Ora et labora: The Christian Cure for Idleness

Now we command you, brothers, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that you keep away from any brother who is walking in idleness and not in accord with the tradition that you received from us.” From St. Paul’s second letter to the Thessalonians, in the name of…

I don't know about you, but when I read the scriptures, I find many connections between the original audience and myself. Before we make any immediate connections between us and the original audience of the Scriptures, we are first supposed to understand what the original author is writing to the original audience. In Paul's letter to the church in Thessalonica, he's writing to a group of Christians in a specific city. Saint Paul wrote two letters to the church in first Thessalonica. His first letter to the Thessalonians is the earliest letters that were found which Saint Paul wrote. The letters were written to new converts in the city. The city of Thessalonica was located about 100 miles north of Athens and a good distance west of Philippi in northern Greece. The city was a seaport city and was the second largest city in Greece second only to Athens. Paul is writing to these newly converted Christians from Corinth, which is another seaport city not far from Athens. He writes this letter to them during his second missionary trip around AD 51. So why does he write these two letter letters to a church full of new Converse to the Faith in this random city in Greece?

The problem in this and other cities is that new converts to Christianity are being persecuted by Jewish zealots because they are considered to be heretics. The Jewish zealots believe that these new converts are departing the Faith as they knew it. Saint Paul, being primarily an apostle to the Gentiles understands deeply. The struggle that occurs in one's faith when your own people have thrown you out of the synagogue because of your allegiance to Christ. In the first letter to the church in Thessalonica, Saint Paul encourages them to persevere in the faith as it was delivered to them. Saint Paul has even sent his fellow missionary, Timothy, to check in on the church. Timothy returns to Saint Paul with a report.

If you could put yourself into the shoes of Timothy for a moment, you might imagine that while visiting the church you might jot some things down to report to Saint Paul. Timothy goes back to Paul and tells him about all the goings-on at the church in Thessalonica. What Saint Paul hears is that the church is persevering in the faith but still struggles with all sorts of things. Generally, he's encouraging them to remember that they have been set apart by their baptism for salvation, therefore their life should be one based on holiness and good works. The fruits of the spirit should be abounding within them as they continue to grow in the knowledge and love of God. Now, Saint Paul is not being overly demanding here. He's not telling these newly converted Christians that they should already be well, disciplined and acting as a mature Christian should. But he is giving them a picture of what a mature Christian should do.

Let's think about this for a moment: how should a mature Christian act. Well, a new Christian is still learning a lot. Very little should be expected of a new Christian. You should expect this person to come to mass every Sunday, to learn to be a good steward of their gifts, and perhaps they should be learning how to practice, spiritual disciplines, such as daily prayer, alms giving, fasting, and confession. This is not a comprehensive list of what a new Christian should be doing, but it generally is what should be expected of a brand new baby Christian. When you think about it, it's really not a lot of things. It's an easy yolk in many ways, because the new Christian cannot be expected to develop the faith and the practice of Christianity quickly or easily. There must be a lot of grace given to new Christians, just like one wouldn't scold a young child for spilling a glass of milk. The child is new at this skill of pouring a glass and keeping it from falling over. But if a 35 year-old man spilled a glass of milk every single day at the breakfast table, some correction would be appropriate. One should expect that man to be already trained in how to pour a glass of milk and not spill it. So who is Saint Paul dealing with here in the church in Thessalonica?

The church in Thessalonica is filled with baby Christians. These are Christians that need to be instructed in how to live their daily lives. They still need to be taught how to pour a glass of milk. These Christians still lack the maturity and the discipline that someone has who has been raised in the church. You could think of Paul's letters to the church in this city as a sort of 101 of Christianity. He talks about foundational principles for Christian living that a new convert could easily apply to their lives. All of this is to be taken as applicable to all Christians because Paul reminds us that Christ is coming like a thief in the night or his faithful children. St. Paul urges the church primarily made up of these new Christians to be prepared for the second coming Christ. He says in the fifth chapter, “may the god of peace himself sanctify you completely, and may your spirit and soul and body be kept sound and blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. He who calls you is faithful, and he will do it.” 

