God didn’t intend for us to suffer his wrath but rather to possess salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ. Jesus died for us so that, whether we are awake or asleep, we will live together with him. So continue encouraging each other and building each other up, just like you are doing already. 1 Thessalonians 5: 9-11
This week I was honored to attend the Ecumenical Partnership for Housing Celebration Dinner, where a number of our church members showed our support for low-income families facing homelessness and transitioning to stable housing. Our church has made a commitment to share our time, energy, leadership and money with a community organization that provides housing and social services support so families can break the cycle of generational poverty and build a safe and secure home. We heard from three families who have new opportunities, and showed our support for their hard work building a new life.
Paul also showed support and encouragement through his writings to growing churches. First Thessalonians is considered to be the earliest writing about the Christian faith included in the New Testament. Paul had stopped in the Greek city of Thessalonika, a bustling trade port along a road that linked Constantinople in the east with the Adriatic Sea in the west. He met people who were hungry for news about Jesus, and who made a commitment to follow the Jesus Way in their lives. In other words, they became Christians, although that word didn’t exist at that time.
But that decision came with consequences. While they were filled with the joy and peace of Jesus and his gift of salvation, they lost all their existing social networks. No more job connections. No more family connections. In Thessalonika, even getting fire to restart your family hearth for cooking and heat involved making a sacrifice to the goddess Hera, wife of Zeus. Following Jesus meant giving up all the other gods, including the Emperor God Caesar, ruler of the Roman Empire.
Paul comforts people who are going through a major change in their lives, and facing persecution and rejection by their community. The strength of the early Christian church was their commitment to encourage and build each other up. For example, when plagues came to a town, most people left for safety outside town. The Christians stayed and helped those who were ill, and showed God’s love and grace through their actions. They offered encouragement and support to each other.
Today, most of us don’t face these kinds of consequences for following Jesus. We may not make a burnt sacrifice to a powerless god-figure, but we often sacrifice our time and focus to the gods of money and comfort and privilege and property instead of giving to our neighbors in need. And some of us are struggling with life problems, such as mental health or tough jobs, and need the encouragement and support of our faith companions. In a world that tells us to put ourselves first in our lives, being a church that reaches out and helps others is a strong testimony that Jesus is doing something different in us.
We can be confident that we are saved in Jesus, and that God’s plan isn’t for us to suffer God’s wrath. We also get to live together, which means sometimes we make sacrifices for the people around us, instead of to gods with no power in our lives. Take a moment to consider if you are in need of encouragement and support, and be strong in asking for help. Or maybe in your moment of consideration you realize that you have the time and energy to offer encouragement and support to others. Giving and receiving are part of the relationship that comes with being a member of God’s faith family. Amen.
2024 Ecumenical Partnership for Housing celebration dinner, where our church members celebrate the ways we encourage and support families who are transitioning to stable, long-term housing. Thanks to Deb Erdmann for serving as our house coordinator, Dave Pietenpol for his leadership in the EPH organization, and Kay Waugh, Dale Waugh, and Dinae Longsine, as well as others from our church, for their volunteer time preparing the house for a new family.