At the beginning of the month, I told you that we would be exploring what it looks like to be followers of Christ, to live into the kingdom of God. Focusing on Paul’s letter to the Philippians the last two weeks, we have looked at our call to become like Christ and our call to serve all those we encounter with gentleness. This week, we turn to another of Paul’s letters to explore a different call - our call to be an example to others.
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Our reading today comes from Paul’s First Letter to the Thessalonians (1 Thessalonians 1:1-10). This letter is thought to be the earliest of Paul’s letters to make their way into the Bible. Thessalonica was the capital of the Roman province of Macedonia and sat along several important land and sea trade routes. It was an important city in that region of the Roman empire, and therefore a perfect destination for Paul’s efforts.
Paul was with the people of Thessalonica for a time, teaching them and helping them to grow. Once they were in a position to continue on their own, he moved on. But he continued to send these letters back to them, letters meant to continue the teaching he had started.
Here in the opening of this letter, we get a sense of Paul's encouragement and that he is proud of their continued ministry. “We remember your work that comes from faith, your effort that comes from love, and your perseverance that comes from hope....” (1 Thessalonias 1:3, CEB). We see here Paul’s focus on faith, hope, and love that we are familiar with from some of his other letters. And we see why he remembers them fondly as he continues his travels. Look at all the things you have accomplished in the name of Jesus. Look at all the ways you have continued the work we started together.
Paul praises them for the ways in which they took what they had learned and continued to grow in their relationship with God. Paul reminds them of the way that he and the others who had come to the church in Thessalonica had acted when they were with them. The way they lived when they were in the community was part of their teaching. And Paul is proud of what they learned.
“You became imitators of us and of the Lord…” (1 Thessalonians 1:6, CEB).
The people of the Thessalonian church took their cues from Paul and his coworkers in the ministry. Not only that, they became imitators of Jesus. As Paul would later encourage the Philippian church to do, the church in Thessalonica was working on becoming more like Christ.
This is an important piece for us to remember. Few of us simply come to the faith without following the example of another. There is someone we have known or seen that has encouraged us along the way.
Who are some of those who showed you what it means to be a follower of Christ?
Usually this is someone close to us, a mother, a father, a grandparent. It may be a family friend. And perhaps it has been a church leader, a pastor or a Sunday School teacher.
I remember growing up that Sunday worship always felt important to me. I of course didn’t have the language for it until much later, but I wanted to be in worship
My family used to go camping about once a month when I was young. So one weekend a month, we would miss worship because we were off somewhere. Then it got to a point where we were skipping church the week before as we prepared for the camping trip the next weekend. Then came the point where we missed worship the next weekend because we were recovering from our camping trip the week before.
I was missing worship. So I decided I was going to walk. I was a young teenager, and I used to spend time riding my bike all over town anyway. It wasn’t really that big a deal, and my parents didn’t mind. Our church was only about a mile away, though I had to cross a fairly busy highway to get there. When my grandmother found out, she offered to drive across town to make sure I got to worship and back safely. Suddenly, my parents were making sure I was in worship each week.
Part of why it was important to me was because of the example that others had set for me. There were the young pastors, mostly Candler students who were with us for a few years at a time. There were the other families that I had gotten to know, who expressed their joy at seeing me each week and helped set an example for what faithful living looked like. And there was the example of my grandparents, who attended every week without fail.
These are of course the personal examples. As I have gotten older, I also consider the more public examples. When I think about those I see living lives that exemplify the example of Jesus, there is someone right here in our very state that comes to mind. President Jimmy Carter is someone who is not always greatly remembered for his time in the White House, but the example of the life he has lived since then speaks volumes. He continues to attend worship regularly, to teach Bible study, and to serve the people of his community through Habitat for Humanity. In this way, he continues to be an example for others of what it looks like to be an imitator of Christ.
Now, of course, this would have fit well with the sermon a couple of weeks ago when we talked about our call to become more like Jesus. But Paul doesn’t stop here and neither should we. Paul points out that the community at Thessalonica has taken the next step in their own lives and ministry. Where they have been and continue to be imitators of Jesus as made known to them in the lives of Paul and the other ministers that had been with them, now they are known as an example themselves.
Paul says, “As a result you became an example to all the believers in Macedonia and Achaia” (1 Thessalonians 1:7, CEB). The congregation at Thessalonica may have started out by simply imitating the ministers who had come to them, but in the process, they themselves became an example to others.
Part of our calling as followers of Christ is to ourselves become an example to others. Particularly in a world that is increasingly unchurched, those of us who claim the name Christian may be the only example others see of the life of Jesus. As we look around our community and our world, what example is being set for others by those who are part of the body of Christ?
As I mentioned before, there are of course some well known names that serve as an example of faith in action. Jimmy Carter is but one example of a man who lives a life of faith, hope, and love. But I am also able to look at the members of this community here when I need an example of faith in action. When I look at this community I see those who step up when there is a need in the congregation. I see those who step up to serve those in need in our local community. I see those who keep us all connected and make sure we all know we are loved. I see those who joyfully step forward to do whatever needs to be done without asking anything in return.
As Paul makes clear, this is exactly what is expected of us. Not that we would go around intentionally seeking to draw attention to ourselves as if our faith were something to brag about. This is the type of thing that Paul warned us about in the letter to the Philippians. But instead, through our actions and through our faith, others may know what it means to follow Christ. Through our service to the community and through our love of others, other people may catch a glimpse of what Christ’s love looks like. Through us, the world may know hope in the love of God for us all.
I think perhaps I was a bit inspired by my thoughts of President Carter over this past week, because the song that came to mind for me as we consider what it means to be an example to others is the song, “If I Had a Hammer.” Co-written by Pete Seeger, one of the fathers of modern American folk music, in the late-1950s, this song provides us an example of how we can live and serve others in whatever way we can. Whether we have a hammer, a bell, or a song, no matter our gift, we can use that gift to dispel danger, to protect other people, and to spread love.
While perhaps not intentionally about being imitators of Christ, we can see that this fits well with the example that has been set for us in the lives of those who have come before us and in the life of Jesus. And it is a perfect reminder of our own call to be an example to others.