Psalm 90.1-6; 1 Thessalonians 2.1-8
Has anyone here ever been “tricked” by a slick sales pitch?
Maybe not tricked, but persuaded … induced, to do something, buy something, join a program, sign a contract …
Paul the Apostle is well aware of our human vulnerability … he lives in a world of religious slick-talkers and political campaigners … who know how to use words, gain the advantage, further their own purposes.
Every day, our phones, our computers - messages and notices that look real, but are not … supposedly from banks and mortgage companies, credit cards, and law enforcement - threatening us with law suits and prison, threatening to freeze our credit, our bank accounts, if we don’t immediately call such-and-such a number to clear up the issues …
Some of us have been scammed … and what a mess that creates.
In Paul’s world, and ours, plenty of shysters, hucksters, charlatans, and tricksters … out to fleece the flock, feather their nests, and relieve us of our money.
And worse - relieve us of our Democracy, and twist the Christian Faith into a message of hate, rejection, and death.
There are religious and political leaders in our land with whom I have the strongest disagreement …
Because of what they say, of course, but worse -
they take the Bible and wave it around,
they quote the Bible and weaponize it …
they talk of Jesus, the Ten Commandments, family values, and faith, in ways that I find dangerous to the moral fiber of the nation …
Climate questions ignored … science denigrated …
public schools and libraries under attack.
civil rights undone …
It is NOT the gospel, as I know it … it’s to the love of God as I have known it … it’s not the hope and peace proclaimed by Paul.
I’m reading now a new church history entitled, The First Thousand Years … a large undertaking, for sure … tracking the development of the church from small gatherings here and there, to an overwhelming presence throughout the Roman Empire, the legacy ofd which we still see in the great Cathedrals and Churches of Europe … and to this very time, the imposing grandeur of a church like Westminster - this remarkable physical presence on Lake Avenue.
The first thousand years were tumultuous, to say the least … there were conflicts and contentious debates … even war, as the Eastern part of the empire, and the Western part of the empire went their separate ways, theologically … with the Nicene Creed being at the heart of some might difficult arguments about Jesus - who was Jesus, and how was Jesus related to God the Father … and then the question of the Holy Spirit … people fought like mad on all of this.
Which is to say, that we have our work cut out for us … only preachers in our pulpits, elders in board room, and all who seek something about God … and much is at stake … it has always been, and will always be … here in our own nation’s story, from the landing of the Pilgrims through the Revolution and the Civil War, to this very day … religion and politics are often duking it out …
And for these reasons, let’s take a closer look at Paul … and give ear to what he’s saying.
In his letter to the Thessalonians:
Paul points to his motives … “here I am,” he says; this is why I do what I do.
To share the love of God with you.
the love of God revealed in Christ …
the love of God that created the world and said, Let there be light …
the love of God promised to Sarah and Abraham,
Miriam and Moses …
Deborah and David …
and Daniel in the lion’s den.
the love of God proclaimed by the prophets
the love of God born of Mary …
the love of God that takes up the cross to bear the sins of the world,
the love of God that turns to the children with kindness,
the love of God that welcomes the outcast, and touches the leper,
the love of God that crosses all the usual boundaries of faith and society, race, gender, and status -
the love of God that builds bridges and tears down the walls … overturns the tables of privilege and power, to be sure that justice is being done for the widow, the orphan and the stranger at the gate.
Paul’s motives …
Motives count …
Motives are the engines of morality …
Someone might say: “Who the heck cares about the Apostle Paul? Why is any of this important to me, 2023?”
It’s important, because Paul’s letters made it into what we now call “the Bible” …
his words have influenced millions of people throughout the centuries ….
his words are read carefully and prayerfully …
his words, searched for meaning …
his words, pondered, questioned, debated, rejected, analyzed, welcomed, twisted, distorted …
Folks on the street, professors of theology … politicians in Washington and preachers all across the land.
Paul is a living presence in what we believe, how we think, and what we value, whether we know it or not.
I care about his motives.
When someone picks up a Bible and waves it around, I want to be sure they know what they’re saying, and I want to know what they want.
Paul says, I’m not here to please mortals, but to please God!
And that’s our measure of assurance …
Paul’s motives are not a threat, but a promise of hope.
Neither profit nor personal gain!
Neither market-place values nor what the crowd wants.
But what people need! to be more fully human, more fully who they are, and who they need to be.
Paul never forgot the Damascus Road moment, a moment of grace that changed everything for him, and put Christ at the center.
In his former life, Paul was trying to be someone he wasn’t … on the Damascus Road, with Christ, Paul found his true self.
A few things to think about:
Trying to be someone or something that others want, trying ever and always to please others, to win attention, gain approval, look good, look smart - it’s the death of us.
I struggle with this; maybe you do, too.
I want to be appreciated,
thought well of …
there is something inside of me that needs constant attention and affirmation … it’s ok, but it’s also dangerous …
if I make the affirmation of others too important, their criticism can be overwhelming, and I end up losing my bearings.
Yes, to pay attention to what others think of me, and to learn from them, but to remain centered in Christ,
secure enough in Christ to not be knocked off balance by what others think or say of me! Good, bad, or indifferent.
Thinking a little bit more:
There’s a lot of concern these days about young girls and the effects of body image portrayed in movies, magazines, TV and TikTok … and for young boys, too …
Images of beauty, images of strength - photoshopped and manipulated by AI …
Illusion, fantasy, dreams … none of which is particularly helpful!
No matter how much weight a young girl loses,
or how much muscle tone a young boy achieves …
from bust-line to six-pack abs …
children and youth are besieged by images that aren’t real …
When we’re young, we don’t always know this … and even when we “grow up,” we’re still easily sold a bill of goods.
To please GOD is to find our TRUE SELVES …
To gain some peace of mind …
a sense of well-being …
to be engaged in the news of the day and not lose our bearings …
to be engaged in the news of the day, with the Good News of Christ guiding us: thy kingdom come, thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.
Yes,
to be secure in a world that is never secure …
to age well, to learn much, to laugh often …
to be patient with ourselves as life unfolds …
modulate our expectations, measure ourselves, not by some impossible standards, but with reality and truth … the grace of our LORD Jesus Christ.
Come and follow me, says Jesus … a dynamic life of introspection and mission … a life of learning and a life of love … a journey into the deeps of our soul, and a journey of justice to the world.
To please God … to be of a mind with Paul … to find our true selves, as we are in Christ.
Motives count!
Amen and Amen!
