A long time ago I did a children’s sermon on the word “hope” and used it as an acronym to explain what it means to have hope. Hope is wanting something to get better. So we can have HOPE when we remember that there are always (H)elpers who will come alongside of us when we are in trouble. And if we remain (O)pen to seeing what God is doing all around us, it can help us to realize that God is working for good in our situation. Of course, HOPE comes to us when we (P)ray, and we should always (E)xpect that God is listening to us and will answer in his time, because his Word promises exactly that. That’s hope!
I want you to think of places in your life where you are lacking hope. Perhaps your job situation or your business is crumbling around you. Maybe your marriage or a relationship is in trouble. A challenging child or your teenager might be a dark place for you today, or maybe a betrayal or argument has kept you up at night.
Whatever is going on in your life that has left you feeling hopeless, this scripture is for you:
Zechariah 9 (New Revised Standard Version)
Rejoice greatly, O daughter Zion! Shout aloud, O daughter Jerusalem! Lo, your king comes to you; triumphant and victorious is he, humble and riding on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey.
Does that sound like Jesus? Zechariah was an Old Testament prophet, proclaiming the coming of the long-awaited Messiah. With New Testament hindsight, we can see Jesus entering Jerusalem on Palm Sunday in this passage.
10 He will cut off the chariot from Ephraim and the war-horse from Jerusalem; and the battle bow shall be cut off, and he shall command peace to the nations; his dominion shall be from sea to sea, and from the River to the ends of the earth.
As Christian readers, we see a prefiguring of Christ’s Second Coming in this verse. We all long for the day when Christ’s dominion will rule the earth and his peace will be known in every nation. Come, Lord Jesus, come!
11 As for you also, because of the blood of my covenant with you, I will set your prisoners free from the waterless pit. 12 Return to your stronghold, O prisoners of hope; today I declare that I will restore to you double.
Here’s where it gets personal. You have a blood-covenant relationship with Christ if you are part of his flock. He is active right now in setting you free from the waterless pit of your despair. So return to your stronghold by looking for helpers, opening your heart to God’s activity, praying without ceasing, and expecting God to restore you. Hope is your stronghold. Cling to that.
In times of great distress, God calls us to be prisoners of hope. May we never let go of that chain.
“Hope is a thing with feathers…” by Michelle Robertson (quote by Emily Dickinson)
Today’s passage from the book of Acts is a whirlwind of circumstances that only the apostles could have experienced. It is hard for us to imagine the fervor and absolute dedication these men had for proclaiming the gospel. They did so at great expense, even at the expense of their lives, yet it is obvious when we read these accounts that they counted all that cost as gain for the kingdom. The times they lived in were turbulent and dangerous, but they were never perturbed or dissuaded from their cause.
In this story, we have an unexpected visitation of an angel from the Lord, who arrived at just the right moment to open prison doors so that they may continue delivering their message:
Acts 5:17-42(Common English Bible)
The Jerusalem Council harasses the apostles
17 The high priest, together with his allies, the Sadducees, was overcome with jealousy. 18 They seized the apostles and made a public show of putting them in prison. 19 An angel from the Lord opened the prison doors during the night and led them out. The angel told them, 20 “Go, take your place in the temple, and tell the people everything about this new life.” 21 Early in the morning, they went into the temple as they had been told and began to teach.
Wow! If you are like me, you didn’t see that coming. It is such a beautiful reminder of the presence of angels. Surely God can and will use everything in his power to release us from the bondage of life circumstances that keep us trapped in sin, despair, regret, and misery. Do you believe in angels?
When the high priest and his colleagues gathered, they convened the Jerusalem Council, that is, the full assembly of Israel’s elders. They sent word to the prison to have the apostles brought before them. 22 However, the guards didn’t find them in the prison. They returned and reported,23 “We found the prison locked and well-secured, with guards standing at the doors, but when we opened the doors we found no one inside!” 24 When they received this news, the captain of the temple guard and the chief priests were baffled and wondered what might be happening. 25 Just then, someone arrived and announced, “Look! The people you put in prison are standing in the temple and teaching the people!” 26 Then the captain left with his guards and brought the apostles back. They didn’t use force because they were afraid the people would stone them.
