Homily: Twenty-first Wednesday of Ordinary Time
Twenty-first Wednesday of Ordinary Time (1 Thessalonians 2:9-13) “Earn Your Way”
St. Paul was a tentmaker. Few Christians would know that. Few Christians would probably know that he was a Pharisee. He had a lot of religious training. We are used to paying pastors a salary for their work, but this was not the way it was in the early church. Ministers had to be able to support themselves. This does not mean that donations were not made to the church, but usually most donations went to pay the general expenses not to pay the ministers.
Paul was quite scrupulous about not accepting money for his preaching. He did want people to say that he was just in ministry to make money. His motivation was that he wanted to be a servant of the Lord. Money can cloud peoples’ judgements. Perhaps Paul didn’t want it to seem like he was playing favorites. Maybe he wanted to treat the poorest member of his congregation the same as the one who would have the most money.
Paul had to have a job that would allow him to travel from place to place. There were tents all over the ancient world. Some were used in city squares as booths to sell merchandise. Others were used as homes for people to live in. There were nomads who were always on the move, and they carried their homes (tents) with them.
A tent maker was more like a repair person. If a tent was torn or a seam came loose, they could repair it. There was not a lot of equipment needed, just some rudimentary things like needles and awls. The tentmaker just carried a small pouch around. All these things made the occupation perfect for Paul.
Paul could support himself and he could have flexible hours. This gave him a lot of freedom to teach and to organize church communities. He also did not have to depend on donations to survive.
Reflection Questions:
- Should Paul have had to work to provide for his personal needs? What are the drawbacks to this?
- Do some ministers misuse the money they receive? Does this mean that all ministers should hold a secular job besides preaching?
Dear Parishioners,
We continue to have a hard time receiving information about those going to the hospital. Confidentiality makes it difficult to receive data. If you or a loved one is ill, please call Melissa Hoffman, our new receptionist at our office and give her the information. She keeps our lists up to date, so the priests know where people are.
Nursing homes and retirement centers have also tightened their protocols. We never know what type of reception we will get when we go to a facility. Some places have gone back to limiting visitors.
All this makes ministering to the sick difficult. Please help us out by providing us with information.
May Our Lady and All the Angels and Saints watch over you today.
Fr. Mark