Cornelius a Lapide
Table of Contents
Synopsis of the Chapter
The Apostle, in order to incite the Thessalonians to constancy in the faith of Christ and in persecutions, shows them the sincerity, sanctity and zeal of his preaching by eight arguments, namely first, from its fruit.
Secondly, from his endurance of the persecutions which are related in Acts XVII and XVIII, v. 2.
Thirdly, from the sound and pure doctrine which he taught, v. 3.
Fourthly, from the holy intention with which, not seeking favours and wealth, nor the glory of men, but only of God, he preached, vv. 4 and following.
Fifthly, from the fact that he so tenderly nurtured them in the faith as a mother tenderly loves and nurtures her sons, and that he was willing to lay down his life for them, vv. 7 and 8.
Sixthly, that lest he should burden them, he provided his own livelihood by labouring night and day, v. 9.
Seventhly, that he lived among them in a holy and blameless manner, v. 10.
Eighthly, from the testimony of the Thessalonians, who received the Gospel of Paul as the word not of men but of God, and therefore suffered grievous things from the impious and envious Jews, vv. 13 and following.
Finally, that he may the more attract them to himself and to the faith of Christ, he repeatedly declares his maternal affection towards them, and therefore he calls them his hope, joy, crown and glory, v. 19. And so the Apostle in this chapter exhibits in himself the living image and idea of the true preacher and pastor of the Church, which our Pastors should ever set before their eyes, by imitating his eight gifts and virtues just enumerated.
Vulgate Text: 1 Thessalonians 2:1-20
1. For yourselves know, brethren, our entrance in unto you, that it was not in vain: 2. but having suffered many things before, and been shamefully treated (as you know) at Philippi, we had confidence in our God, to speak unto you the gospel of God in much carefulness. 3. For our exhortation was not of error, nor of uncleanness, nor in deceit: 4. but as we were approved by God that the gospel should be committed to us: even so we speak, not as pleasing men, but God, who proveth our hearts. 5. For neither have we used at any time the speech of flattery, as you know: nor taken an occasion of covetousness, God is witness: 6. nor sought we glory of men, neither of you, nor of others. 7. Whereas we might have been burdensome to you, as the apostles of Christ: but we became little ones in the midst of you, as if a nurse should cherish her children. 8. So desirous of you, we would gladly impart unto you not only the gospel of God, but also our own souls: because you were become most dear unto us. 9. For you remember, brethren, our labour and toil: working night and day, lest we should be chargeable to any of you, we preached among you the gospel of God. 10. You are witnesses, and God also, how holily, and justly, and without blame, we have been to you that have believed: 11. as you know in what manner, entreating and comforting you (as a father doth his children), 12. we testified to every one of you, that you would walk worthy of God, who hath called you unto His kingdom and glory. 13. Therefore, we also give thanks to God without ceasing: because, that when you had received of us the word of the hearing of God, you received it not as the word of men, but (as it is indeed) the word of God, who worketh in you, who have believed. 14. For you, brethren, are become followers of the churches of God which are in Judaea, in Christ Jesus: for you also have suffered the same things from your own countrymen, even as they have from the Jews: 15. who both killed the Lord Jesus, and the Prophets, and have persecuted us, and please not God, and are adversaries to all men: 16. prohibiting us to speak to the Gentiles, that they may be saved, to fill up their sins always: for the wrath of God is come upon them to the end. 17. But we, brethren, being taken away from you for a short time, in sight, not in heart, have hastened the more abundantly to see your face with much desire: 18. for we would have come unto you, I Paul indeed, once and again; but Satan hath hindered us. 19. For what is our hope, or joy, or crown of glory? Are not you, in the presence of our Lord Jesus Christ at His coming? 20. For you are our glory and joy.