Saint Paul has already written one letter to the church in Thessalonica, but he hears reports that these new Christians have not grown up much. His primary concern is that they will grow weary of waiting for the second coming of Christ. In his first letter, he told them that Christ is coming, and that you ought to be ready, but now there are reports of people acting in the same way because of the persecution that they are experiencing so he writes them a second letter. He starts out the letter by saying, “we beg you brethren, not to be quickly shaken in mind or excited either by spirit or by word or by letter reporting to be from us to the effect that the day of the Lord has come.”in other words it seems that other people besides Saint Paul are writing letters to this same church, trying to confuse them about the second coming of Christ. So, Saint Paul warned them about these people, generally not to listen to them. It would be an interesting psychological experiment to try to map out why someone within the church would try to confuse the flock of Christ. That's not what we're gonna do this day, instead we will try to understand why as Christians, both baby and mature, we are to remain steadfast in the faith as received from Christ through the holy apostles. 

In the third chapter of the second letter to the church and Thessalonica Saint Paul warns them, particularly about one major problem in the church, idleness. Idleness is defined as the state of being inactive, avoiding purposeful, work or effort, especially when one has the ability and opportunity to act productively or meaningfully. It doesn't mean that you can't have rest or recreation, but Saint Paul's warning against idleness is a warning against a lack of engagement in a worthwhile activity when you are called to do so. And there are all sorts of examples of vileness. Physical idleness is spending hours on your phone scrolling instead of doing chores or tasks, or perhaps even engaging in meaningful rest. It could be neglecting chores or work or study when you have the time and the energy to do them. There's also a mental or spiritual idleness, which can be described as refusing to engage the mind in prayer reflection or learning. It means that you allow your thoughts to drift aimlessly, rather than focusing on a growth, pattern, or gratitude, or discernment. There is also social idleness, which is described as seeing someone in need but choosing intentionally not to help because it's inconvenient. It could also manifest itself as avoiding meaningful relationships or community involvement out of laziness or apathy or even hatred towards someone else. There's also vocational idleness, which is described as failing to use one's gifts or fulfill one's responsibility in the work of the ministry. This can show itself as taking the easiest path rather than the faithful or diligent one. So this is really a very important warning both to the early church to us today, that we cannot neglect our vocation or duty, whether that is as a lay person or ordained.

Saint Benedict in the sixth century also warned against idleness. In his rule, Saint Benedict said that idleness is the enemy of the soul. Now he didn't mean that the monk should never rest because he actually prescribes times for rest times for prayer times for even reading, but he insisted that a monk should always be engaged in something that leads to God. Idleness therefore is the avoidance of doing things that lead to God. In other words, Benedict viewed idleness as a failure of purpose. He believed that a monk who avoids work or study or prayer is not just wasting his time, but is opening himself up to temptation and spiritual stagnation. Like a pond without flowing water that becomes stagnant. All sorts of things begin to creep in to disturb the natural life of that pond. When we allow idleness to creep into our lives, we open the door for the enemy to begin to tempt us. And in doing so his goal is to divide us. This is where gossip creeps in. Did you hear what so-and-so did? 

For Saint Benedict his answer was that we should pray and work in order to avoid idleness. This idea of Benedict's provides for us a good way to think about how we frame our lives. And if we are avoiding work and prayer, we will become idol. Some of you have already discovered this by way of your retirement. I don't know how many retirees I've spoken to who lasted in retirement for about a week, and then said I gotta get back to work or to do something worthwhile. You see we're created for work and for prayer. And when you take one of them away, things begin to creep in that shouldn’t.

St. Thomas Aquinas also had something to say in the 13th century about idleness. He put idleness in the category of the sloth, which is one of the devices which leads to separation from God. He defined sloth not just as laziness, but as resistance toward spiritual good. He described it as a heaviness of soul that makes one turn away from the demands of love and holiness. He said, "sloth is an oppressive sorrow, which so ways upon man's mind that he wants to do nothing." He's not talking here about being tired from working and wanting and needing rest. This form of idleness is not only a failure of acting, but it refusal of the joy that comes with the effort in a proper life of love to God. How does sloth manifest in the life of the person? Well, it can look differently for different people, but one of the ways that it manifest itself is in the avoidance of prayer or spiritual duties. I'm certainly not immune to it. I've felt the temptation of sloth of not wanting to pray daily morning and evening prayer. Sloth can also manifest itself in a dis interest in charity or service. It can also manifest itself as an aimless or distracted heart, even when the person is outwardly busy. So for Thomas Aquinas, sloth is a distortion of desire, in that the person desires ease over excellence, comfort over charity, and rest over righteousness. I've heard many Christians say, "I've done my time. Let somebody else take up the reigns.” For  that Christian, sloth has already been let into the door. 

