33rd Sunday in O.T. (year C)

(2 Thessalonians 3:7-12)

2 Thessalonians 3:7 For you know how you ought to imitate us, because we did not live idly among you,

2 Thessalonians 3:8 nor did we eat anyone's bread without paying for it, but we worked hard night and day, labouring and toiling so that we would not be a burden to any of you.

2 Thessalonians 3:9 Not that we had no right to this, but to give you an example to imitate.

Paul says: remember our behaviour, that during our work among you, instead of shirking our duty to earn a living, we took on hard work so as not to be supported by the community. Paul, even before being a teacher, practises what he preaches. Every preacher must be able to combine theory and practice.

Conscience is educated not only through teaching, but above all through life, through example. Others must not only hear what is good and true, but they must also see what is good and true, because faith is either visible or it is not faith. Paul is not only a teacher who preaches, admonishes and teaches the faith, he is first and foremost someone who shows all these things and shows them through his life. He is both a teacher of life and a teacher of words. The two must always go together. It would be a serious spiritual loss if the two were to be separated.

Here, therefore, it is not a question of remembering a teaching, but of the duty to imitate the preachers of the gospel, who were not idlers. In other words, the preachers of the gospel did not take advantage of the hospitality of some Christians. Let us be clear, Paul is not saying that he never ate for free in other people's homes, but that he never demanded his sustenance.

Paul subjected himself to the harsh law of work for the sake of the gospel; he did not want to be mistaken for one of those itinerant preachers who moved from place to place selling theories, often only illusions, in exchange for sustenance. By supporting himself with his own hands, the apostle freed his message from any suspicion, and to do so he had renounced his right to be supported. This is the fairness of the apostle.

But there is also another reason why Paul worked: 'so as not to be a burden to any of you', a reason of charity. He did not want to cause difficulties for anyone, even if that anyone would have gladly done so.

Three principles are at stake here: the principle of justice, that of charity and that of evangelisation. The principle of justice says that every worker is entitled to his wages. Paul offers them the life of the soul; the Thessalonians offer him what he needs for the life of his body. This is justice: one thing for one thing, a gift for a gift, a service for a service.

But Paul does not want his relationship with the Thessalonians to be based on justice. For reasons of the gospel, he wants it to be based on charity instead. Charity is a one-way gift. Paul wants to give and that's it. He has decided to make his life a service of love. By proclaiming the gospel and living it in its deepest essence, he leaves the Thessalonians with the true model of how to live the gospel, how to proclaim it and how to put it into practice.

Now, if they want, they know what the Gospel is, they know it because they have seen it in Paul. Having seen it, they too can proclaim it and put it into practice. Paul decides to preach the Gospel freely because the Gospel is the free gift of God's love in Christ through the work of the Holy Spirit.

In the painful decline of the Church today, there are those who hope for a rebirth from below. But the Church was born from the proclamation of the apostles. It is up to those in charge to shed light, bring clarity, and point out the paths to follow in accordance with the Gospel of Christ... but those in charge must also be supported and encouraged.

Argentino Quintavalle, author of the books

- Apocalypse - Exegetical Commentary

- The Apostle Paul and the Judaizers - Law or Gospel?

Jesus Christ, true God and true Man in the mystery of the Trinity

The prophetic discourse of Jesus (Matthew 24-25)

All generations will call me blessed

Catholics and Protestants in comparison – In defence of the faith

The Church and Israel according to St Paul – Romans 9-11

(Available on Amazon)

283 Last modified on Monday, 10 November 2025 20:48

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Argentino Quintavalle

Argentino Quintavalle è studioso biblico ed esperto in Protestantesimo e Giudaismo. Autore del libro “Apocalisse - commento esegetico” (disponibile su Amazon) e specializzato in catechesi per protestanti che desiderano tornare nella Chiesa Cattolica.

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You ought not, however, to be satisfied merely with knocking and seeking: to understand the things of God, what is absolutely necessary is oratio. For this reason, the Saviour told us not only: ‘Seek and you will find’, and ‘Knock and it shall be opened to you’, but also added, ‘Ask and you shall receive’ [Verbum Domini n.86; cit. Origen, Letter to Gregory]

Non ti devi però accontentare di bussare e di cercare: per comprendere le cose di Dio ti è assolutamente necessaria l’oratio. Proprio per esortarci ad essa il Salvatore ci ha detto non soltanto: “Cercate e troverete”, e “Bussate e vi sarà aperto”, ma ha aggiunto: “Chiedete e riceverete” [Verbum Domini n.86; cit. Origene, Lettera a Gregorio]

In the crucified Jesus, a kind of transformation and concentration of the signs occurs: he himself is the “sign of God” (John Paul II)

In Gesù crocifisso avviene come una trasformazione e concentrazione dei segni: è Lui stesso il "segno di Dio" (Giovanni Paolo II)

Only through Christ can we converse with God the Father as children, otherwise it is not possible, but in communion with the Son we can also say, as he did, “Abba”. In communion with Christ we can know God as our true Father. For this reason Christian prayer consists in looking constantly at Christ and in an ever new way, speaking to him, being with him in silence, listening to him, acting and suffering with him (Pope Benedict)

Solo in Cristo possiamo dialogare con Dio Padre come figli, altrimenti non è possibile, ma in comunione col Figlio possiamo anche dire noi come ha detto Lui: «Abbà». In comunione con Cristo possiamo conoscere Dio come Padre vero. Per questo la preghiera cristiana consiste nel guardare costantemente e in maniera sempre nuova a Cristo, parlare con Lui, stare in silenzio con Lui, ascoltarlo, agire e soffrire con Lui (Papa Benedetto)

In today’s Gospel passage, Jesus identifies himself not only with the king-shepherd, but also with the lost sheep, we can speak of a “double identity”: the king-shepherd, Jesus identifies also with the sheep: that is, with the least and most needy of his brothers and sisters […] And let us return home only with this phrase: “I was present there. Thank you!”. Or: “You forgot about me” (Pope Francis)

Nella pagina evangelica di oggi, Gesù si identifica non solo col re-pastore, ma anche con le pecore perdute. Potremmo parlare come di una “doppia identità”: il re-pastore, Gesù, si identifica anche con le pecore, cioè con i fratelli più piccoli e bisognosi […] E torniamo a casa soltanto con questa frase: “Io ero presente lì. Grazie!” oppure: “Ti sei scordato di me” (Papa Francesco)

Thus, in the figure of Matthew, the Gospels present to us a true and proper paradox: those who seem to be the farthest from holiness can even become a model of the acceptance of God's mercy and offer a glimpse of its marvellous effects in their own lives (Pope Benedict))

Nella figura di Matteo, dunque, i Vangeli ci propongono un vero e proprio paradosso: chi è apparentemente più lontano dalla santità può diventare persino un modello di accoglienza della misericordia di Dio e lasciarne intravedere i meravigliosi effetti nella propria esistenza (Papa Benedetto)

Man is involved in penance in his totality of body and spirit: the man who has a body in need of food and rest and the man who thinks, plans and prays; the man who appropriates and feeds on things and the man who makes a gift of them; the man who tends to the possession and enjoyment of goods and the man who feels the need for solidarity that binds him to all other men [CEI pastoral note]

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