Question

Dear Father Angelo,

What does St. Paul mean by peace? Explaining and comparing 1 Ts1,1 and Ef 2?

Then, what is the Gospel for Paul?

What considerations can we make from his way of using this word?

Answer from the priest

Dearest,

1. in 1 Ts 1,1 St. Paul writes while introducing his letter: “Paul and Silvan and Timotheus to the Church of the Thessalonians which is in God the Father and in the Lord Jesus Christ: to you, grace and peace”. Peace (in Hebrew: shalòm) was the greeting that people exchanged in those days and that they invoked a state of safety or happiness under the protection of God.

2. So that in itself it would not have to do with the concept of peace expressed by St. Paul in the letter to the Ephesians when he says: “For He Himself is our peace, who has made both one, and has broken down the middle wall of enclosure, the enmities in his flesh” (Ef 2,14). Christ is our peace because he brought about a rapprochement with his cross between Jews and pagans, having offered his Blood for everyone.

3. The separation wall alludes to the closure that separated the courtyard of the Jews from that of the pagans inside the temple in Jerusalem.

4. Only by extension one could find a juxtaposition between the two concepts because between Jews who had become Christians and pagans who also became Christians, a union was implemented in the same faith and in the same belonging to the same people of God. Christ, who broke down the wall of separation, made them brothers, members of His own body, and they are now united and live in mutual peace.

5. Now I turn to the second question: the Gospel for early Christianity is concretely the person of Jesus raised from the dead. He is the Christ and that is the Messiah. This meaning is found explicitly in the Acts of the Apostles: “And every day, in the temple and at home, they did not cease to teach and to bring the good news that Jesus is the Christ” (At 5,42). Unfortunately, the new translation of the CEI omits the good news (gospel) to simply write announce. Even for St. Paul this is the happy announcement (the Gospel).

6. However, sometimes in St. Paul the Gospel also means the activity of the apostles as for example in Phil 1,5: “because of your cooperation for the Gospel” and always in Philippians: “I want you to know, brothers, how my events have turned rather for the progress of the Gospel” (Phil 1,12). So too: “And I beg you too, my faithful co-worker, to help them, because they fought for the Gospel together with me” (Phil 4,3). This is also the meaning of that other expression used by St. Paul at least three times: “according to my Gospel” (Rm 2,16) and that is, according to all my preaching.

7. Ultimately, however, the meaning is always the same, because spreading the Gospel and implanting the Church through preaching is the same thing as bringing Christ the giver of new life among men.

I wish you well, I remind you to the Lord and I bless you.

Padre Angelo

Translated by Rossella Silvestri

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