Verse 1: You Know, Brethren, Our Entrance In unto You
1. You know, brethren, our entrance in unto you, that it was not in vain. — For "in vain," in Greek it is κενή, that is, empty, as if to say: My coming and preaching among you was not idle and evanescent, it lacked no trouble or persecution, or worthy matter, or sincerity, or sanctity, or fruit; and this he demonstrates throughout the rest of the chapter, as I said in the argument. For that he wishes to teach not only that it was not empty of fruit but also that it did not lack persecutions and the other things already mentioned, is clear from the adversative particle "but," which follows when he says:
Verse 2: But Having Suffered Before and Been Shamefully Treated at Philippi
2. But having suffered before (in Greek προπαθόντες, that is, afflicted with evils) and been shamefully treated at Philippi, we had confidence (nevertheless) (in Greek ἐπαρρησιασάμεθα, that is, we used liberty and boldness, we were bold and fearless) to speak unto you (to speak and preach to you) the Gospel of God in much carefulness. — In Greek ἐν πολλῷ ἀγῶνι, that is, in much agon, struggle, contest, and consequently "in much carefulness," as Our translator renders it, such as belongs to those who contend in a contest. Perhaps also Our translator reads ἀγωνία for ἀγῶνι. For agonia is extreme anxiety, such as belongs to those struggling with death: but the former is truer; for in Col. II, 4, our Interpreter likewise translates the Greek ἀγῶνα as "carefulness," just as here.
This therefore is the agon of preaching the Gospel, in which Paul and the Apostles had to contend with the devil, with Jews, Gentiles, Philosophers, tyrants, magistrates, hardships, persecutions, and every adversity. Whence he mentions this agon more often, that the followers of Paul, the heralds, may know that they have to contend in a serious and difficult agon. Thus I Cor. IX, 26: "I therefore so run, not as at an uncertainty: I so fight, not as one beating the air: but I chastise my body, and bring it into subjection: lest perhaps, when I have preached to others, I myself should become a castaway." He enumerates the contests and duels of this agon in II Cor. XI, 23: "In many labours, in prisons more frequently, in stripes above measure," and what follows. And II Cor. IV, 8: "In all things we suffer tribulation, but are not distressed, etc. Always bearing about in our body the dying of Jesus, that the life also of Jesus may be made manifest in our bodies." The crown of this agon he describes in II Tim. IV, 7: "I have fought the good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith: as to the rest, there is laid up for me a crown of justice, which the Lord, the just judge, will render to me in that day."
Verse 3: For Our Exhortation Was Not of Error, nor of Uncleanness, nor in Guile
3. For our exhortation was not of error. — In Greek ἐκ πλάνης, that is, from error, not so much of one deceived as of one deceiving, that is, from imposture, as if to say: I was not an impostor, I did not preach out of an eagerness to deceive you. This is clear from my dangers of life which I underwent in preaching among you: for impostors are not wont to throw themselves into dangers, but to chase after their gains and pleasures. But Our translator better renders it, "concerning error," as if to say: I did not preach false dogmas, as the Philosophers and the doctors and priests of the Gentiles do: for he takes ἐκ for περί, that is, "from" for "concerning": for the Hebrew מן signifies both. This is clear from the following.
Nor of uncleanness. — Where again in Greek it is ἐξ ἀκαθαρσίας, that is, from uncleanness; which though it can be taken properly, as if to say: I did not preach from a mind eager for uncleannesses and lusts, in order to entice my hearers to them; yet you may far better translate, "concerning uncleanness," as if to say: I did not teach unclean things — either magical incantations, as your magi do, says Theophylact; or rather works, namely that it is lawful to fornicate, to delight oneself, to be drunk, such as the Pagans and the Simonian heretics teach: but all my preaching was concerning truth, chastity, continence, virginity. This is a great argument that the Christian religion is true, holy, and proceeding from God, namely that it teaches such purity, that it urges celibacy, that it has educated so many thousands of virgins. Let Novelists see here whether their religion is true, which thus turns away from virginity, and teaches that the marriages — so impure and sacrilegious — of monks, priests and virgins consecrated to God are lawful and holy: when even the Gentile Romans themselves punished with death the marriages of their Vestal virgins, and buried them alive in the earth.