27 The apostles were brought before the council where the high priest confronted them: 28 “In no uncertain terms, we demanded that you not teach in this name. And look at you! You have filled Jerusalem with your teaching. And you are determined to hold us responsible for this man’s death.”
It is interesting to note that the council didn’t use force on the apostles, because they were afraid the people would stone them if they did. The high priest commanded the men to stop teaching in Jesus’ name. Truth be told, he should have been afraid of apostles, not the people. After all, they had an angel of the Lord on their side as they spoke God’s powerful truth.
29 Peter and the apostles replied, “We must obey God rather than humans!30 The God of our ancestors raised Jesus from the dead—whom you killed by hanging him on a tree. 31 God has exalted Jesus to his right side as leader and savior so that he could enable Israel to change its heart and life and to find forgiveness for sins. 32 We are witnesses of such things, as is the Holy Spirit, whom God has given to those who obey him.”
Peter spoke an uncompromising truth. We must obey God rather than humans. It is so easy to get into the trap of going along with the crowd, keeping quiet so as to not ruffle feathers, hiding our witness for fear of ridicule or rejection, and spending our lives just trying to blend in. But that is not what the apostles did. They spoke boldly and without hesitation.
33 When the council members heard this, they became furious and wanted to kill the apostles. 34 One council member, a Pharisee and teacher of the Law named Gamaliel, well-respected by all the people, stood up and ordered that the men be taken outside for a few moments. 35 He said, “Fellow Israelites, consider carefully what you intend to do to these people. 36 Some time ago, Theudas appeared, claiming to be somebody, and some four hundred men joined him. After he was killed, all of his followers scattered, and nothing came of that. 37 Afterward, at the time of the census, Judas the Galilean appeared and got some people to follow him in a revolt. He was killed too, and all his followers scattered far and wide. 38 Here’s my recommendation in this case: Distance yourselves from these men. Let them go! If their plan or activity is of human origin, it will end in ruin. 39 If it originates with God, you won’t be able to stop them. Instead, you would actually find yourselves fighting God!”
Gamaliel was logical and correct. His argument was simple and persuasive. If the activity of the apostles was human, it would end in ruin. This convinced the council to let the apostles go. His conclusion was also brilliant. He was right in saying that if their teaching actually did originate with God, the council won’t be able to stop them anyway. Nothing can stop God.
The council was convinced by his reasoning. 40 After calling the apostles back, they had them beaten. They ordered them not to speak in the name of Jesus, then let them go. 41 The apostles left the council rejoicing because they had been regarded as worthy to suffer disgrace for the sake of the name. 42 Every day they continued to teach and proclaim the good news that Jesus is the Christ, both in the temple and in houses.
And so they continued to teach.
How dedicated to Christ and his mission are you? Are you willing to suffer persecution, rejection, or ridicule? Are you just going along with the crowd so that you can fit in? Do you worry about losing friends or relatives if you share your faith with them?
May we take courage from the apostles’ example and be willing to suffer disgrace for the sake of the name of Jesus. In the end, that is what will matter.
A few weeks ago I met a young girl named Emily who did NOT want to ride TRON, the new high-speed rollercoaster at Walt Disney World. She and her parents were waiting in line behind my husband and me, and she was crying the entire time. In those situations, you cannot help but overhear the conversations around you, and my mama-heart went out to her. Her parents were doing an excellent job of both encouraging her to be brave and allowing her to decide whether or not to ride. The ride offers cleverly placed exits just before you board your lightcycle in case you have a change of heart. They also have a way for one adult to ride alone while the other waits with the child, and then swap without having to go through the line again. All the options were available to Emily.
I took advantage of an opportune moment in the line to turn around and address her. I asked her if it was her first time to ride, knowing it was. I asked her if she was scared, and she nodded through her tears. I then told her that it was my second time, but the first time I was scared, too, because doing something for the first time is always a little scary. I went on to describe the ride, talk about the cool lockers where you stash your things before you board, and how much I was looking forward to riding it again. I told her I was very proud of how brave she was being, but also very proud of how she was able to tell her parents about her feelings, because that takes courage, too. Finally I said that she should be proud of herself whether she decides to ride or not, because she was willing to try something new, even if this she decided that this wasn’t the right time.
