December 11, 2011 Isaiah 61:1-4 Dr. Ted H.

Sandberg

1 Thessalonians 5:16-24

Rejoicing in the Lord

It was the best of times and it was the worst of times. Thats how Charles Dickens famously begins his Tale of Two Cities. Ive always felt that Dickens captures lifes ambiguity very well with that simple sentence. Its the best of times, its the worst of times. In some ways, life has never been better. Cars last longer. We have indoor plumbing. We can fly across country in a few hours. In other ways, life has never been worse, at least on a personal level. Some are experiencing the loss of spouse, partner, child, parent for the first time. Others are experiencing economic set backs that theyve never suffered before. Its always the worst of times for some. Its always the best of times for others. In the midst of these best of times and worst of times, Paul tells the Thessalonians, Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you. First Thessalonians is almost certainly the earliest Christian writing that we have. It was written early in Pauls apostolic career and not many years after Jesus death and resurrection.1 The Thessalonians had encountered, had experienced the presence of the risen Christ in their lives. They were new Christians, filled with fresh enthusiasm for sharing the Good News with others, and, of concern to Paul here, they were wondering when Gods reign would begin on earth. They were promised that a new world was on its way. Theyd been told that Jesus Christ is Lord, that he would reign. But where was Jesus? Why had his kingdom not come in its full glory?2 It was the best of times because they knew Jesus Christ as Lord. It was the worst of times because Gods kingdom had not yet come to earth. The waiting was hard for the Thessalonians because they expected the kingdom, literally, any day. We talk about the kingdom coming any time, but after 2000 years of waiting, Id be willing to bet that its not going to come this afternoon or in the next week or the next year. It could. Id be glad if it did. But chances are, Jesus wont return tomorrow. But as I suggest, the waiting wouldve been hard for those early Christians. Throughout this letter to the young church and to these young Christians, Paul tries to reassure them during their wait for Jesus return. And yet, before Paul ends his letter, he includes a [short] shopping list of great Christian virtues. And among those virtues, Paul lists the need to give thanks in all circumstances.3 Rejoice always, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you. How is that even possible?

1.

Bartlett, David L., 1 Thessalonians 5:16-24: Exegetical Perspective, Feasting on the Word: Preaching the Revised Common Lectionary, David L. Bartlett and Barbara Brown Taylor, General Editors, Westminster John Knox Press, Louisville, 2008, p. 63. Willimon, William H., In All Things, Thanks, Pulpit Resource, Vol. 39, No. 4; Year A & B; October, November, December 2011, p. 46. Willimon, p. 46

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When her beloved husband died in his mid-50s, Jean thought her life was over. In fact, the day that her husband died, thats exactly what she said, Now that Tom has left me, I really dont have a reason to go on. For nearly 30 years I was so dependent on Tom for everything thats important. I feel like Tom has died and I have died. Less than a year later, in a visit with her, her pastor was impressed by how much Jean had changed in the intervening months. The pastor commented on the visible change in her and she said, You know, Toms death was the worst thing that happened to me. But in a strange way it was also good. Ive always thought of myself as a weak person. I have always been cursed with a strong sense of my many inadequacies. And yet, when Tom died, I was really pushed to the wall. I had to reach down deep and to my surprise, I find that after all I am a very strong person! I have talent that I had previously never discovered. The worst thing that happened to me is turning out to be a good thing that happened to me.4 I suspect that if we asked Jean, however, whether she would give up her new found independence to have her Tom back, shed give up that independence in a minute to be reunited with her husband. Just because God can help us to learn and grow through something tragic in our lives, doesnt mean that God wanted that tragedy to occur, or that wed want a tragedy to occur so that we can grow. That demeans the suffering that we all go through. I also dont believe that when Paul tells us to Rejoice always, that he means that were always to feel as if weve just won the lottery. A few years ago, Bob Marleys song performed by Bobby McFerrin, Dont Worry, Be Happy was popular. It goes, in part, Here is a little song I wrote You might want to sing it note for note. Dont worry be happy. In every life we have some trouble. When you worry you make it double. Dont worry, be happy...... It continues: Aint got no place to lay your head, Somebody came and took your bed, Dont worry, be happy. The land lord say your rent is late, He may have to litigate, Dont worry, be happy.5 I dont believe thats what Paul is suggesting here. Rejoice always doesnt mean that were to put on a happy face and not worry about anything at all. Im sure that Jean, the widow I mentioned earlier, grieved for her husband. When I look at the list of our members whove died this year, I grieve. I grieve for Dolly, even though I know that she is now home with God as she wanted. Perhaps the example of Dolly is the closest to what I think Paul is saying to us. Rejoice. Dolly is now with the Lord. Rejoice. Her pain is over. Her wait is over. Be glad. But being glad doesnt mean that Dolly wont be terribly missed. Being glad doesnt mean that we dont hurt because shes not with us. We can be glad that shes with God at the same time we grieve that shes not alive with us. So it is for all who die knowing the Lord as Savior. Were glad their earthly suffering is over. Were glad that theyre with God even as we grieve terribly that they arent with us. Rejoicing always means
4. 5. Willimon, p. 46.

source: http://www.lyricsondemand.com/onehitwonders/dontworrybehappylyrics.html
Bob Marley Lyrics

that we can be glad, we can be filled with joy in the Lord, despite what happens to us in our daily lives. I think this is why this passage has been selected for this third Sunday of Advent. The main, or one of the main, reasons we celebrate Advent and celebrate Christmas is to remember that God has entered into our world bringing peace and hope and love and joy. Because of the birth of Jesus Christ, no matter what happens to us, no matter whether its good or bad, we can rejoice because God is with us. We can rejoice because we celebrate again that we havent gotten to the last chapter yet. I like reading mysteries. One of the things that I know in reading mystery books is that no matter what happens in the beginning and middle of the book, the hero or heroine is going to get out of the scrape because theres a lot of book left. Thats also true of reading books in a series. No matter how bad it may look for the hero, if theres another book in the series, that heroine is going to survive somehow. He or she may be shot, but theyll survive. And Ill be honest with you, if theres too much suspense for me, if it looks like one of the minor characters that I like isnt going to survive, I cheat and read the end of the book so that Ill know if the character lives or dies. I dont do that to find out who that villain is, but only to find out if the good guys live or not. I like to know the ending. Essentially, this is what Christmas is all about. God tells us through the gift of Jesus Christ that God is moving the story forward to make the ending happen as God tells us it will end. Jesus will return. Unlike the mysteries I read, we dont know how long the book is. But we do know how the story ends, and because we know how the story ends, we can be joyful. Im not saying that its always possible to have a positive attitude toward life, to believe that no matter how tough times are, that everything works out for the best so that were able to give thanks in the middle of even the most painful, difficult, threatening situation. Rather, Im saying that we live in the faith that the future belongs to God and that in the end God will have the last word. God is busy now, even in the worst of times, to move our time toward Gods time. If you dont believe in God, particularly in a God whos active in history, moving history toward his loving purposes, Im not sure what you do when life deals you some tragedy. I suppose you either practice Pollyanna-like optimism you put a cheery smile on your face and act as if the tragedy isnt really a tragedy. Or, you sink into bitterness and despair. The world is a brutish, solitary, ugly place. On the other hand, to believe in God is to believe that our actions arent the only actions that are occurring. In the present moment, theres a story working itself out beyond the present. Your circumstances, as bleak as they may be at the moment, arent the only circumstance. Its not only left up to us. We dont have the whole world in our hands. Theres a good, gracious presence moving behind the circumstances of life, and so we can rejoice no matter what happens.6 We can rejoice always. Amen.

6.

Willilmon, p. 47.