October 26, 2008 at Saint Mark Church in Norman, OK
Exodus 20: 20-26 + Psalm 18 + 1 Thessalonians 1: 5-10 + Matthew 22: 34-40
Two words leap from the Epistle of Paul today to describe what is characteristic of the Christian life: serve and await. These are things that run contrary to twenty-first century life.We are accustomed to being served, and we don’t wait well.Suddenly Paul’s letter might just as well address the church of Norman as well as the church of Thessalonica.I believe that keeping these two characteristics together is important if we are to get into the thinking of Saint Paul.We must remember that this wise and passionate apostlewas first of all a pastor who was writing and addressing real experiences and issues in the lives of his friends.
So, I don’t think he is proposing service as a novel idea to those he addresses. He has already praised their goodness. Through out the letter he acknowledges the good things they have been doing. It is because of those things that he must encourage them since they are so good and so faithful, that they have been drawing attention to themselves. He acknowledges that they have turned from idols and that they have become imitators of himself and the Lord so much so that they are becoming models of faithful life as stewards of God’s gifts.
The problem arises with the second characteristic: waiting. They don’t like it. They tire of it. They want results, and they want them now. They want their reward, and when it does not come on their time, Paul knows it’s time to write a letter to remind them that you can’t just serve expecting gratitude, rewards, or results, you also have to wait.
Loyal service and patient waiting are the marks of faithful disciples.
Without the second part of this experience, the first part is often undone. Too often we give up or quit when there is no recognition of our service. Too often when we do the right thing and nothing gets better, we try something else rather than wait. What Paul would have us understand is that glory must be awaited with confidence, and it is slow in coming. You see, those Thessalonians expected Christ to come and acknowledge the risks they were taking by their willingness to abandon the idols and serve others rather than themselves. They wanted it now. They expected Christ to come and reward their loyalty and their service with glory and honor, and they thought was going to happen soon. The risk that Paul sees is that they might give up on service and sacrifice when rewards, gratitude, glory and honor were not forthcoming. Instead of being honored by fellow Thessalonians, these followers of Christ were ridiculed, abused, imprisoned, and scorned. It would be enough to make anyone return to the old ways of “taking care of number one”, the old ways of only doing things that provided instant gratification, or of only doing things people would admire and praise.
It cannot be so suggests Paul. We keep on serving, keep on loving, keep on giving even when things do not happen fast or exactly as we expected because we keep on waiting.
Parents, you know how that works. You continue to love, serve, give, protect and provide for your children even when they never say thank you and continually ask, “Is that all?” You wait. You wait until they grow up, and if you make it long enough, you watch them as parents, and you smile. Waiting is the mark of fidelity, the mark of a true follower of Christ. It means you don’t quit. Your children may leave you, reject your faith, question your values and judgments; but you keep on waiting. They may run away, but you wait like the father of the two sons who waits and watches.
Young people, hear what Paul teaches us. If you do things for glory and recognition now, you’ll have none later. If you keep your eyes fixed on later, on anther time, another age, or another life, you get closer to what Paul suggests is the way real followers of Christ live. He never gave up on those twelve. He waited for the Holy Spirit to come and finish in their hearts what he began, and in a sense he wasn’t there to see it; but he was willing to wait for God’s promise to be fulfilled. Serve and wait. It’s what we do. It’s how we live. It’s how we are faithful. This world doesn’t get it, but Paul would has