As I was bending over to speak to her, her mother reached around her shoulder to squeeze mine in one of those, “thank you, mama” moments. We exchanged looks and nodded to each other.
David understood fear and felt it deeply when his attackers were close on his heels. Psalm 56 was written about the time when the Philistines captured David in Gath, as recorded in 1 Samuel 21. It deals with the period between the visit to the tabernacle at Nob and his arrival at Adullam when David was alone, desperate, and afraid.
Fortunately, David knew what to do with his fear.
Psalm 56 (Common English Bible)
3 whenever I’m afraid, I put my trust in you— 4 in God, whose word I praise. I trust in God; I won’t be afraid. What can mere flesh do to me?
5 All day long they frustrate my pursuits; all their thoughts are evil against me. 6 They get together and set an ambush— they are watching my steps, hoping for my death. 7 Don’t rescue them for any reason! In wrath bring down the people, God!
8 You yourself have kept track of my misery. Put my tears into your bottle— aren’t they on your scroll already?
Here was David, the slayer of lions, bears, and giants, and he was afraid. But he knew to acknowledge his fear and deal with it by trusting God. When he boldly proclaimed his faith, his fear moved aside, and his faith took over. He put his faith in God’s word, which he knew to be trustworthy. Fear was there, but it did not rule him … trust did. Even when we are scared, trust gives us enough momentum to take the next step toward faith.
What are you afraid of today? What has you immobilized in fear? God is able to come along side of your fear and help you move forward into faith.
When we got off the ride, I looked through the crowd to see if I could spot Emily. We had gotten separated before we rode, so I did not know if she got on or not. Sure enough, there she was with her parents, standing by the exit. I asked her if she rode, and she beamed with pride and said she had! We high-fived several times and she couldn’t stop talking about it and wanted to know if I had been on Guardians of the Galaxy, which they would ride the next day. I assured her that once she had conquered TRON, she could ride anything. We chatted some more and high fived several more times, and her parents glowed with their pride for her. I was proud of her, too.
The next time God calls you to do something new and scary, remember Emily. It’s okay to be afraid. God is with you.
Sometimes, lamenting comes via text. My daughter sent me a text this week to report that a leaky toilet in her house was being repaired by the plumber for a cost of a $10 flange plus labor. This was good news right up until he were almost finished and suddenly they could hear sounds of water spraying. The plumber’s helper ran down the stairs to turn the water off outside, but not before water started coming through the lights in her kitchen. The next text reported that a restoration company was on the way.
I sure hope that plumber has good insurance, or he will be doing some lamenting of his own.
In Hebrew, the word lament means “to wail.” It is an expression of sorrow, pain, and confusion. We are invited to take our regret, grief, and sadness to God whenever we become overwhelmed by our situation.
In the book of Lamentations, the Old Testament prophet Jeremiah did exactly that. This book expresses the humiliation, sorrow, and regret of the citizens of Jerusalem following the devastation of the city by the Babylonians in 587 BC. Lamentations was probably written for public rituals when the people gathered to remember the destruction of the city of Jerusalem and the Temple. As you read today’s passage, you will certainly hear the weeping and wailing of a defeated nation and a depressed prophet:
Lamentations 1 (Common English Bible)
7 While suffering and homeless, Jerusalem remembers all her treasures from days long past. When her people fell by the enemy’s hand, there was no one to help her. Enemies saw her, laughed at her defeat.
8 Jerusalem has sinned greatly; therefore, she’s become a joke. All who honored her now detest her, for they’ve seen her naked. Even she groans and turns away.
9 Her uncleanness shows on her clothing; she didn’t consider what would happen to her. She’s gone down shockingly; she has no comforter. “Lord, look at my suffering—the enemy has definitely triumphed!”
This is painful to read. The humiliation and deep embarrassment is obvious. Note how Jeremiah personified the city as a fallen woman. It is intended to make us wince.
10 The enemy grabbed all her treasures. She watched nations enter her sanctuary— nations that you, God, commanded: They must not enter your assembly.
11 All her people are groaning, seeking bread. They give up their most precious things for food to survive. “Lord, look and take notice: I am most certainly despised.”
