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 2:14-19; Luke 12:2-12. Paul tells the Thessalonians that they became imitators of the churches in Judea, suffering from their own countrymen what those churches suffered from the Jews "who killed both the Lord Jesus and the prophets, and drove us out, and displease God and oppose all men." Fr. Paul reads this as naming specifically the leaders who hindered Paul from speaking to the Gentiles, the same verb for hindering that recurs wherever the Gentile mission is at stake. He stresses that the text must be read whole: cut off mid-sentence it becomes a slogan, but read fully it is about those in a position of responsibility who block the gospel's reach and so fill up the measure of their sins, bringing wrath on themselves at last. Paul's grief at being kept from Thessalonica he attributes to Satan, whom Fr. Paul describes as the prosecutor of the divine court, one who accuses but does not judge; the hearer's business is to settle with the Judge, not fear the accuser. Paul's hope, joy, and crown of boasting at the Lord's coming are the Thessalonians themselves, standing before God's judgment seat, and Fr. Paul links this same "before" language to the moment Paul will render account for his apostleship, so that any boasting is not premature but reserved for that day. In Luke, Fr. Paul says that what is hidden will be revealed at the day of judgment, and the warning to fear not those who kill the body but him who can cast into Gehenna means fearing the one whose judgment actually counts, since no one sends anyone to Gehenna but God himself at his judgment. Confessing the Son of Man before men carries through to the unforgivable sin of blasphemy against the Spirit, which he explains as denying, after having once confessed, that the Son of Man speaks in God's name. When believers are brought before synagogues and rulers, the Spirit teaching them in that hour is not a prompt to wait for but the content of the gospel already given, which they are simply to speak. The root pair of the day · שׁ-ל-ט šin–lamed–ṭet, שָׁלַט šalaṭ · س–ل–ط sīn–lām–ṭāʾ, سُلْطان sulṭān · domineer; be master of; lord it. šalaṭ and sulṭān name domineering authority, exousiazo in Greek. In Luke 12:11 believers are brought before 'rulers and authorities,' yet Jesus tells them to fear not these but the One who can cast into Gehenna. Luke 22:25 recalls earthly rulers who 'lord it over' their people—unlike the Spirit's authority, which simply gives believers what to say before such powers. cf. The Consolation of Consonants Sources: Tarazi, The New Testament: An Introduction, vol. 2, Luke and Acts, “Lament over Jerusalem (31–35)”; Tarazi, The New Testament: An Introduction, vol. 1, Paul and Mark, p. 137; Tarazi, The New Testament: An Introduction, vol. 2, Luke and Acts, “Imprisonment and Deliverance at Philippi (16–37)”; Orthodox Audio Bible Commentary, 1 Thessalonians (vol. 52), part 1, at 0:00; Tarazi, 1 Corinthians: A Commentary, p. 167; Tarazi, I Thessalonians: A Commentary, p. 49; Tarazi, The New Testament: An Introduction, vol. 2, Luke and Acts, “The Church at Antioch (19–30)”; Tarazi, I Thessalonians: A Commentary, p. 152; Orthodox Audio Bible Commentary, Luke (vol. 42), part 2, at 18:49; Orthodox Audio Bible Commentary, Luke (vol. 42), part 2, at 21:11; Orthodox Audio Bible Commentary, Luke (vol. 42), part 2, at 23:15; Tarazi, The New Testament: An Introduction, vol. 3, Johannine Writings, p. 274. The note on ocabs.org 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.
