Show Notes
A daily note from the team at OCABS.ORG, drawing on the published works of Fr. Paul Nadim Tarazi, with citations to his books and lectures.
Readings: 1 Thessalonians 2:20-3:8.
The reading shows Paul unable to bear separation from the Thessalonians: he says he could not "stand it any longer" and chose to be left alone in Athens so that Timothy could go check on them. Fr. Paul notes that the verb used, stego, means to suffer under an extreme difficulty, and that Paul used "left behind" rather than "remain," showing how costly this choice was for him after his own bitter experience in Athens. Timothy is sent not merely as a companion but as God's servant in the gospel, to establish and exhort, with the verb sterizo appearing four times across the two Thessalonian letters, a sign of how worried Paul was for that church.
When Timothy returns with news of their faith and love, Fr. Paul stresses the unusual direction of the verb "to evangelize": here it is Paul and his companions who are evangelized by the report of the Thessalonians, the only such reversal in the New Testament. This shows that for Paul the gospel is not a possession the apostle hands down and keeps; its reality as good news depends on whether it bears fruit in the hearers, and that fruit becomes gospel again for the apostle himself. Fr. Paul compares this to Paul's planting and Apollos's watering while "God gave the growth," since the news that the Thessalonians stood fast was itself gladdening, so that Paul could say "for now we live, if you stand fast in the Lord."
Fr. Paul links this passage to similar moments in Paul's other letters: the comfort Timothy's good news brings here parallels the comfort the Corinthians' zeal later brings in 2 Corinthians, and the commendation of Timothy as "brother and God's servant in the gospel" parallels how Paul later sends Epaphroditus to Philippi. In each case the apostle, aware that he will not always be present, sends a trusted helper and writes a letter so that his teaching continues after him. This pattern of dispatching co-workers and leaving written instruction, Fr. Paul observes, recurs at the end of several of Paul's letters as he prepares a path for those who will lead after he is gone.
The root pair of the day · שׁ-ל-ה šin–lamed–he, שַׁלְוָה šalwah · س–ل–و sīn–lām–wāw, سَلْوَى salwā · quietness; be quiet; at ease. The root pair of the day, as in the Triliteral Root of the Day: שַׁלְוָה (šalwah) and سَلْوَى (salwā), quietness; be quiet; at ease. Hear every passage of the pair at ocabs.org.
cf. The Consolation of Consonants Sources: Orthodox Audio Bible Commentary, 1 Thessalonians (vol. 52), part 1, at 0:00; Tarazi, 2 Corinthians: A Commentary, p. 157; Tarazi, I Thessalonians: A Commentary, p. 148; Tarazi, Philippians: A Commentary, p. 144; Tarazi, I Thessalonians: A Commentary, p. 146; Tarazi, Philippians: A Commentary, p. 189; Tarazi, I Thessalonians: A Commentary, p. 149; Tarazi, I Thessalonians: A Commentary, p. 143.
Opening music: Taksim Arbi, Bichi Slama, oud (Tunis, Archives de la Parole, 1930s), public domain. Source: gallica.bnf.fr / BnF.
The digital voice Fāṭima (فَاطِمَة) is named in honor of the learned women of al-Andalus, particularly Fāṭima bint Yaḥyā al-Maghāmī, Fāṭima al-Sharrāṭ, and Fāṭima bint al-Muthannā, whose legacies embody the Andalusian traditions of scriptural scholarship, jurisprudence, education, and wisdom.
What is On the Lectionary?
A daily note from the team at OCABS.ORG, drawing on the published works of Fr. Paul Nadim Tarazi, with citations to his books and lectures.
Every day: the readings of the Orthodox lectionary read in full, a short note on them, and a root pair from the Consolation of Consonants, Hebrew and Arabic, chosen for the day’s readings. About five minutes a day, from OCABS on the Ephesus School Network. Read each note, with its citations, at ocabs.org.