If you have ever lamented a situation or regretted a decision you made, you can relate to the depth of despair that Jeremiah felt for his beloved city. Worst of all, it could have been prevented if they had just heeded all the warnings he and the other prophets gave the people. How devastating it must have felt to watch them ignore the word of God and then have everything removed from them.
12 Is this nothing to all you who pass by? Look around: Is there any suffering like the suffering inflicted on me, the grief that the Lord caused on the day of his fierce anger?
13 From above he sent fire into my bones; he trampled them. He spread a net for my feet; he forced me backward. He left me devastated, constantly sick.
14 My steps are being watched; by his hand they are tripped up. His yoke is on my neck; he makes my strength fail. My Lord has handed me over to people I can’t resist.
Are you lamenting something? Do you feel the sharp sting of an injustice, or a bad decision gone wrong? It is alright to wail. It is normal to weep. When sorrow and anguish are deep, it helps to articulate them and release the overwhelming sadness from your heart.
That is when it is a good time to find a brother or sister in Christ and just vent. That is when it is a good time to pick up a pen and a piece of paper and journal your thoughts. That is when it is a good time to pray.
So if you are lamenting something today, know that you are in good company. And remember that in the end, God heard the lamentations of the people and restored Jerusalem.
I spoke with a church member this week who told me that her father has just been given a terminal diagnosis. Her mother is suffering with Alzheimer’s, so as she grappled with the painful news of her father’s illness, she was also trying to deal with what will happen to her mother when he dies. The responsibility of caring for the remaining parent is a difficult thing to negotiate. If this has happened to you, you know the awful challenge of deciding what to do when the first parent, who has been faithfully caring for the second parent, is no longer here.
While his death is not imminent, she wanted to think through options so that she will be ready. I have been with families when a sudden death occurred and completely knocked them sideways, and I’ve been with others who knew they were in the final months and days of life. Neither one is easy. But the chance that some people get to prepare for death is a blessing when it happens. It always helps to be ready for major life changes.
In this final chapter of 1 Thessalonians, Paul addressed the Second Coming head on. He didn’t dance around the subject but laid out an expectation that the people would be ready. Reminding them that they were “children of the day,” he encouraged them to be sober, alert, and ready to roll:
1 Thessalonians 5 (Common English Bible)
5 We don’t need to write to you about the timing and dates, brothers and sisters. 2 You know very well that the day of the Lord is going to come like a thief in the night. 3 When they are saying, “There is peace and security,” at that time sudden destruction will attack them, like labor pains start with a pregnant woman, and they definitely won’t escape. 4 But you aren’t in darkness, brothers and sisters, so the day won’t catch you by surprise like a thief. 5 All of you are children of light and children of the day. We don’t belong to night or darkness.
6 So then, let’s not sleep like the others, but let’s stay awake and stay sober. 7 People who sleep sleep at night, and people who get drunk get drunk at night. 8 Since we belong to the day, let’s stay sober, wearing faithfulness and love as a piece of armor that protects our body and the hope of salvation as a helmet. 9 God didn’t intend for us to suffer his wrath but rather to possess salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ. 10 Jesus died for us so that, whether we are awake or asleep, we will live together with him. 11 So continue encouraging each other and building each other up, just like you are doing already.
People who belong to the day stay awake and sober, wearing faithfulness and love as a piece of armor. What a beautiful image! When we sit at the bedside of a loved one who is dying, armor is useful. When we are given terminal diagnosis, lose our jobs, send our kids off to college, welcome a new baby, etc., it helps to be ready. Those moments of great change can assault you with the arrows of anticipation, fear, and feeling overwhelmed. Armor would help! Help us, Lord, to be ready.
Paul went on to say that we can also wear our hope of salvation as a helmet. This is reminiscent of Ephesians 6:10, where Paul detailed putting on the full armor of God in order to combat the Evil One. It is a good analogy. As we wait for the Second Coming, we need to be ready to do battle for our souls and protect ourselves with faithfulness, love, and especially hope.
But I love what he said in verses 10 and 11. Jesus died so that we will live together with him, so our job now is to continue encouraging each other and building each other up. Do you do that? Do you speak words of encouragement to your loved ones or are you critical and dismissive? Do you build up your friends and co-workers or tear them down? What do you need to change to truly be ready for the day of accountability?
