I Thessalonians 5:25-28
Have you seen the large Nationwide Insurance sign
on the side a building in downtown Columbus?
It stirred some interest when it first appeared because the man on the
sign bears a striking resemblance to a prominent Columbus businessman. The sign, which is two or three stories high,
depicts a man and a woman in the kind of embrace you might see on the cover of
a lurid romance novel. However, instead
of the man being the epitome of youth, the poster depicts him as a wrinkled,
grey-haired older man. The message,
“Life comes at you fast.”
I don’t know whether or not the sign is a kind of
inside joke, but I do know its message is true.
Life does come at you fast.
The Thessalonians certainly knew that. Many of them had apparently expected Jesus to
return within a relatively short time after the founding of the church. It didn’t happen. Instead, life—you know, what happens when you’re
making other plans—happened. Friends and
loved ones died. The church faced
trial. Economic pressures, due in part
to the refusal of some to work, were making it hard to take care of the truly
needy. Life was coming at them fast. It was swirling all around them.
Paul’s final words remind us of what we should do
when we are caught in the swirl of life.
Remembering God’s faithfulness allows us to survive the changes and
challenges of life. The counsel Paul
gives applies to a church, a family, an individual, and the workplace.
[In his
reflections on I Thessalonians Eugene Peterson, translator of The Message,
says; “Paul wrote from a community to a community.” These final
verses make that clear.]
When Caught in the Swirl of life Remember to Pray for Others. (25)
Earlier in
the letter (1:2f), Paul mentioned the concerted prayers he and his associates
were offering for the Thessalonians. He
had just offered another beautiful prayer for the Thessalonians and, now, he
asks for their prayers. It was a quiet
reminder that he considered them his spiritual peers.
They were relatively new believers. They had much to learn. They had made some errors of judgment in the
past. Still, he believed their prayers
could make a difference. William Barclay
commented, “It is a wonderful thing that the greatest saint of them all should
feel that he was strengthened by the prayers of the humblest Christians.”
Paul did
not believe he was spiritually self-sufficient;
he treasured the prayers of others.
He was aware of his own shortcomings and knew he needed God’s grace to
do his work.
When the Thessalonians prayed for Paul, he would be
blessed. At the same time, when the
Thessalonians prayed for Paul, they would be blessed.
When life is swirling around us, there’s a great
danger of becoming self-centered, of thinking only of ourselves. That’s true for both a church and for an
individual. We become ingrown. [Had Paul been writing today, he might have
said, “Remember, not everything is about you.” A cliché, that phrase is good
advice for lots of people, especially those of my generation. All of us know
people who ask, “How are you,” merely as the culturally acceptable prelude to
telling you how they are. You’re barely
past the first words of your answer before they start telling you about their
situation. Yes, I know we are to “weep
with those who weep” but some people amaze you at the things they weep over.
Of course,
forgetting that not everything is about you leads to other mischief. I’m
convinced many skirmishes in the “worship wars” are fought by those who
forget. I have a friend who attended a
new church. He hated the music. It was loud.
It was fast. It was played on
guitar, base, and keyboard—not an organ.
It was not traditional. He said
that after a few moments of fuming he began to look around, especially at the
younger worshippers. “I realized,” he said, “their hearts were being touched by
the music. And suddenly it was okay.” He
had remembered that not everything was about him.]
Learning to pray for others helps us break out of
the narrow world bounded by our own concerns.
Here’s Robert L. Kahn: “Prayer is a way of lifting ourselves, of
getting a higher look, of transcending self.
In prayer one sees life as God sees it, and relates his own little life
and his own little needs to the needs and life of humanity.”
Then too, when we pray for others we remind
ourselves we are linked to what God is doing in the larger world. A church may see itself as small, without
influence, and, from one perspective such an assessment may be perfectly
correct, but when that church prays for others who are doing God’s work in
distant places, that church becomes a partner in whatever God-given success
they enjoy.
When Caught in the Swirl of Life Remember to be Civil to Others. (26)
Here's a verse that calls on us to understand
cultural differences. This command made
complete sense to the Greeks and Jews hearing Paul’s words. In their culture, a greeting often included a
kiss. That this was a "holy"
kiss was not to suggest any of the believers were taking the practice too far
but to distinguish it from mere social ritual.
The gesture was to be sincere and warm.
