Justice: A Word for Anxious Christians
2 Thessalonians 2:1-5, 13-17
November
10, 2013
First
Presbyterian Church, Sterling, IL
Christina
Berry
2 Thessalonians 1-5, 13-15
As to the coming of our Lord
Jesus Christ and our being gathered together to him, we beg you, brothers and sisters, 2not to be quickly shaken
in mind or alarmed, either by spirit or by word or by letter, as though from
us, to the effect that the day of the Lord is already here. 3Let no
one deceive you in any way; for that day will not come unless the rebellion comes
first and the lawless one is revealed, the one destined for destruction. 4He opposes and exalts
himself above every so-called god or object of worship, so that he takes his
seat in the temple of God, declaring himself to be God. 5Do you not remember that I
told you these things when I was still with you?
13But we must always
give thanks to God for you, brothers and sisters beloved by the Lord, because
God chose you as the first fruits for salvation through sanctification by the
Spirit and through belief in the truth. 14For this purpose he
called you through our proclamation of the good news, so that you may obtain
the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ.15So then, brothers and sisters,
stand firm and hold fast to the traditions that you were taught by us, either
by word of mouth or by our letter.
What do you suppose is the
biggest challenge the Christian church faces today?
Think about that for a minute.
How about the Presbyterian
church? How about THIS church?
Here are some of the issues
raised by some well-known church folk:
Thom Ranier, the CEO of Lifeway
Christian publishing house did an informal survey of pastors. He asked them
about challenges they face. They answered with twelve major problems – apathy,
staff issues, finding and keeping volunteers, not enough time, getting buy-in
from members, resistance from the older generation, the need for money, the
insistence of church members to hold on to traditions at any cost, criticism,
leadership needs, majoring in minors – I can’t resist sharing this detail on
this issue: “We spent an hour in
our last business conference discussing the fonts in our bulletins." And
finally, for pastors, one of the biggest issues is the lack of true friends.
Another
Christian speaker said the single biggest challenge facing the church today is “the insane busyness of Western culture.” He
said, and I quote, “We load our schedules too much, and what happens is, we try
to squeeze the mission of the church into what is already a too busy schedule.”[1]
If you spend just a few minutes
on an internet search for the biggest challenges facing churches today, you’ll
find a lot more stuff like this. There are Presbyterians who believe that our
stance on abortion, or gay marriage, or the Middle East, or gun violence, or a
few other issues, are the biggest issues facing us as a denomination. There are
concerns among church folk about older people getting mad at parents of little
kids who are noisy in worship, and the challenge of trying to introduce new
music, and the extreme pain and agony of deficit budgets and church fights over
what color the walls should be painted.
I confess to you that when I
first asked myself this question, my answer was:
“Anxiety – the biggest issue
facing the church is anxiety.”
I admit it – it has been an
anxious week for me personally. We never thought we would lose Derry Beer, and
it has hit us hard – a sad and shocking loss. When I am tired and grieving, I
get anxious. I don’t mean a little bit, I mean my anxiety flops around all over
the place like a fish pulled out of a stream. I get anxious about my calendar, about
whether I have enough postage stamps, about conflicts I once had with people I
haven’t seen for thirty years, about what to wear day-after-tomorrow, and where
I put my black shoes – which, as you know, are never where they are supposed to
be!
This week, particularly, my
anxiety got really ramped up because the nominating committee had its second
meeting, and not many people could come to the first meeting, or the second
meeting, and we’re having a hard time hearing the word yes from people we think
would be good leaders on the Session. Let me stop for just a minute here and
say, to those people who have been asked and said “no,” this is not a brazen
attempt to shame you into changing your mind. I’m confident that God is calling people to
lead our congregation, and we just haven’t figured out who they are yet, or we
haven’t asked in the right way. Or we haven’t resorted to brazen
attempts to shame you.
Yet.
But do you notice anything about
these lists of issues facing the church?
Do you notice how self-oriented
they sound?
Thom Rainier
points out, “It appears that many of our churches in America are not effective
conduits of the gospel because the members spend so much energy concerned about
their own needs and preferences.”[2]
The people of
the church in Thessalonica were anxious, to be sure. But they were not anxious
about children’s sports or membership numbers or nominations or busy-ness or
critics or money. They were anxious about two very serious issues. One was a
concern that there was someone saying that the day of the Lord had already come
– that somehow Christ had already returned, perhaps, and they had missed it. The
other was a very genuine concern about the persecution of Christians.