How many of you meticulously follow the directions of recipes? I do on the odd occasions when I bake, but when I am preparing a meal, I have more of a “Oh, I’ll just wing it” attitude. I don’t bother with measuring things, but rather go by trial and error. My son-in-law asked me for my coleslaw recipe last week and I really struggled to guess the measurements and ratios of apple cider vinegar, monk fruit, Beau Monde, salt, pepper, and mayo. I hope I guessed right, and he wasn’t disappointed when he made it. (By the way, Beau Monde is my secret weapon. It is a Spice Islands product and hard to find. You can thank me later.)
We finish our look at 1 Thessalonians 4 today, and it doesn’t disappoint. It almost reads like a recipe at the end, where Paul is listing the ingredients for a harmonious and hopeful community. Put all these things together, he says, and you will truly have a “beautiful world.”
Final instructions and blessing
1 Thessalonians 4 (Common English Bible)
12 Brothers and sisters, we ask you to respect those who are working with you, leading you, and instructing you. 13 Think of them highly with love because of their work. Live in peace with each other. 14 Brothers and sisters, we urge you to warn those who are disorderly. Comfort the discouraged. Help the weak. Be patient with everyone. 15 Make sure no one repays a wrong with a wrong, but always pursue the good for each other and everyone else. 16 Rejoice always. 17 Pray continually. 18 Give thanks in every situation because this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus. 19 Don’t suppress the Spirit. 20 Don’t brush off Spirit-inspired messages, 21 but examine everything carefully and hang on to what is good. 22 Avoid every kind of evil.23 Now, may the God of peace himself cause you to be completely dedicated to him; and may your spirit, soul, and body be kept intact and blameless at our Lord Jesus Christ’s coming. 24 The one who is calling you is faithful and will do this.
Taking this last section and boiling it down to a list of ingredients, Paul is clear about his expectations of their behavior:
*Respect each other.
*Live in peace.
*Warn the disorderly.
*Comfort the discouraged.
*Help the weak.
*Be patient.
*Rejoice, pray, and give thanks in everything.
*Don’t ignore the Spirit.
*Avoid evil.
*Hang on to what is good.
This last thing is what I suggest to my church members when they are entering a time of troubled waters. Hang on to what is good. And what is good is knowing that you are not alone in this life or in the next. The promise and hope of the resurrection guarantees that the end of life here is just the beginning of life there, where we will all be reunited.
And that, my friends, is good.
Final greeting
25 Brothers and sisters, pray for us. 26 Greet all the brothers and sisters with a holy kiss. 27 By the Lord’s authority, I order all of you to have this letter read aloud to all the brothers and sisters. 28 The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with all of you.
Today we get to dip our toes into the parable pool and see what we can learn. Jesus used parables to teach his listeners about what the kingdom of heaven was like. They probably had a lot of different ideas about that. For example, we can assume that a Pharisee would have a different idea than a pagan. Jesus tried to dispel all the preconceived notions and bring everyone to a singular vision without being confrontational (to the Pharisee) or too vague (to the pagan). When it came to understanding an audience, Jesus was a master of framing a story so that everyone could catch a glimpse of the topic while still keeping it a mystery. Surely, none of us will understand the kingdom of God until we get there. But in this parable, we learn that the kingdom’s version of what is fair will not be what we expect.
Matthew 20:1-16 (The Message)
20 1-2 “God’s kingdom is like an estate manager who went out early in the morning to hire workers for his vineyard. They agreed on a wage of a dollar a day, and went to work.
3-5 “Later, about nine o’clock, the manager saw some other men hanging around the town square unemployed. He told them to go to work in his vineyard and he would pay them a fair wage. They went.
5-6 “He did the same thing at noon, and again at three o’clock. At five o’clock he went back and found still others standing around. He said, ‘Why are you standing around all day doing nothing?’
7 “They said, ‘Because no one hired us.’
“He told them to go to work in his vineyard.
8 “When the day’s work was over, the owner of the vineyard instructed his foreman, ‘Call the workers in and pay them their wages. Start with the last hired and go on to the first.’
