A, Post-Pentecost 21 Proper 24 - 1 Thessalonians 1: 3 "Produced, Prompted, Inspired"
1 Thessalonians 1: 3 We continually remember before our God and Father your work produced by faith, your labour prompted by love, and your endurance inspired by hope in our Lord Jesus Christ.
The
verse we have just heard, directs us to meditate on three things; faith, love,
and hope. These three are not uncommon
to us from scripture. We hear of them in
many places throughout the New Testament.
But more on these three in a moment.
There
are also another three things in this verse we can examine too; work, labour,
and endurance.
Whether
one works or not, all know what work is; all know what work they should be
doing, whether they have done it or not.
Work here in this sense refers to one’s deeds or actions; to ‘do’
something.
Then
we hear of labour. We might assume
labour is the same as work, and when we labour at something we do work at
it. However, labour is more intense than
work in the general sense. Mothers, more
than likely, have the greatest understanding of labour, as a more intense part
of motherhood, over against the regular duties of a mother’s work. So, labour here implies that there is
hardship and difficulty, requiring commitment and passion, lest the labour not
be finished.
The
third word is endurance. It too has
something to do with work, as does labour.
However, with endurance we have the quality of constancy. One might see endurance as something one has
to keep at, grinding away bit by bit, until the outcome is realised. Guts and dogged determination, stamina and
inner strength are needed for endurance.
Patience, fortitude, steadfastness, and perseverance are what endurance
is all about.
Saint
Paul, on behalf of himself Timothy and Silas, writes to the church in
Thessalonica after a hasty retreat from the multicultural trade route town. The new converts are left to face verbal and
physical persecution as a result of their newfound faith. There’s concerned for the fledgling church as
they work, labour, and endure amongst those who have rejected Paul’s
proclamation of the Gospel.
So,
he writes his first letter to the Thessalonians to encourage them in the troubles
they’re facing. We hear his
encouragement for their work, labour, and endurance. But specifically for their work produced by
faith, their labour prompted by love, and their endurance inspired by hope. The three-fold theme — faith, hope, and love
— common in the New Testament is present here, but Paul now couples it with
their deeds and lives amongst the transient community of Thessalonica.
In
these days we too live in a transient and temporary society. In communities where once everyone knew who
was who, there was a consistent stability people could count on. But no more!
Our world has gone and got itself a whole lot busier, and we have been
caught up in the busyness of it too.
Our
society is changing in many ways. We can
now find out news from anywhere in the world with only a moment’s notice. People are becoming migratory in search of
the almighty dollar. And those who stay
put, can’t afford to sit still or they get left behind and buried under a pile
of debt.
The
church too faces this change and Christians within it face the very real
pressures of the transient, live-for-the-moment desires of our age. Once upon a time Christianity was the centre
of most communities; you would see the who’s who of the district in a church
somewhere. And everyone made the
commitment to be in church on Good Friday and Christmas day. But today, friends and family are sadly
missed from amongst the ranks. The pews
are empty; leaving us behind wondering if we should remain in something that
seems like it might die.
The
saddest thing though, is not that our society is changing, getting busier, or
even becoming more and more heathen. The
Thessalonians came through it and so has the Christian church in other ages
too. No! The saddest thing is that as a
result of these things we allow ourselves to backslide; producing less and less
works, labouring in love is lost, and endurance becomes uninspired, bland, and
boring.
The
saddest thing is we let the godlessness of our age have more power in our lives
than our Father in heaven, fearing godlessness more than God, giving it greater
and greater power in our hearts and minds. We see numerical decline and lose
trust in God who has his plan for his church which he ultimately sustains
through thick and thin.
After
the collection of the weekly offering, we pray for God to receive it for the
sake of Jesus Christ. We use various
prayers, but usually they give thanks for what God has given us; ourselves, our
time, and our possessions. We go on to
ask God to accept our offerings as a sign of his goodness and as a symbol of
our love.
The
offering on the plate is a sign and a symbol, but it’s not the sum total of
what we give! And so we can ask
ourselves, regardless of how much or how little we might put on the plate, “With
what intention do I give?”
The
state of our faith, hope, and love are quickly revealed when we match them next
to the offering of ourselves, our time, and our possessions.
Does
the handling of our possessions speak well of our love, of God or of our neighbour? What does our time management reveal of our
daily, hourly, and momentary devotion and glorification of God Almighty? And what type of faith do we radiate to
others as a result of the faith we have received from God?
Faith
and ourselves, our time and our hope, our love, and our possessions; we ask
ourselves, “What do they say about my intention towards God?”
Today,
in the days of the Thessalonians, even back when the Israelites created the
golden calf, and right the way back to Adam and Eve, humanity turns from the
one true and living God to idols of one kind or another.
Much
work, labour, and endurance has evolved from the hearts and hands of humans to
serve these idols we’ve fashioned. But
the question is; how do I turn from this habitual sin and idolatry back to the
one true and living God, so faith in me produces work pleasing to God, I labour
for the love of God prompted by the love of God, and I persevere, inspired with
enduring hope of my eternal home, before those who seek heavenly moments in the
fleeting pleasures of this world?
We
could become better focused on our work, labour, and endurance; but that still
would lead us on a path into idolatry.
Even if faith, hope, and love within are fed by work, labour, and
endurance could we together build something special and great? No! We couldn’t even make something as
special or great as a golden calf or a tower of Babel, even if we tried really
hard! And we know what God thought of
them!
Paul
thanks God for the Thessalonians because they didn’t do that. Rather they turned from their idolatry to
serve the living and true God, waiting for his Son from heaven. They looked to Jesus Christ and to him alone
who chose them through the gospel, convicting them deeply by the power of the
Holy Spirit.
God
has chosen you and me. Although the deep
conviction to work, labour, and love might temp us to focus on these things and
turn them into idols, it is the Holy Spirit’s intention with faith, hope, and
love, to have us focus on Jesus Christ.
And in him we will be productive in faith works, prompted to love, and
inspired by hope.
You
see faith, hope, and love are ours in Christ Jesus our Lord; we are in Christ
because Christ is in us. Faith, hope,
and love are in us and can only come from us because they are in Christ and are
of Christ as a result of the Holy Spirit.
So
let us not even be tempted to run after these other things which might seem
good, lest they lead us away from God into the idolatry of ourselves. Let us fix our eyes on Jesus and run after
him, so that in him, he in us will produce prompt and inspire, faithful good
works, labours of love, and enduring hope, to the glory of God — the Father,
Son, and Holy Spirit. Amen.
