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Glory be to Jesus Christ!
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Since tomorrow is the feast of the Council of the Archangel Michael and the other heavenly incorporeal powers, today we read two daily readings: for today and tomorrow. I am writing about them in a row as one united reading (as, in fact, they are read at the worship service).
1 Thessalonians I, 6, 9, II, 1, 2, 3, 4 — 'ἡμῶν' — 'emon' — 'us' (our, ours).
1 Thessalonians I, 8, 10 — 'ἡμᾶς' — 'emas' — 'us'.
1 Thessalonians II, 3 — 'παράκλησις' — 'paraklesis' — 'exhortation, comfort, encouragement, consolation'. Literally, our consolation, our encouragement is not from wandering (searching in ignorance), nor from uncleanness (from uncleanness, from sinfulness), nor from deceit (conscious)
— the apostle lists all that opposes faith in Christ if a person tries to be guided by any of these things or all of them at once.
1 Thessalonians II, 8 — 'ἡμῖν' — 'emin' — (to) 'us' ((for) us).
The Apostle Paul tells (recalls) the story of the Thessalonians' faith and their early days, as well as the ministry of the apostles among them (as it was everywhere). He speaks of faith and the comfort that comes from it, and most of all of the Holy Spirit, who is glorified through faith.
The future wrath
is an anthropomorphic reference to God's Last Judgement — just as human anger is aimed at overcoming obstacles, so God's judgement will distinguish the saved from the wicked and unrepentant (this is the point of the comparison, but it does not imply emotionality and passion in God's judgement, not at all).
If the apostles had sought glory from people (here it is mentioned in the sense of the main motive for their actions, the goal), they could not have sought God's will with all their hearts, could not have cared so much about salvation and had the necessary zeal, and even worse, could have drifted away from Christ even to the point of opposing Him. This is not to diminish the importance of fame among people, but to see its limitations in comparison with the glory from God, as well as in the integrity of the apostles' ministry and faith, and in the fulfilment of the commandment to love God in their entirety. It should also be remembered that even more among the Gentiles, the glory from them may have sinful roots, and that in fact it may even be a manifestation of sins, and not a cause of true joy but rather of sorrow. in this latter sense, the explanation of the words is obvious.
The reading concludes with words of love and affection. For a person, their soul is an extraordinary value, so to give up one's soul out of love is a figurative expression of extraordinary love.
Luke XII, 46 — 'ἡμέρᾳ' — 'emera' — (to) 'day' ((on) day).
For verses 51-53, see on the parallel passage in Matthew (Matthew X, 34-36) here:
https://oleksandr-zhabenko.github.io/en/commentaries/23062023.html
In general, it is mainly about readiness for God's judgement, God's visitation, and the difficulties in dealing with people because of faith, when it is necessary to protect it despite the environment, even the closest people.
It is also about disagreement and disputes, conflicts, and the importance of reconciliation and peace as such.
Not peace, but division
means the extraordinary effectiveness of the Gospel truths in their acceptance and implementation by people — literally, they are so active
(compare with chemically active reagents), they have so much energy, action, and power that people, uniting with Christ, cannot help but activate a large number of processes — explicit and implicit around them and even in the distance. That is why life according to the Gospel is not passive but active; not calm but dynamic and moving; not slow but intense, and so on. And this state can best be described by the element of fire, which is where the comparison comes from.
But just as in nature different substances can be very much adhered together, and people may need to separate them, transform them, and so on, so it is with the Gospel — its manifestations are very energetic and active, and otherwise it is impossible to save some people.
The Lord Jesus Christ also says that people in general pay little attention to faith, to understanding God's truths, to knowing the truth, and focus much more on earthly applications of their knowledge. And this is wrong.
It also teaches that reconciliation must be active — we must strive and care for peace, not wait for others to act.
Glory be to Thee, our God, glory be to Thee!
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