I want to be
crystal clear here that when I talk about persecution, I am not talking about a
bad tempered atheist mocking them as they assembled for choir practice. I am
not talking about the clerk at the local fruit market refusing to wish them a
Merry Christmas (they didn’t celebrate Christmas in the first century, so that
was a non-starter). I’m not even talking about a government edict prohibiting
Christian prayers at the opening of a village meeting. I’m talking about torture,
imprisonment, and death. Now that is a challenge to be worried about.
I heard
recently that a pastor in a nearby town believes that Christians are being persecuted
right here in Illinois, right here in Sterling and Rock Falls. I don’t want to
minimize anyone’s discomfort – he feels what he feels, but really! persecution?
There ARE, in fact, Christians being persecuted for their beliefs, in other
parts of the world, even now. But I’d hardly
say that we here at First Presbyterian Church, or anywhere in
the United States, are being persecuted for our faith. But the Christians in
first century Thessalonica apparently were, and they were in great distress.
This scripture
is very challenging to read and understand, given that it is set in a milieu so
long ago and far away from our experiences. It is particularly challenging
because we know that these letters, letters to the church at Thessalonica, were
written BEFORE the gospels were written down. In fact, if we were to put the
books of the Bible in the order they were written, First Thessalonians would be
the first book of the New Testament. There was no Christian Church; there was
no centrally organized structure; there was no history or tradition to draw
from. There was simply this amazing, compelling story of this man called Jesus,
who had come from Galilee and spent three years teaching and healing and calling people to new life, who had been
turned over to the Roman authorities in Jerusalem, when everyone was gathered
there for the Passover feast.
There was this
amazing, compelling story of this man called Jesus, crucified on a garbage heap
between two thieves, taken down and carried to a borrowed tomb. There was this
amazing, compelling story of this man called Jesus, who rose again from the
dead after three days, spoke to his disciples, ate with them, showed them his
wounds, told them to love each other, told them to love their neighbors, told
them to love their enemies, told them to love. He told them not to worry. Then,
he promised to return, and ascended into heaven. That was it – that was what
they had.
And they were
willing to give their lives for that amazing compelling story.
And so, this
letter has only that amazing compelling story to work from.
That, and the
promise that God has given, over and over and over in the Hebrew scriptures, and
in the words of Jesus, repeated by those who followed him: Do not be afraid. Do
not be afraid. Do not be afraid. It is in the Bible about sixty times – that
four-word phrase.
And the reason
we should not be afraid, even in the face of all the issues facing the
Christian church, even in the face of all the issues we might face right here
in this church, the reason we should not be afraid is the promise of God’s
justice. The Day of the Lord is coming.
The promise of
God’s justice is the promise of restoration – a new heaven and a new earth,
where righteousness prevails over evil. The promise of God’s justice is the
promise that love wins. So stand firm, and hold fast. Stand firm in your faith
which rests on God’s loving-kindness, on the promise of God’s justice-love
which lifts up
the fallen,
binds up the
broken hearted,
sets right the
broken systems of this world,
and, at the
last, triumphs over evil.
Hold fast to
the truth of God’s justice-love and do not be afraid.
Stand firm and
hold fast to the traditions that you were
taught, hold fast to the word – the word written in Scripture, the word
revealed in Jesus Christ, the Word made Flesh, who stands with you, who rose from
the dead, and who will come again in glory who set this table and bids each one
of us to come.
This day of the Lord which has yet to be
revealed will bring final justice and in the meantime, God asks but one thing
from you – you. God asks you to give yourself over – not to be tortured,
imprisoned or killed, but to give your heart and soul and strength and mind to
God’s world -- for justice.
To give yourself and all that you are to this
amazing compelling story, a story which is retold again and again and again at
this table, where we remember, in the bread and the cup, the exquisite justice
of God – the offering of self in eternal love, for those who have done nothing
to deserve it.
Do not be afraid.
Stand firm and hold fast.
Christ is at
work in the world.
Thanks be to God!
Amen.
Benediction – 2 Thessalonians 3: 15-17
So then, brothers and sisters,
stand firm and hold fast to the
traditions
that you were taught by us,
either by word of mouth or by our
letter.
Now may our Lord Jesus Christ
himself and God our Father,
who loved us and through grace
gave us eternal comfort and good hope,
comfort your hearts and
strengthen them in every good work and word.
[1]
Paul Tripp interview, Austin Stone Counseling Center http://vimeo.com/71760921
[2] Thom Ranier
http://www.christianpost.com/news/12-biggest-challenges-pastors-and-church-staff-face-98841/
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