Nor in guile. — That is, with guile, as if to say: My preaching was not deceitful, not joined with hypocrisy, as though I were seeking myself and my own gain, and meanwhile cloaking my avarice with Christ and His Gospel; for this guile he interprets as hidden avarice in verse 5. Chrysostom takes it differently: "Not in guile," he says, that is, not in novelty or sedition such as Theudas instituted, that prince of rebels, Acts V, 36.
Verse 4: As We Have Been Approved by God
4. As we have been approved by God. — "Approved," that is, chosen: for God approved Paul, that is, chose him, and by choosing made him a worthy and approved Apostle and herald of the Gospel, Acts IX, 15: "He is a vessel of election to me, to carry My name before the Gentiles and kings and the children of Israel." Maldonatus in his manuscript Notes takes it differently: "Approved," he says, means not approved but examined, tested, "we are by God, who proves," that is, examines, "our hearts."
Not as pleasing men (that is, desiring and striving to please; for "pleasing" signifies an attempt and an action begun, according to Canon 32), but God, who proves (that is, weighs and examines) our hearts, — that is, the intention, desires, and depth of our heart.
Verse 5: Neither Were We Ever in Words of Flattery
5. Neither were we ever in words of flattery. — The Syriac: "we never used flattering speech," that is, we flattered no one. For thus the Greek γίνεσθαι, that is, "to be," as it corresponds to the Hebrew היה haia, the Apostle uses broadly and variously after the manner of the Hebrews, in chapter 1 verse 6, and here in verses 7, 10, and elsewhere.
If the Gentiles would not tolerate flattery among themselves, what Christian would tolerate it in a Christian, most of all in an Apostle? Pythagoras asserted that one should rather rejoice in those who reprove than in those who agree, judging the latter even worse than enemies. Diogenes used to say it was better to fall among κόρακας than κόλακας, that is, among ravens than parasites: for the latter corrupt the soul of the living, the former only the body of the dead. Antisthenes compared flatterers to harlots: for just as these wish their lovers all good things except mind and prudence, so flatterers wish the same for those with whom they consort. Crates said that those who lived among flatterers were as forsaken as calves among wolves. Bion, being asked "what animal was most harmful of all? If you ask of wild beasts, a tyrant; if of tame, a flatterer"; as Laertius witnesses, book 1, ch. 6. Diogenes again called fawning speech composed for favour a honeyed snare, which softly embracing a man strangles him. The same called the philosopher Aristippus a royal dog, because he flattered Dionysius the tyrant of Sicily; for the dog is the animal most ready for fawning. The philosopher Themistius, when he saw the court of the Emperor Jovian filled with flatterers, said he perceived from their manners that they worshipped the purple more than God: as Nicephorus witnesses, book X, ch. XLII. Plato, having met Diogenes washing herbs, said to him in the ear: "If you had been compliant with Dionysius, surely you would not be washing herbs"; Diogenes in turn said to Plato in the ear: "If you washed herbs, you would not have served Dionysius." Phocion, when his friend Antipater asked something unjust: "You cannot, Antipater," he said, "have Phocion at once as friend and as flatterer." For a friend does not comply with everything, but a flatterer assents in all things. The Emperor Constantine was such an enemy of eunuchs and flatterers that he called them moths and shrews of the palace: as Nicephorus witnesses, book VIII, ch. LIV. The Emperor Sigismund gave a flatterer a slap, and when he said: "Why do you strike me, Emperor?" he answered: "Why do you bite me, flatterer?" as Aeneas Sylvius witnesses, book II On the Deeds of Alfonso. Finally Alfonso, king of Aragon, said the flatterers of his court were like birds flying around a galley, watching that if any morsel fell from the galley they might snatch it and at once fly off. Panormius reports this, book I On the Deeds of Alfonso.
