Psalm 99; 1Thessalonians 1.1-10
The text takes us to an interesting place, with one word, in verse 4 … which is to say, we’re not entirely sure … translations, of course, have to make a choice … what they have chosen is what we now read.
Our Lectern Bible, and my study Bible, is the NRSV, the New Revised Standard Version, which translates vs 4 from God’s point of view - God has chosen you … and for a Presbyterian, that’s solid gold - the sovereign grace of God … the work of the Holy Spirit …
The primal work of salvation:
depicted so beautifully in infant baptism.
Long before the child knows anything, the child is already chosen by God, through the covenant promises - made in the earliest days of Israel with Abraham and Sarah, and celebrated by Peter’s preaching on Pentecost Day - the promise of God is for us, AND FOR OUR CHILDREN!
There’s no way that a child can choose God, of course … God is the principle player … it’s God’s will, it’s God’s purpose, it’s God who does the choosing.
This is an essential piece of the puzzle for me … I have always taken great comfort in the doctrine of assurance, blessed assurance, that I belong to God … in life, in death, body and soul … not because of anything I’ve done, but all because of what God has done, and continues to do in this world.
There is nothing in life, or in death, any time anywhere, that can separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our LORD … neither our foolishness, nor our sin … neither our failures, nor our faults … neither angels in heaven, nor demons in hell.
The bond between God and us is secured by God … not by us … that’s our assurance, our blessed assurance, our peace, our comfort …
in ways we cannot imagine,
in ways we cannot see,
the Holy Spirit secures our life in Christ …
forever and a day.
All of this has been a point of contention in the Christian world … it’s the been the occasion of heated debate, churches splitting … with Presbyterians going their way, and Baptists another.
As you might know, the Baptist traditions follow another path, which may also be intended in Paul’s note …
Paul wrote his letter in Greek … not English, or German or Dutch, or Spanish … but Greek …
If one translator puts the emphasis upon God doing the choosing, another translator can put the emphasis upon the choice made by the Thessalonians … or by any of us …
Paul could very well be saying both.
My Presbyterian antennae stand up straight on this one … because of human pride …
It’s easy for us to put ourselves in the center of things, to play King of the Mountain, and grab the loot …
Presbyterians are disposed theologically to pay attention to sin - perhaps too much attention, but this much I know: we Presbyterians err on the side of caution.
We remember the Genesis story, the Tree of Knowledge, how Adam and Eve plucked the fruit, in an attempt to be like God, so they could dispense with God … we remember all the sorrow and destruction we human beings are capable of delivering to the world, when we sing our favorite song: Me First! Me me me me!
Pride goeth before the fall … but amazing grace is just around the corner.
The grace that comes to us in the hour of need … from the Genesis story, Adam and Eve take the fruit willfully and plunge humankind into chaos … God compels them to leave the Garden … but before they leave, God becomes a tailor; God makes them garments of skins - sturdy clothing for the long journey ahead.
I am a Presbyterian, by faith, by choice, and I believe, because God chose me, before I chose God.
Those who see it from another perspective criticize us Presbyterians - for being too confident, too comfortable, maybe too cold.
We’ve been called the “frozen chosen” - have you ever heard that one?
The “frozen chosen” … and there may be some truth to that …
Let’s step back and think about our text.
Can it be that Paul is saying both? … God’s choice, our choice?
When Paul wrote his letter, did he chose a Greek word, and sentence-construction, that is purposefully ambiguous, a tease, a suggestion? … not the answer to a question, but to sharpen the question … compel us to think?
Maybe it’s like the waltz … Donna and I love to watch the waltz - it flows so beautifully across a dance floor …
We took dance lessons for years - and we learned the secret of the waltz - contrary to most other dances … in most other dances, the man takes the lead, and the woman follows.
In the waltz, the lead changes every three steps …“he goes, she goes” … and that’s the power, the beauty, the flow, of the waltz.
Yes, it begins with the man taking the first three steps … and then the woman takes the next three steps, and off the couple goes, dancing gracefully - he goes, she goes, to the lilting music of the waltz.
I think Paul would approve of the waltz as a metaphor …
Yes, the first step is taken by God … I stand on that notion, and I stand by infant baptism, as the purest and best expression of God’s sovereign grace at work … God goes first.
The same is true in an adult baptism … peel back the layers of time, and sooner or latter, one finds the moment wherein God begins the great work of redemption … a work that emerges in later years … in faith, in a decision, to give one’s life to Christ, and in so doing, seek baptism.
God takes the first steps; God dances with us … and God invites us to take the next set of steps … and then God, again … and then we again …
Paul celebrates both realities … God takes the first step, and then, we take the next step … back and forth, and all around the dance floor.
Yes, we are chosen - that’s how it begins, that’s the anchor, the love of God, at work in all things, for good … and in the end, when life is slipping away, the primordial love of God will be there … as it was in the beginning, so shall it be at the end.
In the meantime, we are given enormous breadth and depth in God’s love … we make all kinds of good choices, to love, to forgive, to pray, to worship …
To be loyal to the church of Jesus Christ,
to be in worship, because we need to be here,
others need to see us, and we need to see them …
And thank God for YouTube - YouTube really works … the Spirit binds us all together … a holy fellowship, the communion saints.
The love of God is deeply personal, but it’s NOT a private affair.
The journey of faith is always in the company of others … past, present and future - a great cloud of witnesses.
Abraham and Sarah … Moses and Miriam … Isaiah and Queen Esther … Ruth and King David … John the Baptist and Mary the Mother of God … Paul and Dorcas … generation after generation … the torch of faith passed on …
God lights the torch … we carry it.
God chooses us … we choose Christ …
God makes the first move, we make the next move …
Just like the waltz … a beautiful dance.
Dance, then, wherever you may be,
I am the Lord of the dance, said he,
And I'll lead you all, wherever you may be,
And I'll lead you all in the dance, said he.
Amen and Amen!
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