2 Thessalonians 2:1-3a, 14-17
We ask you, brothers and sisters, as to the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our being gathered together to him, we beg you, brothers and sisters, not to be quickly shaken in mind or alarmed, either by spirit or by word or by letter, as though from us, to the effect that the day of the Lord is already here. Let no one deceive you in any way.
For this purpose he called you through our proclamation of the good news, so that you may obtain the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ. So then, brothers and sisters, stand firm and hold fast to the traditions that you were taught by us, either by word of mouth or by our letter.
Now may our Lord Jesus Christ himself and God our Father, who loved us and through grace gave us eternal comfort and good hope, comfort your hearts and strengthen them in every good work and word.
New Revised Standard Version, copyright 1989, by the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved. USCCB approved.
Return to Tradition
The word “tradition” is sometimes given a bad rap, as if it represents an uncritical loyalty to old-fashioned norms or practices that are out of step with the modern world. But the purpose of tradition is not to prevent necessary change. It is rather to ensure, as St. Paul tells us in today’s reading, that we do not abandon the “eternal comfort and good hope” given to us by Christ. When our changing subjective states and the events of the world around us cause us to lose hope, to despair, to “be quickly shaken in mind or alarmed”—it is precisely at these moments that we are invited to return to tradition, that is, to the confident trust, handed down to us by our ancestors in the faith, that “all things work together for good for those who love God, who are called according to his purpose” (Rm 8:28).
—John Stein, SJ, is a Jesuit scholastic of the Midwest Province studying theology at the Pontifical Gregorian University in Rome.
Prayer
Lord, when I am tempted to abandon hope or to give in to the voice of the enemy who discourages me, give me the grace I need to hold fast to the “eternal comfort and good hope” that you have handed on to me in Christ. Strengthen my trust in you and in your Church. Amen.
—John Stein, SJ