Nor in an occasion of avarice, — that is, I did not seize an occasion for avarice, or for greedily gathering wealth and enriching myself, I did not hunt for it from the Gospel. So the Syriac, Vatablus, Anselm.
Secondly, the Greek προφάσει can be rendered "under pretext," as if to say: I did not use the Gospel as a pretext for my avarice, as though I did not seek it for its own sake, but secretly directed it to my avarice, that I might satisfy it from the Gospel and enrich myself. So Vatablus.
God is witness. — Behold, the Apostle swears, and calls God as witness. Let the Anabaptists learn here that an oath is in itself good, and is an act of the virtue called religion, by which we honour God, as by offering Him sacrifices, so also by swearing through Him and confirming what we say; for by this very thing we testify and profess that God is the first, highest, and infallible truth, which is the great honour and praise of God; and therefore it is lawful to swear not only in the Old, but also in the New Testament, as the Apostle swears here.
Secondly note, with what grave attestation he removes from himself the suspicion of flattery and avarice: for nothing is so necessary to a herald of truth as sincerity and the reputation and fame of right intention, that his hearers may persuade themselves that not their own goods, but they themselves and their salvation are sought by him.
Verse 7: Though We Could Have Been a Burden to You as Apostles of Christ
7. Though we could have been a burden to you as Apostles of Christ: but we were made little ones. — Instead of "but," it would be more Latin and clearer to say "nevertheless"; or, omitting the little word "though," the word "but" could be retained, as if to say: I could have been a burden to you, but I preferred to be a little one.
Note: Instead of "to be a burden," the Greek is ἐν βάρει εἶναι, which first can be rendered "to be in weight and authority," and this corresponds better to what preceded: "Not seeking glory from men." Hence Ambrose reads not "to be a burden," but "to be in honour"; for to this he immediately opposes, adding: "But we were made little ones."
Secondly, it can be rendered, "to be heavy in receiving expense and food from the Thessalonians": for that the Apostle is speaking of the burden of maintenance is clear from verse 9, and from the fact that he is striving to remove from himself in this verse both the avarice mentioned before and pride. Both meanings fit our being a burden, namely to demand both honour (Chrysostom and the Syriac) and expense (Theophylact) heavily and by authority; for both, by natural and divine right, catechumens and disciples ought to render to their teachers, the Apostles and preachers, by whom they are taught and instructed. For the Hebrew כבד kabad means both "to burden" and "to honour." Hence that text of the Decalogue, Exodus XX: "Honour father and mother" (where for "honour" the Hebrew has כבד cabbed), can be rendered "Burden father and mother" — namely with due honour and maintenance and gifts: for honour is a kind of burden which those who honour must render to those they honour.
But we were made little ones. — In Greek there is a double reading, and Theophylact touches on both. Some manuscripts read νήπιοι, that is "little ones"; some ἤπιοι, that is "gentle, kind": but both readings come to the same thing; as if to say: I was not a severe teacher and exactor of either the honour or the expense owed me by you for my preaching, but I became among you as a little one, kind, gentle, indeed as a nurse or mother who babbles and plays with her infant, and feeds and cherishes him: for thus I too, like a most gentle and loving nurse, babbling about the divinity and humanity of Christ, and as it were pouring out and promising you the gentle rewards of heaven as milk, in some manner played with you and spent myself and all that is mine on you, so much that I desired to hand over to you with the Gospel my very soul, as follows. So Chrysostom, Anselm, Theophylact.
Note first: An Apostle, Bishop, Teacher is most fittingly adorned by kindness, affability, and sweetness of manners. For it is the part of an Apostle to weigh no one down with his pride and arrogance, but to soothe and bind all to himself by gentleness: for thus he will bend whomever he wishes, and lead a life with his people both most useful and most sweet. See Chrysostom here discussing the sweetness of friendship, hom. 2, near the end. Indeed even the Gentiles taught the same. Antalcidas, says Plutarch in the Laconic Apophthegms, being asked how one might most please men, said: "If he speaks to them most pleasantly and renders most useful service." Those are to be blamed who, though faithful in deed, nevertheless spoil the office of speech by harshness; worse than these are those kindly in speech but wearisome in deed; worst of all are those who are both troublesome in words and harmful in deeds.
