NO WORK, NO FOOD

XXXIII SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME:2 Thessalonians 3:7-12

Excited with the Second Coming

The Christians of Thesalonika got so excited with the end of the world and the Second Coming of Jesus Christ that many of them stopped working.

Paul had to call them to their senses, reminding them of his own example: 

“we were not idle when we were with you, and we did not eat anyone’s bread without paying for it; but with toil and labor we worked night and day, so that we might not burden any of you” (2 Th 3:7-8).

And he ordered in Jesus’ name that everybody  should “do their work quietly and to earn their own living” (2 Th 3:12). In a very straightforward talk, he wrote to them: “Anyone unwilling to work should not eat” (2 Th 3:10).

A festive atmosphere

During my holidays in Portugal, it has surprised me that most of the people are continuous speaking of their rights and of the duty of the government to provide for everything. 

The national basket is empty, and the country must borrow more money to pay the huge debts, subjecting itself to the impositions of the lenders, who force people to tighten their belts and change their spending habits. People are not ready for that and their outcry gets louder and louder, demanding that we ignore the creditors and live our own lives, enjoying all the rights granted in the constitution. There is very little talk of personal and collective responsibility; and there are no alternatives being offered to change the situation. Coming from outside, and looking around, during the Summer time (and part of Outumn), one sees a festive  atmosphere that pervades the whole country. It seems as if it is the duty of someone else to move the country’s economy around.

With a very low birth rate, Europe is becoming an old continent, in which Portugal occupies one of the worst positions. With very few children, and an increasingly aging population, there will be no futurion, without a big change in values and attitudes.

Hope moves us forward

Hope - mainly the hope of Second Coming of Jesus - must fill us with courage and motivate us to work hard. While we should respect the rights of the others, we must pay attention to our duties and commit ourselves to carry them out.