As we talked about last week, Paul is using the technology of his day in order to communicate with people he would rather see in person. Fundamentally, what Paul is doing is not all that different than what we are doing. The technology is different, of course. Paul is using paper and pen, maybe papyrus and pen, the latest technology of that day, and we are using videos and the internet. So it is different in terms of means and the technology itself, but yet the purpose, the goal, the motivation is the same. It is people who would much rather be together, but are being kept apart. They are doing it so they can connect, so they can support each other, and so they can continue to grow in faith together.
For me, this year as we have been working our way through the Epistles, I have been connecting with them in a new way. I am connecting with Paul in a new way. The past month or so we have been working our way through Paul’s letter to the Phillipians, and today we move on to Paul’s letter to the Thessalonians. We will be here about a month, we’ll take one week off for All Saints Sunday, but over the next month or so we are going to make our way through Paul’s letter to this community, the church of the Thessalonians.
Today we get the very first section of the letter. It is rather weird at first because Greek letter writing conventions are different than our letter writing conventions. While we have an open salutation at the beginning, Dear So and So, then the letter, then Sincerely, the author, all of that closing gets moved to the opening and actually starts where we end. It starts with the author, Paul, Sylvanus, and Timothy, and then says who it is to, the church of the Thessalonians, and the opening part ends “Grace and peace be unto you.” It’s like our “Sincerely”. Or when I write a letter to you I end with “Blessings”, or “Blessings and peace.” It’s the same kind of thing, but moved up to the beginning in Paul’s letter. That phrase, blessings and peace to you, ends the opening, and then you get into the letter, the body of the letter.
The very first thing Paul has to do is to lay the foundation of what he is going to talk about. Paul has a purpose in this letter. He wants to deal with an issue that they are dealing with and help them work through it. In order to do that he needs to set up a couple of foundational things. Right now we are in that opening foundation laying section. There are a lot of foundations that Paul has to lay before we get to the core, the meat of the letter. I’m not going to focus on all of them. Hopefully we will get to a few of them in the coming weeks because we are going to see them come to fruition at the end of the letter.
I want to focus today on that very first foundation that Paul lays, which is the foundation of gratitude. The body of the letter begins, “I offer my thanksgiving to God for all of you.” That is how Paul actually starts the letter after he gets through his formalities, and that is the very first foundation that he has to lay. I think this is really important foundation to lay as the first one because it is a reminder of how central gratitude is to our faith. To Paul’s faith, and to our faith. What is it that we do when we are able to gather together in person? Every time, every Sunday we gather together to celebrate the Eucharist. And what is the Eucharist? It is the Greek word for Thanksgiving. The Eucharist is the Great Thanksgiving. When we gather together we offer thanksgiving to God for the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. We offer thanksgiving to God that we have been called into this life and to follow Jesus. We offer thanksgiving to God for all the gifts that he has given us in this life. At the core, at the center of our faith is gratitude, and by making that the very first foundation that Paul lays is a poignant reminder of that truth.
I know that gratitude is so much harder during challenging times like we find ourselves in at this moment. But Paul knew that all too well. Another of the foundations that Paul lays is the foundation of their communal suffering they have been through. Paul has been through suffering and they have been through suffering. That is another foundation he has to lay as he gets into his letter and the things he needs to talk about with them, faith and love and hope. Paul and the people of the church of the Thessalonians are not without having gone through some very serious suffering and difficulty. And yet they are still able to offer their gratitude to God.
And so are we. These are very difficult times, very challenging, and yet God’s gifts still rain down upon us. There are so many things I find myself grateful for. One of those things is that in spite of the fact that we cannot be together in the same way, I am grateful that I am still able to connect with you through the technology that we have. It may not be as good as what we would like it to be. It is not ideal. But it is what we have, and it is something to help support us, to connect us, and help us grow in our faith as we move through these times. Times that will end, but in the meantime we still find a way to connect and support and grow in faith together.
There are other things to be grateful for. In the midst of all these challenging things there are still opportunities to laugh, opportunities to connect, opportunities to work, and find ways to enjoy life. There are still good things in the midst of all the difficulties.
My friends in Christ, I encourage you to take some time to focus on gratitude, to find ways to intentionally lay that foundation. Perhaps it is counting on your fingers every day five or ten things that you are thankful for. Work on that. Practice thankfulness.
I want to share with you a prayer from our Prayer Book. It is one of my favorite prayers. It comes from the Prayers and Thanksgivings section in the back of the Prayer Book. This prayer is called A Genral Thanksgiving, and is found on page 836.
Accept, O Lord, our thanks and praise for all that you have
done for us. We thank you for the splendor of the whole
creation, for the beauty of this world, for the wonder of life,
and for the mystery of love.
We thank you for the blessing of family and friends, and for
the loving care which surrounds us on every side.
We thank you for setting us at tasks which demand our best
efforts, and for leading us to accomplishments which satisfy
and delight us.
We thank you also for those disappointments and failures
that lead us to acknowledge our dependence on you alone.
Above all, we thank you for your Son Jesus Christ; for the
truth of his Word and the example of his life; for his steadfast
obedience, by which he overcame temptation; for his dying,
through which he overcame death; and for his rising to life
again, in which we are raised to the life of your kingdom.
Grant us the gift of your Spirit, that we may know him and
make him known; and through him, at all times and in all
places, may give thanks to you in all things. Amen.