Verse 8: So Desiring You, We Would Gladly Impart unto You Our Own Souls
8. So desiring you. — In Greek ἱμειρόμενοι, that is, desiring you with affection; or, as Vatablus, affectionately inclined toward you. Theophylact reads ὁμειρόμενοι, that is, bound or fastened-glued to you: for ὁμειρόμενοι is compounded from ὁμοῦ, which is "together," and εἴρω, that is, "I weave together, connect."
We earnestly desired to hand over to you not only the Gospel of God, but also our own souls, — that is, to pour out my soul, that is, my life, for you through martyrdom. But because he says "to hand over to you," not "for you," and because he immediately says he is here imitating the love of a nurse, we shall take it more plainly and effectively thus, as if to say: So I love and am dying for you as my offspring, as a mother and nurse, that I would desire to hand over to you not only my milk and breasts, but even my soul, if I could: for the highest love wholly transfers itself into the beloved, and this is the highest friendship, by which a friend wholly communicates himself to his friend. Hence Christ, to show us the highest love, communicated to us in the Eucharist His own soul and Himself wholly, and daily communicates: but neither Paul nor any other man can do this in deed, but only by wish and desire. So holy Job says he was so beloved and dear to his household that they desired to feed and feast on his flesh. "If the men of my tabernacle have not said," he says in chapter XXXI, 31, "Who shall give us of his flesh that we may be filled?" — which phrase and hyperbole signifies only the immense love and desire toward Job in them; for they would not have actually and effectively wished to feed on his flesh.
Verse 9: Working Night and Day
9. Working night and day. — The Greek adds γάρ, "for working night and day," and thus the sense is clearer: for here is a new sentence.
Verse 10: How Holily, and Justly, and Without Blame
10. How holily. — In Greek ὡς ὁσίως, that is, how holily, piously, with fear, with how great religion, reverence, and worship of God; as if to say: Always mindful that I am conducting God's business in His sight.
Justly, — so that I have done injury to no one, but rendered to each what is his own.
And blamelessly, — ἀμέμπτως, that is, without blame, so that no one could complain of me.
To you who believed, we were — that is, we lived among you, conducted ourselves with you: for he uses the Greek γίνεσθαι broadly and variously, after the manner of the Hebrew היה haia, as I said in verse 5.
Verse 11: Each One of You, as a Father Doth His Children
11. Each one of you (refer this to "beseeching and consoling") we testified, — that is, we entreated and asked, as "a father is wont" to ask and entreat his dearest sons, that they live worthily of their forefathers. St. Chrysostom notes the "each one of you," and exclaims in astonishment: "Wonderful! in so great a multitude he omits no one; not small, not great; not rich, not poor." Let parish priests and rectors of souls imitate Paul, that they visit, teach, exhort, console individuals when need arises. For thus the shepherd inspects, feeds, and guides each sheep individually.
Verse 12: That You Should Walk Worthy of God, Who Hath Called You unto His Kingdom
12. We testified (that is, we entreated: so Theophylact) that you should walk worthily of God, who called you into His kingdom and glory. — He adds to them a great spur to patience in persecutions and to every virtue, saying: "Worthily of God, who has called you into His kingdom." For if God calls us to a kingdom, and that a heavenly kingdom, divine and eternal, who would not bear for the sake of this kingdom the loss of goods, exiles, blows, and finally death itself? So Chrysostom and Theophylact. He who well weighs and estimates what God is, what man is, what man's obligation toward God is, how pure and holy God is, and how purely and holily He wishes to be worshipped by us Christians, will know what it is to walk worthily of God.