By the mid-second century the “kiss of peace,” as
it was called had become a regular feature of Christian worship. It preceded the Lord’s Supper. Apparently, both sexes originally shared this
kiss on the cheek. Men kissed men and
women; women kissed women and men. But
by the fourth century, church authorities enacted rules saying men must kiss
only men and women must kiss only women. [The
reason for this restriction probably reflects a concern about appearances. A persistent accusation leveled against
Christians claimed they were guilty of immorality; this reflected a distorted understanding
of the command to “love one another.”]
Some
translations have attempted to place the command into a contemporary Western
culture. The New Living Translation renders
the verse without reference to any action, "Greet all the brothers and
sisters in Christian love." Others,
like J. B. Phillips translates it, "Give a handshake all round.” The older Living Bible does much the same
with, "Shake hands for me with all the brothers there."
Michael Holmes comments, “Any culturally accepted
form of greeting, whether a kiss on each cheek, a hug, a hearty handshake, or
whatever, that conveys warmth and symbolizes unity would likely be acceptable
to Paul.”
Many of my books are used and their former owners
have sometimes written in the margins.
Next to that comment by Holmes the former owner wrote, “people don’t
like hugs.” Of course, that former owner
meant, “I don’t like hugs.” How very
human to attempt to transfer our tastes to others to justify our own rejection
or acceptance of some behavior.
I can’t help but wonder if that comment came from
someone who didn’t want to get close to any fellow-Christians. Paul would probably understand that some
people aren’t “touchy feely” people—no, I don’t know the Greek for that—but he
wouldn’t condone any Christian isolating himself or herself from fellow
believers.
I want to offer two observations.
First, Paul was asking the Thessalonians to
demonstrate simple civility. Sometimes,
when believers have been associated with each other a long time that is
forgotten. We overstep our bounds. We don’t treat others with the respect they
deserve. We may push someone rather than
allow him or her to make his or her own minds us about something. We refuse to take “no” for an answer. We become pushy.
On other occasions, we may start thinking that our
opinion is the only one with any weight or value.
Paul would have us treat one another with simple
decency and respect.
Second, this brief verse reminds us that some
biblical statements must be interpreted in the light of a different time and
place.
Most
commentators know this command must be reshaped to fit a different
culture. This raises the question if it
might be necessary and expedient to reinterpret other commands in the light of
cultural differences. [For instance, should Paul’s insistence that
women not teach be understood as a universal command or as one that might
change with changes in the culture?]
When Caught in the Swirl of Life Remember to Nurture Others. (27)
Here's a simple reminder about how Christian
leaders communicated with congregations.
Letters had to be read to the people, perhaps more than once since some
might not be present for the first reading.
Paul’s
reference to reading the letter to all the Christians has caused some to wonder
if there was a division in the church.
More likely, he’s simply calling on the leaders to make sure the
greatest number of people hears the letter.
This was so important to the Apostle that he took the pen from the
scribe’s hand to write the final sentences himself.
F. F. Bruce has some interesting comments on the
verse as he reconstructs the situation in Thessalonica and in other
churches. The letter would be read aloud
because many of the Christians were illiterate.
Most likely, the leaders would read the letter during the regular
worship service since many members of the congregation probably had limited
free time and possibly couldn’t come for a special meeting where the letter
would be read. In time, reading a letter
aloud during the worship service meant the document had the status of
Scripture; thus, reading it implied canonicity.
Again, in time, what could be read during the worship service was
limited. Any notion that the early
church considered a document to be inspired just because it spoke of Jesus or
contained moral instruction is unfounded.
More important, Paul wanted to make sure all the believers
in the church heard his instructions. E.
J. Richard, says that in the letter there is “something for everyone, something
which troubled, doubtful, working, and attentive members need to hear and to
repeat to one another as exhortation….
Public reading of the letter in the presence of every brother and sister
assures that each member of the community is either admonished, encouraged, or
assisted with patience, love and concord.”
Even when things are tough, perhaps, especially
when things are tough, the church has something to say. With life swirling around us, we need to
continue to share our world-view, to challenge those who don’t know Christ and
to encourage those who do.
When Caught in the Swirl of Life Remember We All Need God’s Grace. (28)
The sentence is something of a standard closing,
but still not a mere formality.
Individual churches and congregations must depend
upon the grace of the Lord to survive and thrive.
Grace enables
us to enter the church; grace enables us to be the church.
Conclusion
Things
hadn’t worked out the way the Thessalonians had planned. As Paul concludes his letter to them, he
doesn’t mock or berate them. He reminds
them to recall the faithfulness of God and to continue praying, to continue
loving one another, to continue encouraging each other.
