The first reading in today’s liturgy is from the greetings of the Letter to the Thessalonians.  As most of his greetings, Paul provides a kind of overview of the entire letter.  The Thessalonians are a community at peace with their new-found faith in Jesus.  They are living faithfully the divine gifts they have been given.  They themselves are a blessing for others.

The Letter to the Thessalonians is the very first of the written materials that ultimately become the New Testament.  It strikes a most positive note and encouragement for them, “We give thanks. . .  calling to mind your work of faith and labor of love and endurance in hope of the Lord Jesus Christ.”  Praising words for a community already deeply in tune with their faith in Jesus.

“Faith, Hope and Love”, God’s original blessings of his people (and, ultimately, to all and each of us!).  The community in Thessalonica seems to have firmly grasped that reality, and, more importantly, they are living it out.

I’m reminded of a saying that takes on more and more meaning as I think about it.  The statement is attributed to St. Francis of Assisi: “Preach always and sometimes use words.”  In some ways, that is the sum and substance of our response to God’s loving relationship with us.

Ultimately, it means that the focus of our faith, hope and love is living out these God-given virtues, not merely knowing about them or about God.  These virtues, these fundamental gifts of God represent the depth of our relationship with God.
That relationship is formed and founded on them. So, knowing is not enough without the deeply experienced meaning of faith, hope and love.  These original gifts need to end up in human interactions with God’s good creation, with others, with ourselves, and with God, the giver of these gifts.

That’s how we preach according to Francis.  That preaching is about getting “outside of ourselves” in concrete actions that flow out of our faith, hope and love. Thus, we are not just knowing Christians, but we are living out the life of Christ in us by sharing with others what God has given us as our fundamental blessing.  In the end, what God has given as free gifts, needsto end up as our own and others’ blessing.  Thus, the interactions of our lives, not just the consciousness of them, become our main concern.

Gracious God, be with us as we freely receive and freely give away what you have so freely given us.  May our reception of your goodness be for us what it was for the Thessalonians.  As Paul greets them and encourages their work (faith) their endurance (hope) and their labor (love), inspire us to be persons who humbly PREACH ALWAYS in your name and goodness.