Secondly, he adds another spur, subjoining:
Verse 13: When You Received from Us the Word of the Hearing of God
13. When you received from us the word of the hearing of God. — "Hearing," namely yours, by which you heard from me the words of God; or rather, "the word of the hearing of God" is the word heard from God, that is, what I and the Apostles heard and received from God. Thus Isaiah, ch. LIII, 1, says: "Lord, who has believed our hearing?" that is, our discourse, which we heard from You, Lord.
You received it, not as the word of men, but (as it is indeed) the word of God. — Hence it is clear that the formal object of faith is the revelation not of man or angel, but of God; or, that something is said, heard, and revealed by God, so that if you ask a believer: Why do you believe God is three in persons and one in substance? he, if he answers precisely and formally, will say: I believe this, not because the Church teaches it, not because the Apostles taught it, not because the Fathers taught it; but because God has said and revealed this of Himself. For just as the word of an ambassador has credence with those to whom the ambassador is sent, not because it is the ambassador's word, but because it is the word of the king who sent the ambassador to deliver this word, so that not so much the ambassador as the king speaks through the ambassador: so the word of Paul and the Apostles has credence, not because it is Paul's, but because it is God's word, who sent Paul and speaks through Paul. And from this arises the certitude of faith, which makes us so certain of the articles we believe by faith, that we would rather deny everything that sense dictates to us, that science demonstrates to us, that all men and angels say, than deny what faith dictates: for faith rests on God revealing, who is the first and infallible truth, to which every other truth must yield.
Who (God) works in you, who have believed. — In Greek τοῖς πιστεύουσιν, "who believe." "Works," supply "faith," that you may believe, and continue to believe my words, and strive to carry them out. So Anselm.
Verse 14: Of the Churches of God Which Are in Judaea in Christ Jesus
14. Of the churches of God which are in Judaea in Christ Jesus, — that is, those persevering in the faith and religion of Christ Jesus, according to Canon 37.
Because you also have suffered the same things from your own countrymen, as they did from the Jews. — The Greek συμφυλετῶν signifies more those of the same nation than of the same tribe: for he means Jews, as is clear from the following verse — natives of Thessalonica, who, just as they stirred up persecution against Paul, Acts XVII, 1, 5, so then derived the same against the Christians converted by Paul, so that they were fined of their goods and proscribed: for this the Christians in Judaea suffered from the Jews, as is clear from Hebr. X, 24: "You accepted with joy the plundering of your goods."
Verse 15: Who Both Killed the Lord Jesus and Please Not God
15. Who (namely the Jews) both killed the Lord Jesus, and please not God (that is, are most displeasing, by μείωσις), and are contrary to all men (that is, to the salvation of all men) — namely because they most stubbornly resist Christ the Saviour, His Gospel, and us His heralds, and most fiercely persecute them — prohibiting us to speak to the Gentiles that they may be saved, — as follows. So Chrysostom, Theodoret, Anselm.
Verse 16: To Fill Up Their Sins Always
16. To fill up their sins always. — Note, the "that" here signifies not the end but the consequence, as often elsewhere; as if to say: These Jews continually heap sins upon sins, both of their fathers and their own, especially those by which they killed Christ, by a kind of hereditary wickedness, until they fill up the measure which God has appointed, so that when it is filled, He may at once and fully punish all their sins by the overthrow of the whole nation by Titus and the Romans.
Note secondly: By this phrase, "to fill up their sins," is always signified hereditary impiety, as though their whole nature were corrupted and depraved.
