that man’s life constantly, they receive great benefit.

For when he is insulted and does not insult in return, does he not all but carve and engrave respect for his gentleness on the soul of the one who insulted him? And though the other does not admit the benefit at once, because he is ashamed after his anger, or thrown into confusion, still he is aware of it at once. And it is impossible for an insolent man, even if he is a very beast, to spend time with someone who bears wrongs patiently without going away much the better for it. For even though we do not do what is good, we all praise it and admire it. Again, the wife, if she sees her husband gentle, gains a great deal from always being with him; and so does the child.

So it is in everyone’s power to be a teacher. For he says, “Build one another up, just as you are doing” (First Thessalonians 5, verse 11). For tell me: has some loss befallen the household? The wife is upset, since she is weaker, and more extravagant, and fond of finery. The husband, if he is a philosopher and laughs at loss, both consoles her and persuades her to bear it with courage. Tell me, then: will he not benefit her far more than our words? For it is easy to talk, but to act, when we are brought to the point of necessity, is hard in every way. That is why human nature is usually shaped more by deeds.

And so great is the excellence of virtue that even a slave often benefits a whole household, master included. For it is not in vain, nor without reason, that Paul constantly commands slaves to practice virtue and to obey their masters — not so much out of regard for the masters’ service, as so that the word of God and the teaching may not be blasphemed. And when it is not blasphemed, it will soon be admired as well. I know of many households that have benefited greatly from the virtue of their slaves. But if a servant placed under authority can improve his master, much more can a master improve his servants.

So share this ministry with me, I beg you. I speak to everyone in general; you, each of you, speak to individuals in private, and let each one take charge of the salvation of his neighbors. That a man ought to preside over his own household in these matters, hear from the place where Paul sends women for instruction: “And if they want to learn anything, let them ask their own husbands at home” (First Corinthians 14, verse 35). He does not send them to the teacher. For just as in schools there are teachers even among the pupils, so it is in the church too. He wants the teacher not to be troubled by everyone.

Why? Because great advantages will follow. Not only will the teacher’s labor be light, but each of the pupils too, by taking pains and making this his concern, can soon become a teacher.

For see what a great service the wife contributes. She keeps the house and takes care of everything in it. She presides over the maidservants and clothes them with her own hands. She makes you be called the father of children. She delivers you from brothels; she helps you live chastely; she checks the strong desire of nature. So you too, benefit her. How? Stretch out your hand to her in spiritual things. Whatever useful things you have heard, carry them off in your mouth like the swallows, and bring them and put them into the mouths of the mother and the young ones.

For is it not absurd to think yourself worthy of first place in other things, and to occupy the position of the head, but to desert your post when it comes to teaching? The ruler ought to excel the ruled not so much in honors as in virtues. This is the ruler’s duty. The other belongs to the ruled; this is the ruler’s own achievement. If you enjoy much honor, it is nothing to your credit, for you received it from others. If you shine with much virtue, that is all your own.

You are the head of the woman; so let the head regulate the rest of the body. Do you not see that the head stands above the rest of the body not so much in position as in forethought, steering the whole of it like a helmsman? For in the head are the eyes, both of the body and of the soul. From there flow to both the ability to see and the power to direct. The rest of the body is appointed to serve, but the head is set to command. All the senses have their origin and their source there. From there come the organs of speech, the power of sight and of smell, and all touch. For the root of the sinews and of the bones comes from there. Do you not see that it is superior more in forethought than in honor? So let us rule the women: let us surpass them, not by seeking greater honor from them, but by their being benefited more by us. [p]

I have shown that they give us no small benefit; but if we are willing to repay them in spiritual things, we surpass them. In bodily things it is not possible to give an equal return. Why? Do you bring in much wealth? But it is she who preserves it, and this care of hers is an equal return. That is why she is needed: many who had great possessions have lost everything because they had no one to take care of them. As for the children, you share them in common, and the benefit from each of you is equal. In these things she even has the heavier part, always bearing children and suffering the pains of childbirth. So only in spiritual things will you be able to surpass her.

So let us not think about how we may get wealth, but about how we may present to God, with confidence, the souls entrusted to us. For by setting them in order we will also benefit ourselves most of all. The one who teaches another, even if he does nothing else, still feels his own heart pierced as he speaks, when he sees himself answerable for the very things for which he rebukes others. Since, then, we benefit both ourselves and them, and through them the whole household, and this is above all pleasing to God, let us not grow weary of caring both for our own souls and for those who serve us. Then we will receive a reward for them all, and arrive with great riches at the holy city, our mother, the Jerusalem above. May God grant that we never fall from it, but that, having shone in the most excellent way of life, we may be counted worthy to see our Lord Jesus Christ with great confidence; with whom, to the Father, together with the Holy Spirit, be glory, power, and honor, now and always, and forever and ever. Amen.