9-12 “Those hired at five o’clock came up and were each given a dollar. When those who were hired first saw that, they assumed they would get far more. But they got the same, each of them one dollar. Taking the dollar, they groused angrily to the manager, ‘These last workers put in only one easy hour, and you just made them equal to us, who slaved all day under a scorching sun.’
Oh, they groused angrily! And who can blame them? Can you imagine how it felt to those who had been picking grapes in the blistering sun since daybreak to see those who sauntered in at sunset get the same wage? Unfair!! Call the Union! Organize a protest!
13-15 “He replied to the one speaking for the rest, ‘Friend, I haven’t been unfair. We agreed on the wage of a dollar, didn’t we? So take it and go. I decided to give to the one who came last the same as you. Can’t I do what I want with my own money? Are you going to get stingy because I am generous?’
What a beautiful response. Can’t I do what I want with my own things? It’s mine to give. Should I not be generous because you are stingy?
You see, the workers were using the wrong measuring stick. They measured fairness by the length of time it took to work. The manager measured fairness by what he was able to give. Grace and mercy always outweigh any other measurement you can come up with.
And it was his to give.
16 “Here it is again, the Great Reversal: many of the first ending up last, and the last first.”
There will be many Great Reversals in heaven. You may be surprised to see who is seated at the great banquet next to you. On the other hand, they may be surprised to see you there, too!
God is the author and creator of fairness. Thank God he thought it was fair to send his son to redeem every single one of us, whether we confess him from birth or with our dying breath.
There is a popular meme going around right now that says that if Paul were alive today, we all would be getting a letter. I laughed when I first saw that and wondered what he would say. His letters are filled with encouragements, exhortations, admonishments, admiration, and not a little rebuking. Each one was tailored to specific group and situation. Which topic would he choose for the modern day reader? Obviously the letters he wrote to Corinth, Thessalonica, Rome, Galatia, Philippi, Colossea, and to specific people contained issues and problems each recipient of that letter was experiencing. Which of the many issues facing modern Christians would Paul address if he were to write to us today?
1 Thessalonians 4 (Common English Bible)
4 So then, brothers and sisters, we ask and encourage you in the Lord Jesus to keep living the way you already are and even do better in how you live and please God—just as you learned from us. 2 You know the instructions we gave you through the Lord Jesus. 3 God’s will is that your lives are dedicated to him. This means that you stay away from sexual immorality 4 and learn how to control your own body in a pure and respectable way. 5 Don’t be controlled by your sexual urges like the Gentiles who don’t know God. 6 No one should mistreat or take advantage of their brother or sister in this issue. The Lord punishes people for all these things, as we told you before and sternly warned you. 7 God didn’t call us to be immoral but to be dedicated to him. 8 Therefore, whoever rejects these instructions isn’t rejecting a human authority. They are rejecting God, who gives his Holy Spirit to you.
This chapter clearly gave instructions about sexual immorality, and Paul laid out an expectation that the people were to control their bodies in a pure and respectable way. He warned them against being controlled by sexual urges and placed a special emphasis on not mistreating or taking advantage of another person in this issue. While he never used the word “consent,” verse 6 clearly implies that lack of respect, lack of control over one’s urges, and taking advantage of someone without consent is immoral. At the heart of this teaching was the Gentile practice of taking on prostitutes, slaves, and mistresses. Paul implies that sexual relations outside the covenant of marriage are to be avoided. The Gentiles didn’t know God and they didn’t know any better. Paul sets a higher standard for his people.
I suspect this topic would make it into today’s letter as well.
And then in typical Pauline fashion, he flipped to the positive and talked about how they already knew how to love each other and praised them for performing loving deeds throughout Macedonia.
9 You don’t need us to write about loving your brothers and sisters because God has already taught you to love each other. 10 In fact, you are doing loving deeds for all the brothers and sisters throughout Macedonia. Now we encourage you, brothers and sisters, to do so even more.
Then, in the midst of Paul already being up in their business, he said something startling in verse 11:
11 Aim to live quietly, mind your own business, and earn your own living, just as I told you.12 That way you’ll behave appropriately toward outsiders, and you won’t be in need.
Live quietly and mind your own business! Obviously this would result in people living in harmony and peace together, but I have to admit that in all the times I have read Paul’s writings, I don’t remember him saying to mind our own business!