Thirdly, hence it is clear that God has set a fixed heap of sins for cities, kingdoms, and by parallel for impious private persons, to which He defers punishment or vengeance until it is filled up, so that when filled, He may avenge and chastise all together and perfectly. The same is clear from Genesis XV, 16, where God deferred giving Abraham the promised land of Canaan for four hundred years: "For not yet," He says, "are the iniquities of the Amorites complete up to the present time," as if to say: After four hundred years the iniquities of the Amorites will be filled up, and then I will cut them off, and bring you, that is, your Hebrew descendants, into their land. So Matt. XXIII, 32 and 35: "And you, fill up the measure of your fathers," so that, as they killed the Prophets, so you may kill Me and the Apostles, "that there may come upon you all the just blood that has been shed upon the earth, from the blood of just Abel to the blood of Zachariah son of Barachiah, whom you killed between the temple and the altar." Where note, fathers with sons are reckoned one in civil estimation. Hence the merits or demerits of parents redound upon the sons, yet so that the sons imitating the sins of parents are not punished more grievously than their own sins deserve: nevertheless the sons are said to atone for the parents' sins, because they imitate the wicked parents, and so increase and fill up the heap of sins appointed by God for vengeance, that His wrath may then rage upon them; which would not have raged, except that the parents' sins had preceded toward this heap and to the making up of this measure.
Has come upon. — Here is a double reading: some read "forestalled"; others, and better, "has come upon." So the Roman edition, the Syriac, Vatablus, and others.
Wrath (that is, vengeance: in Greek ἡ ὀργή, as if to say, says Theophylact: That signal and inevitable wrath and vengeance which Christ predicted and threatened to them) unto the end, — that is, to the utmost (for this is the Hebrew לנצח lanetsach, to which Paul alludes), as if to say: The utmost, perpetual, and implacable wrath of God has come upon the Jews, namely because they are destined by God and already near to present destruction through Titus (for in the twentieth year after this epistle was written, Titus overthrew Judaea), and to the eternal fires of hell through Christ. So Anselm, St. Thomas, and others. Where note: This wrath and vengeance of God upon the Jews is twofold: the first of fault, namely their blinding in sins, their hardening, reprobation; the second of punishment, namely the present destruction, and the eternal one, as I said, the burning of hell.
Secondly, the Greek ἔφθασε can be rendered "occupied," "forestalled," as Ambrose reads it, and thus our translator and others render it in chapter IV, verse 15; as if to say: God's decree to avenge the sins of the Jews has already occupied them, and its execution will shortly forestall them unawares, expecting no such thing, so that when the Jews flow together from the whole world to Jerusalem at Passover time, then suddenly they will be shut in there by Titus, besieged, and utterly destroyed, as Josephus narrates happened. For the Greek ἔφθασε signifies something sudden and unexpected, which forestalls and outruns a man's fear, hope, and thought.
Verse 17: But We, Brethren, Being Taken Away from You for a Short Time
17. But we, brethren, being desolate from you. — In Greek ἀπορφανισθέντες ἀφ' ὑμῶν, that is, separated from you, and as it were fathers or mothers bereaved of their children and made orphans. So Theodoret.
For the space of an hour, — that is, brief, momentary. Thus Horace: "In the moment of an hour swift death comes, or joyful victory."
Paul here complains that through the persecution of the Jews he was so quickly torn away from the Thessalonians, and as it were bereaved of offspring not yet sufficiently grown and adult, Acts XVII, 10.
Verse 18: But Satan Hindered Us
18. But Satan hindered us. — St. Basil in his Shorter Rules, question 275, asks: What good works of Paul and the Saints can Satan hinder, and how? And he answers: "Rightly, things done which lie in the will of the mind alone, these Satan can in no way hinder. But those things for the achieving of which the work of the body is also necessary, in these God for the most part permits impediments to arise, either to test or to expose him who is hindered: that either, if he gives up his right purpose, being convicted, he may be exposed for what he is, like those who were sown upon the rock, who for a little while received the word of faith with joy, but when tribulation arose, immediately fell away; or, if he perseveres in the right, his zeal may more clearly appear in things rightly done, like the Apostle himself, who, though he had often resolved to go to Rome and was prevented, as he himself confessed, nevertheless did not cease to remain in that resolve until he also achieved what he had determined."
Verse 19: For What Is Our Hope, or Joy, or Crown of Glory?
