Pentecost 21A

The gospel came to you not in word only,
but also in power and in the Holy Spirit
and with full conviction.
1 Thessalonians 1:5

1 Thessalonians 1:1-10

¹ Paul, Silvanus, and Timothy,
To the church of the Thessalonians in God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ:
Grace to you and peace.

² We always give thanks to God for all of you and mention you in our prayers, constantly ³ remembering before our God and Father your work of faith and labor of love and steadfastness of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ.

⁴ For we know, brothers and sisters beloved by God, that God has chosen you, ⁵ because our message of the gospel came to you not in word only but also in power and in the Holy Spirit and with full conviction; just as you know what kind of persons we proved to be among you for your sake.

⁶ And you became imitators of us and of the Lord, for in spite of persecution you received the word with joy from the Holy Spirit, ⁷ so that you became an example to all the believers in Macedonia and in Achaia. ⁸ For the word of the Lord has sounded forth from you not only in Macedonia and Achaia, but in every place your faith in God has become known, so that we have no need to speak about it. ⁹ For they report about us what kind of welcome we had among you and how you turned to God from idols to serve a living and true God ¹⁰ and to wait for his Son from heaven, whom God raised from the dead—Jesus, who rescues us from the coming wrath.

1 Thessalonians and Thessalonica

This week the lectionary also gives us:

• Matthew 22:15-22 Whose icon? Whose brand? The lordship of Tiberius Caesar, who was a "son of god," or the lordship, the reign of the God who creates, redeems, and sustains everything? The God whose Son embodies God's love, justice, and presence?

• Exodus 33:12-23 God's glory is God's goodness! God's grace and mercy. God-sightings? Many times we realize God was there only afterwards, as we review the incident.

1 Thessalonians is probably the earliest extant NT writing and the earliest of the apostles Paul's genuine or undisputed epistles. However, Paul almost definitely didn't write 2 Thessalonians. Although the commercial, trade, and population center of Thessalonica was the Roman capitol of Macedonia, it was a free Greek city, with its own coinage and city council. In Clarence Jordan's Cotton Patch version of Paul's epistles, Macedonia is Mississippi is Macedonia.

Paul the evangelist probably wrote this elegant pastoral letter from Athens or Corinth around the year 51 or 52 C.E.. That would have been near the end of his second missionary journey after he'd visited Philippi and established First Church there. In Acts 17:1-9, verses 1- 4 describes both Jews and gentiles responding to Paul's preaching death and resurrection. And it says those people who've been turning the world upside down have arrived! Silvanus in this letter is Silas in Acts of the Apostles.

This is a clear example of how reading a Pauline letter often feels like listening to half of a conversation. Scholars guess it may have been written after a positive report from Timothy after he visited the fledgling church:

1 Thess 3:6 notes, "But Timothy has just now come to us from you and has brought us the good news of your faith and love. He has told us also that you always remember us kindly and long to see us, just as we long to see you."

Here is the young, zealous, passionate Paul. Gentile converts were a matter of urgency for Paul. Many of the Thessalonian group of Christ followers probably hadn't been Jewish; verse 9 celebrates, "how you turned to God from [dead and false] idols to serve a living and true God."


Where We Live

Paul wrote beautifully and with admiration to the Thessalonian Christians. Even when we know we're hearing only one side of the conversation, it's often helpful to place ourselves inside the NT epistles. After all, they reflect God's action in Jesus of Nazareth as they offer counsel that usually applies anywhere at any time.

• 1 Thess 1:2 What do we make of "your work of faith?" "Labor of love" is familiar. And hope is an ongoing theme in both 1 and 2 Thessalonians.
• 1 Thess 1:4 – chosen, elected, by God in the Holy Spirit and look at all the evidence of the results! I sometimes think of a "choice" line of gourmet foods. A little more special, desirable, nicely done than the usual run of the mill. All good behaviors derive from love, grace, gift, and hope.
• 1 Thess 1:6-8 "Inspired by the Holy Spirit … the word of the Lord has sounded forth from you not only in Macedonia and Achaia, but in every place your faith in God has become known, so that we have no need to speak about it."

The Thessalonian Christians' lives shone so bright … words aren't necessary! Do you remember the advice attributed to Saint Francis of Assisi to "preach the gospel, and use words if necessary?"

• 1 Thess 1:10: Jesus rescues us from "the coming wrath." A new day is on the way!

We often place ourselves in the position of the people the letter was written to, but if we wrote a letter to people we've served or even worked alongside, what would we say? Maybe you've been or currently are a teacher, pastor, health care worker, work in retail or construction. Would you write many drafts of your letter until it felt exactly right, or would you trust your best instincts to express everything perfectly first time around? Think about it!