|
|
Good Shepherd Lutheran Church Today's Frontline Devotion February 24, 2009 |
A daily |
Frontline Devotion for Tuesday, February 24, 2009 by: Matt Pensinger
1st Thessalonians 2:13-17 We also constantly give thanks to God for this, that when you received the word of God that you heard from us, you accepted it not as a human word but as what it really is, God’s word, which is also at work in you believers. For you, brothers and sisters, became imitators of the churches of God in Christ Jesus that are in Judea, for you suffered the same things from your own compatriots as they did from the Jews, who killed both the Lord Jesus and the prophets, and drove us out; they displease God and oppose everyone by hindering us from speaking to the Gentiles so that they may be saved. Thus they have constantly been filling up the measure of their sins; but God’s wrath has overtaken them at last.
As for us, brothers and sisters, when, for a short time, we were made orphans by being separated from you—in person, not in heart—we longed with great eagerness to see you face to face.
Paul is an extreme guy. He’s extremely displeased with those who are causing the “sufferings” of others, and he’s also extremely pleased with those who resist in the face of “sufferings.” And, as we’ll see soon, he can be extremely displeased with those who give in. Paul pours out rage against those who are “hindering” the preaching of the gospel, probably Judeo-Christian leaders who claim that one must adopt belief in the Torah and the practice of Jewish living, in addition to belief in Jesus and the practice of Christian living, to be accepted as believers and a true church community – he claimed that such people “displease God” and that “God’s wrath has overtaken them at last.” And, Paul pours out love for those who have listened to HIS message of belief in “nothing but Jesus Christ, and him crucified,” and who have resisted entreaties from others and from the culture around them to add to or stray from this understanding – he “longed with great eagerness” to rejoin such people.
In the polite world of the public discourse, many of us don’t like extremes. Strongly held opinions are one thing… but state them too firmly, and you might be labeled an extremist. We value a middle path between opposing points of view; agreement, compromise, meeting halfway. We value voices that speak with authority… but we want an authority that everyone can agree on, and those seem to be in short supply. We want things to be good and better and best… but if that involves saying or doing things that might offend or seem extreme, take an unpopular position or make others uncomfortable, we shy away and stay quiet and accept the status quo. This dislike of the poles and desire for the tranquil middle is inherent and understandable, and in a lot of ways is a good rule for life. Paul himself writes many times of his desire that the members of the community be of one mind, that their life together reflect the one Spirit into which they are baptized, and that they find agreement, understanding, and forgiveness for each other.
I was reading through a “pastor book” the other day, about the complements and conflicts between the pastoral role and human nature, and it said something to the effect of this: ‘extremely strong emotions in a pastor – too much anger, sadness, or even joy – may make a congregation uncomfortable.’ My first thought was, too much JOY? Really? My second was, well, I’ll bet Paul made a lot of the churches he started uncomfortable… as a matter of fact, I’ll bet a LOT of good community leaders made and make their communities uncomfortable, in some ways. Paul’s rhetoric, here and many other places, is extreme. He’s extremely pleased… and extremely displeased. He’s filled with loving longing… he’s filled with righteous anger. He preaches with passionate certainty: this IS the word of God that you heard from me, and I constantly thank God that you believed it as such. He condemns opponents with over-the-top phrasing that reminds us of the person who was “breathing threats and murder” against the churches before meeting Jesus on the Damascus road. It doesn’t always sound comfortable, or agreeable, or tranquil. But there is a place, a need even, for such intensity, for a person who speaks in extremes. The passion and power and urgency of the life he’s talking about and the love he’s pouring out leap off the page, off the screen. In our world, in our lives, we usually think we’re more comfortable when everybody’s agreeing and no one’s making waves. But the life that Paul writes about, the life that Jesus calls us to, is in many ways not a life of bland agreement, of the tranquil middle… it’s a life where justice is to be passionately pursued, where mercy is an unyielding principle, where the “other” is of extreme importance, where love is the most urgent priority. God doesn’t call us or anyone to a life of extremism… I firmly passionately believe that, and we can see in history and all around us today the wreckage and brokenness and pain that’s caused when people go to extremes of hatred, or of certainty, or of ideology. But God doesn’t call us or anyone to a life that’s all about safety and comfort and popularity and being inoffensive, either… because God desires justice, and demands mercy, and gives peace, and loves with an inexhaustible intense passion that never wavers and never compromises and never withdraws. Read those words… hear that voice… pray to God… love your neighbor. It’s extremely important.
Fill us with your Spirit today, God. Set our hearts on fire. Send us to love. Give our lives new purpose, this day and every day. Amen.
|
All are welcome to join and share in our Devotional Ministry on the "Frontlines" of the world. Frontline Devotions are sent via email daily. Sign up by clicking on the box to the left. Pastor Dave welcomes feedback. Contact him at pastordave@goodshepherdonline.org. |
Visit the | |||||||||||