19. For what is our hope, or joy, or crown of glory? Is it not you before our Lord (that is, in the sight of the Lord, before the Lord) Jesus Christ at His coming? — as if to say: You are my hope, my joy, and my crown — not formally, but objectively or materially, because you are the matter and object of my hope, joy, and crown: for I hope and rejoice that at Christ's coming for judgment I shall receive from Him the crown of glory for the labour I have spent in converting you to Christ.
Note first: When Paul says "crown of glory," he looks to the Hebrew תפארה tipheret, that is, ornament, adornment, splendour, glory, magnificence. Our translator renders it sometimes as "dignity," sometimes "boasting," sometimes "beauty," but more frequently "glory," as in Psalm LXXXVIII, 18: "You are the glory (Hebrew tipheret) of their strength," that is, You are their strength and ornament, Lord. And Isaiah LXII, 3: "You shall be a crown (Hebrew tipheret) of glory in the hand of the Lord." So Paul here calls the Thessalonians his tipheret, that is, his ornament, crown, and glory.
Note second, against the Innovators: If Paul here without any injury to God or Christ calls the Thessalonians his hope, his joy, indeed his crown of glory, why can we not call and invoke the Blessed Virgin, who is the mother of God and queen of heaven, our hope, mother of mercy, our life and sweetness? What is here injurious to Christ? Indeed what is not honourable to Christ? Is not the glory of the mother the glory of the Son? Does not the mother by interceding for us with the Son, through the Son, bestow on us consolation, mercy, life, and salvation? I can call an advocate at court the hope of obtaining the case or pardon: why can I not so call the mother of God, who is my advocate in the heavenly court, and can obtain for me pardon and grace? Piously and truly says St. Bernard, Sermon on the Nativity of Blessed Mary: "The mother shall be heard for her reverence; the Son will surely hear the Mother, and the Father will hear the Son. Little children, this is the ladder of sinners, this is my greatest confidence, this is the whole reason of my hope."
Theophylact, drawing from Chrysostom, exclaims here: Are these not the words of mothers, all aflame in the bowels of mercy and charity, addressing their little children? It was not enough to say "crown," to indicate the fervour of his love; but he added "of glory," or "of glorying": for this is the Greek καυχήσεως.
Where note, "crown" here can be taken in two ways: first, for the very reward of blessedness, of which the Apostle gloried; second, for the very Thessalonians converted by Paul, who on the day of judgment will surround as a crown, of which he will glory before God, angels, and men. Concerning this crown St. Gregory beautifully speaks, hom. 17 on the Gospels: "Let us consider what gain we have made for God, we who, having received the talent, have been sent by Him for business. And He says: Trade until I come. What gain of souls from our trading shall we show Him? How many sheaves of souls from the harvest of our preaching shall we bring before His sight? Let us set before our eyes that day of such great strictness, when the Judge will come and reckon with His servants to whom He entrusted talents." Then describing the crown of the faithful encircling each of the Apostles, he adds: "Behold, He will be seen in terrible majesty, among choirs of Angels and Archangels. There Peter will appear with converted Judaea, which he drew after him. There Paul, leading, so to say, a converted world. There Andrew with Achaia behind him; there John with Asia; Thomas will lead India converted into the sight of his Judge and King. There all the rams of the Lord's flock will appear with the gain of souls, drawing after them by their holy preachings the flock subjected to God. When therefore so many shepherds with their flocks have come before the eyes of the eternal Shepherd, what shall we wretched men say, who return empty to our Lord after our business, who held the name of shepherd, and have no sheep to show forth from our nurture?" Concerning this crown I have said more on Philippians, ch. IV.
Verse 20: For You Are Our Glory and Joy
20. For you are our glory and joy. — A similar saying of Christ from the Gospel according to the Hebrews is cited by St. Jerome on Ephesians ch. V, namely this: "Be never glad, except when you see your brother in charity." Truly St. Chrysostom: "Never could a mother or father, even if they conspired into one and mingled their love from both sides, show such a love as would equally match Paul's: Joy, he says, and crown. I rejoice more, he says, in you than in the crown."