I’m beginning to relate more to Paul. I couldn’t stand his position on women, placing such a high premium on suffering, seeing Satan everywhere he turned, he seemed so arrogant and full of himself. A couple of professors have helped me shift from that bias and I can read him without getting worked up now.
Paul in his letter is urging the people to model a life that emphasizes love and care, to uphold oneself in a Christ-like manner. Jesus is effectively replacing the Emperor.
What, or who, do we, as a church commit ourselves to? We cannot be everything to every one. We cannot be in two places at one time.
Yes we can follow Christ; that is more than enough. It might be too much, we can only do so much. He healed, he taught, he worshipped, he preached, he worked with the poor, the sick, the outcasts, he met with political leaders, he created communities of caring, he changed the way we think about life, and death, power and privilege. We cannot do all of these; which ones fit us best?
So much of our life is spent identifying what we’re about. Who are we – as workers, family members, friends and neighbours to each other. In all of these things we make choices about the type of person we are and who we share ourselves with.
We are here to share in being a church, supporting one another in that. Committing to being together, not only as a congregation, but as a pastoral charge. We share many things in common. Out of your shared values, ideals and history, you also have different priorities: Ravenswood, being open and inviting, with an outreach to campers and cottagers; Arkona, in music and food, gathering people together in fellowship. Both take pride in the decorations of the church, both are determined and hard working and seek always to do the right thing.
Sometimes it’s just as helpful to know what we’re not about. And it pains me to say this, but youth and young families might not be in the picture. That is not to say we’d abandon those within our midst, but we seem unable to attract, retain or garner commitment from those beyond our regulars. That saddens and scares me.
When we look around at the problems our churches face (and I’m speaking generally now – certainly all the mainline churches of Canada are struggling) it’s easy to feel overwhelmed and underequipped. Yet if we look at Paul and his work with the Thessalonians, we see hope.
He’d only spent 3 weeks with them, but it was a fruitful time. There was disagreement and a fight so fierce that he had to flee the city. Yet despite the upheaval and conflict, we see the message that he offers to them begins with praise and thanksgiving for their faith and readiness to accept Jesus. He commends them for moving away from the standards of the world and towards the ministry of Christ.
Paul praises the church in Thessalonica for making that shift and upholds that community as an example to others in the region. They imitated Paul who in turn, tried to imitate Christ. Out of all this, we can figure that when we know ourselves, our strengths and capabilities, when we can match them up with our mission and our ministry, we know we are fulfilling God’s call to our churches.
Whether it is greeting in welcome, feeding the hungry, sharing the song within our hearts, or simply gathering to enjoy each other’s company, we are doing God’s work in this place. Let the Spirit move and flow in the mysteries of our being, and with hope and determination, let us be who we are and let that be enough.
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