How much better would things be if neighbors didn’t feel the need to report every little annoyance on Facebook? How much easier would church work go if people didn’t congregate at the coffee pot to gossip? What difference would it make in your child’s school day if the other students didn’t talk about them behind their back? What would your workplace feel like if everyone minded their own business and behaved appropriately toward each other? I think Paul is on to something here.
Then he ended with this beautiful promise of what is to come. The Lord will come down at the sound of the trumpet and those who are dead will rise, joining those who are still living. This last bit of encouragement about the Second Coming was precious to the church, and it is precious to us as well.
13 Brothers and sisters, we want you to know about people who have died so that you won’t mourn like others who don’t have any hope. 14 Since we believe that Jesus died and rose, so we also believe that God will bring with him those who have died in Jesus. 15 What we are saying is a message from the Lord: we who are alive and still around at the Lord’s coming definitely won’t go ahead of those who have died. 16 This is because the Lord himself will come down from heaven with the signal of a shout by the head angel and a blast on God’s trumpet. First, those who are dead in Christ will rise.17 Then, we who are living and still around will be taken up together with them in the clouds to meet with the Lord in the air. That way we will always be with the Lord. 18 So encourage each other with these words.
We will always be with each other. We will always be with the Lord. We can be encouraged by these words as we mourn and wait.
It is that time of year when parents are taking their children back to school. From the newest kindergartner to the returning college senior, each of these separations is hard and many are even gut-wrenching. A mother in my church delivered her oldest son, a new college freshman, to a large university over 600 miles away. She described leaving him there as the “worst day of my life.” Her faith is strong, and her perspective is balanced, and she gave God the glory and said that she knew she has been tremendously blessed if this indeed was the worst day. Many other people have much worst-worst days. Having done the same with my two daughters, who attended a large university nine hours away, I can completely relate to her parental anxiety. I have felt it. Every parent feels it on the first day of school. What a terrible trick parenting plays on us! We work all their lives to help them grow up to be independent and sure of themselves, and then they repay us by utilizing all those skills and leaving the nest.
As we continue to dive into Paul’s letter to his church in Thessalonica, we can feel his parental anxiety coming through the pages. They were dealing with problems and persecutions for their faith, and Paul just wanted to run to their side. But like that Mom who can’t turn the car around and sit in her son’s dorm room for a semester, Paul can’t discontinue his own work to come back to check on them. So he sent his trusted friend Timothy to render assistance and encouragement.
1 Thessalonians 3 (Common English Bible)
3 So when we couldn’t stand it any longer, we thought it was a good idea to stay on in Athens by ourselves, 2 and we sent you Timothy, who is our brother and God’s coworker in the good news about Christ. We sent him to strengthen and encourage you in your faithfulness. 3 We didn’t want any of you to be shaken by these problems. You know very well that we were meant to go through this. 4 In fact, when we were with you, we kept on predicting that we were going to face problems exactly like what happened, as you know. 5 That’s why I sent Timothy to find out about your faithfulness when I couldn’t stand it anymore. I was worried that the tempter might have tempted you so that our work would have been a waste of time.
I love how Paul repeated himself when he said, “I couldn’t stand it anymore.” Have you ever felt that way when you were worried over a child? Have you ever wanted to get in the car and go and peek in their window just to assure yourself that they are alright? Have you ever called or texted too much, just to put your anxiety at ease? I have. You know, there is an antidote to this kind of worry: it’s called prayer.
6 Now Timothy has returned to us from you and has given us good news about your faithfulness and love! He says that you always have good memories about us and that you want to see us as much as we want to see you. 7 Because of this, brothers and sisters, we were encouraged in all our distress and trouble through your faithfulness. 8 For now we are alive if you are standing your ground in the Lord. 9 How can we thank God enough for you, given all the joy we have because of you before our God? 10
When the weight of parenting gets too heavy, it is good to let it press you straight down to your knees. By turning our loved ones over to God’s care, we know we have reached out to one who loves them even more that we do and has the power to protect, guide, and save in ways that we never could.
