The word for today is “wondrous.” Today on All Saints Sunday we commemorate the saints who have gone before us. And during Matins (Morning Prayer), we sing “God is wondrous in His saints.”[i] From a worldly viewpoint, we might ask what is “wondrous” about the trials of the saints? What is so glorious about the suffering that we read about in today’s reading of Hebrews 11:33-12:2? Our commentary will explain how the saints are wonderful as they give glory to God. The Glories of the Saints In this well-known passage from Hebrews 11, the apostle recounts the astounding examples of the saints of the Old Testament. Through faith these holy ones subdued kingdoms, worked righteousness, obtained promises, stopped the mouths of lions, quenched…
The word of the day is “glorified .”  Today with 2 Thessalonians 1:1-10, we begin to read St. Paul’s second letter to his congregation in Thessalonica, the important crossroads of Macedonia.  The apostle writes from Ephesus in about 51 AD within months of his first letter. But now, he refers to the “persecutions and tribulations” that his congregation is undergoing (vs. 4). He consoles his flock in this port city that their afflictions are evidence that they are worthy of the kingdom of God, the reign of God for which they now suffer (vs. 5). St. Paul assures the faithful that God will settle accounts with their persecutors and with those who neither know Him nor obey the gospel. God…
The word of the day is “glorified.” Today with 2 Thessalonians 1:1-10, we begin St. Paul’s second letter to his congregation in Thessalonica, the important crossroads of Macedonia. The Apostle writes from Ephesus in about 51 AD within months of his first letter. But now, he refers to the “persecutions and tribulations” that his congregation is undergoing (vs. 4).  He consoles them that their afflictions are evidence that they are worthy of the kingdom of God for which they now suffer (vs. 5). On the Day of Christ’s Coming St. Paul assures the flock that God will settle accounts with their persecutors and those who neither know Him nor obey the gospel. God’s will carry out His justice when the…