ISAIAH 65:17-25
PSALM 126
1 THESSALONIANS 5:16-25
JOHN 1:6-8, 19-28
Sermon – 12/15/02
“Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.”
Is
he kidding? Doesn’t he
understand how many things there are to worry about? Doesn’t he know there is suffering in the world? How can anyone possibly think of ways to
“give thanks” in all circumstances?
Sounds like this was written by someone who lived a really cushy life.
Actually,
this passage was written by a man who left a regular job and a position of
prestige and authority with the Establishment to join in a new movement of
people espousing the radical idea that the Savior of the world had come. For the Savior this author had already been
in almost constant controversy, and escaped more than one attempt on his
life. Ultimately, he would become
well-acquainted with being ship-wrecked, being hungry and thirsty, would be
whipped 39 times on five different occasions in addition to being attacked by
mobs. All because he, Paul, proclaimed
the Good News that Jesus Christ is the Savior of the World and invites all
people to turn and be saved from their sins and given mew life by his death and
resurrection.
“Got
suffering?” Paul could answer “yes” in
a big way. “Got worries?” Paul’s letters are peppered with his
concerns for the churches to whom he writes, and with reminders of his own
often endangered or imprisoned state.
“Got
joy?”
Always.
Every
letter of Paul’s except one (in his letter to the Galatians he was too angry at
them to be thankful) includes thanksgivings, no matter what his circumstances or the circumstances of the people to
whom he wrote.
As
he writes in the letter from which we earlier heard an excerpt. “We give thanks
to God for all of you and mention you in our prayers, constantly remembering
before our God and Father your work of faith and labor of love and
steadfastness of hope in Our Lord Jesus Christ.”
Paul’s
first Letter to the Thessalonians is commonly thought by scholars to have been
his earliest letter among those we have in the Bible – and therefore the first
book of the New Testament to have been written down. Therefore, the second verse of the entire New Testament to have
been written down begins, “We give thanks.”
All
this from a man who experienced more sufferings than most of us would like to
imagine, never mind try to live through.
Yes, this is the guy who wrote “Rejoice always...give thanks in all
circumstances.”
Crazy? No.
He was so filled with the Good News of God’s love and power – and so
aware of the indestructible nature of God’s love and power – that
he had the strength and, yes, the joy
to endure everything life threw at him.
In fact, I think remembering to rejoice was a key to how he kept going.
He
didn’t expect to be “successful” in worldly terms every day, week or
month. He strove to be faithful
to God - and to rejoice whenever anyone
else was. He did not just delight
in his own accomplishments but in those of others as well; he did not just give thanks for God’s blessings to him but for God’s
blessings to others as well. And he
kept his eyes open, with confidence, expecting to see those blessings; and he
was not disappointed.
So
when and if we come to church weighed down by what life has thrown at us, let
us offer our burdens to God, who is always willing and able to lift them. And let us find something in our lives for
which we can give thanks – even if it’s simply being here.
And
in addition, let us keep our eyes and ears open for God’s blessings, to us or
to someone else; their joy can become your joy without their
losing any of it.
Look
at the “Good News” bulletin board just inside the fellowship room, listen for
good news from others, take the good news home and let it stick to you.
We
may need to hear bad news ourselves if it is truthful news, but we do not
need to obsess over bad news. In fact,
when we feel like we’re getting a torrent of bad news we can equip ourselves
with some “spiritual Teflon” [pick up frying pan] so that we can deal with it –
and then let it slide off.
On the other hand, when
we hear good news – our own or someone else’s – let’s bring out our
“spiritual Velcro” [pick up Velcro] and let
the good news we hear stick to it, and stick with us.
This
is particularly important if we are enduring a torrent of bad news! Getting overwhelmed by bad news could
cripple our ability to deal with it; letting good news stick to us bolsters our
spirits, gives us hope and strength and enables us to deal more effectively
with everything – as well as being wonderful in its own right!
“Rejoice
always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances.” Paul wasn’t kidding. And you know what? He’s right. And it’s when
it’s hardest to give thanks that we most need to do it. And if we give thanks even when it’s hard,
how much more filled with thanksgiving will we be when we have good news to
toss to everyone else’s Velcro!
Let
us join together in The General Thanksgiving in The Book of Common Prayer,
page 101.
(The Rev.) Francis A. Hubbard