Night and day, we pray more than ever to see all of you in person and to complete whatever you still need for your faith. 11 Now may our God and Father himself and our Lord Jesus guide us on our way back to you. 12 May the Lord cause you to increase and enrich your love for each other and for everyone in the same way as we also love you. 13 May the love cause your hearts to be strengthened, to be blameless in holiness before our God and Father when our Lord Jesus comes with all his people. Amen.
May the Lord guide us back to each other.
May the Lord increase us and enrich our love for each other while we’re apart.
I’m finding it hard to concentrate on my writing today because a Youth Sailing Camp is happening right outside my window. There are 9 small white sailboats, a low, red motorized safety boat that is carrying the instructors, and three adult-manned jet skis making their way around the harbor. It is fascinating.
Today is the first day of camp, and earlier this morning I circled the parking lot at the marina on my run and saw the camp kids lining up in their life vests on the pier. The first thing the instructor did was to have them jump in the water. I think this was a way to get them used to being in the water before they even stepped into a boat.
Later this afternoon, I looked out and was horrified to see a sailboat laying on its side in the water. I squinted to see if a child was in the water and frantically searched to see if the red rescue boat was on the way. Where were the jet skis??? Is everything okay? Then I noticed another sailboat fall over, and one by one, they all capsized. It seems that the first day of school includes a capsizing drill, and everyone followed the instructions on how to get back in their boats and get them flipped upright again. But these classes should come with warnings for the onlookers!
As we continue our reading of Paul’s letter to his church in Thessalonica, I see the same kind of intentional training going on in his writing. He was getting them used to negotiating the often turbulent waters of this new faith community set in the middle of other faith and anti-faith communities that were not accepting of their good news. We can imagine him checking out the rigging of their boats and tightening their life jackets as he assured them that from the beginning of his relationship with them, everything had been above board and was ship-shape:
1 Thessalonians 2 (Common English Bible)
2 As you yourselves know, brothers and sisters, our visit with you wasn’t a waste of time. 2 On the contrary, we had the courage through God to speak God’s good news in spite of a lot of opposition, although we had already suffered and were publicly insulted in Philippi, as you know. 3 Our appeal isn’t based on false information, the wrong motives, or deception. 4 Rather, we have been examined and approved by God to be trusted with the good news, and that’s exactly how we speak. We aren’t trying to please people, but we are trying to please God, who continues to examine our hearts.
By reminding them that he and his companions Silas and Timothy had been examined and approved by God, Paul took any human factor out of the equation. The church needn’t be concerned, because Paul’s motives were pure, and he spoke no falsehoods or deceptions to them. So when they were opposed, they knew they had the backing of God.
5 As you know, we never used flattery, and God is our witness that we didn’t have greedy motives. 6 We didn’t ask for special treatment from people—not from you or from others— 7 although we could have thrown our weight around as Christ’s apostles. Instead, we were gentle with you like a nursing mother caring for her own children. 8 We were glad to share not only God’s good news with you but also our very lives because we cared for you so much.9 You remember, brothers and sisters, our efforts and hard work. We preached God’s good news to you, while we worked night and day so we wouldn’t be a burden on any of you. 10 You and God are witnesses of how holy, just, and blameless we were toward you believers. 11 Likewise, you know how we treated each of you like a father treats his own children.
12 We appealed to you, encouraged you, and pleaded with you to live lives worthy of the God who is calling you into his own kingdom and glory.
I love Paul’s use of parental imagery here. He spoke of being as gentle as a nursing mother and said that they treated the Thessalonians the same way a father treats his children. His language is not patronizing, but paternal. There is an inherent familial love that comes through his words, and by addressing them as brothers and sisters, he established the kind of relationship he wants to build and maintain with them. He was growing a great big family of followers. In verse 12, he finally made his appeal: he wanted his new family to live lives worthy of God, who calls us all into the kingdom.
What does that say to you today? Are you living your life as someone who is in training for the kingdom, or are you close to capsizing with no rescue boat on the way? What do you need to do to get back in the boat and pull it upright again?
Our Christian life together is a journey of practicing drills so that we not only survive but thrive. There is always someone in a boat nearby, ready to extend a hand when the water gets too rough. Paul, Silas, and Timothy were there for their new church. May we, the church, be there for others.
At Water’s Edge 