worthy

In the Second Letter to the Thessalonians 1:11—2:2 (NABRE), Paul prays that God may make the Thessalonians worthy of their calling. This is quite a significant ask. In our society where we so often feed a sense of entitlement to whatever it is that we want, any sense of worthiness can easily be muddied or obscured.

The Greek word translated as worthy in this passage is from the root ἄξιος (axios), which refers to things having equal weight or counterbalancing. Before digital scales as an easy means of determining weight or value, balance scales determined the relative worth of goods and currency. This root concept was used when things had the same weight and therefor the same value. What was on one side was worth the same as what was on the other side.

So what does worthiness mean in this context? Paul is asking that the Thessalonians—and by extension all Christians—be made worthy of the call of Christ, the call that extends from Jesus’ Incarnation, Passion, death, and Resurrection. We are called in our lives to be of equal weight or value to Jesus himself.

related topic: goodness; righteousness; zeal

you also may like our two-part study of the psalms
Sing a New Psalm: Communicating with God Through the Prayers of the Church provides an in-depth look at all 150 psalms based on The Abbey Psalms and Canticles, a translation prepared by the Benedictine monks of Conception Abbey and endorsed by the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB). This translation is being included in new Liturgy of the Hours books. Volume I currently is available only in a digital format. Click on these links to view a sample first lesson from Volume I and another from Volume II.

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