The desert fathers and the medieval monastic tradition also spoke about idleness. They called idleness the Gateway to temptation. Evagrius of Pontus, who was one of the early desert theologians, called idleness, the demon of noon day. He described it as the spiritual weariness that made one disinterested and dissatisfied and prone to distraction. A monk who was suffering from idleness, was often described as someone who drifted from cell to cell, had very random and pointless conversations with people and avoided silence. They often despise prayer and work and stability, and they seek entertainment rather than transformation. And this was a problem that had to be identified quickly. And the monk who suffered from idleness was corrected, and if he refused correction he was removed from the monastery. 

Saint Paul says in his second letter to the church in Thessalonica, in the third chapter, "keep away from any brother who is walking in idleness." Saint Paul also warns the church that if someone is not willing to work, but that person does not deserve to eat. Saint Paul it's not saying that you're not allowed to retire from a civilian job after putting your time in. He's not saying that at all. What he's saying is that in the church in the first century, there was already a spirit of idleness that was trying to work its way into the life of the Christians. It hadn't been but 30 years since Christ had died and was resurrected, and promised to return again, and already Christians were growing, weary of praying and working. But these two things, prayer and work have been the hallmarks of the church from the very beginning. In the church and Thessalonica, however, Christians have quickly gone from new baby converts, who were zealous about the faith, to being tired and weary of praying and working toward a common goal, and looking forward to the second coming of Christ. Jesus also talks against idleness in his many parables. Just think about the parables of the talents or the bridesmaids. The comment theme there was preparation. Jesus taught his disciples and apostles that they should always be working and praying. These two things are foundational to the Christian life. Even a baby Christian is taught to pray and to work in the kingdom of God. 

Saint Paul is writing to a group of new Christian Converts, who are working out their faith and who are being persecuted. Christ also warned the apostles and the disciples about persecution. He told them to endure faithfully, and that by their endurance, they will gain true abundant life. He warned them beforehand of all the troubles that they would face. But he promised them that the Holy Spirit would be with them. And the same could be said for these new Christians in Thessalonica. Both of the apostles who sat at the feet of Christ and the early church, and us here today, are invited to remain steadfast in our faith, always working and praying. 

I heard one Christian lady tell me that she had retired from the church. I wasn't upset with her when she said that, but I was saddened that she had been formed in the church in a time when the church was more of a country club than a church. I wasn't around for this time, but I see the effects of it today. Many people who are encounter even now see the church as a social club, which is there for them to participate whenever they want to, and they demand services be rendered to them because they tie or give offerings. This is a transactional form of Christianity that is not only killing the church, but also leading to a spirit of idleness. Why? Because with the spirit of idleness you only participate when you feel like it. A spirit of idleness leads people to pray and work only on their terms. Those people say I don't enjoy the company of others in the church. Therefore, I will go to mass and receive the blessed sacrament, but other than that, I'm not going to participate at all. To those churches who are filled with people like this, you should expect another letter from Saint Paul.

The life of the Christian and the church is not one of leisure, but of work and prayer. We are expected by God to produce good fruits. These fruits of the spirit are not our own doing so that no one can boast, but are produced by the Holy Spirit that indwells you. What we cannot do is to sit idly by and think that the work will be done by someone else. There is no cavalry coming. There is no quick reaction force that is coming to reinforce us in our work here. We are it! Look around; this is all we have. We either get to work or we die of hunger. We either reignite our zeal and commitment to the Lord and for the work that he has for us to do or we close the doors of the church and call it a day. There is no third option. We cannot abandon our Christian tradition of prayer and expect God to know who we are. We cannot treat the church like a social and expect God to bless us. We cannot continue to foster division and gossip and factions and expect others to want to join us. We cannot abdicate our responsibility to daily prayer, to stewardship of what we have been given, and ultimately, our responsibility to spread the gospel of Jesus Christ, and expect Good Shepherd to be here next year. Those things are non-negotiable in the life of a Christian. Jesus demanded that his disciples follow his commandments of work and prayer. Saint Paul admonishes an exhorts the church in all of his letters to continue to work and pray. And we are expected to do the same if we call ourselves Christians.