The End of the Beginning: Encourage One Another

One of the surest ways through times of change and chaos, endings and uncertainty, is having someone offer a bit of encouragement. Encouragement takes many forms, and what one finds encouraging may differ from one person to the next. But encouragement helps us maintain our focus and keeps us steady when we aren't sure what is coming or when.

This week, we return to Paul's First Letter to the Thessalonians (see 1 Thessalonians 5:1-11). In this brief reading, Paul starts with uncertainty and moves to encouragement. What does it mean to not know when something we greatly anticipate or even desire is going to come to pass? How can a word of encouragement get us through such times?

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Our text today continues the themes we have been exploring this month. In this bit of the letter to the Thessalonians we read today, Paul reminds us that we cannot know the timing and the dates of the kingdom to come, for “...the day of the Lord is going to come like a thief in the night” (1 Thessalonians 5:2, CEB).

We know that the end of one thing is before us. We know that present things will come to a close. We know that the beginning must eventually come to an end. We know that the kingdom of heaven is coming. But the ultimate fulfillment of that time will come unexpectedly and without warning. We cannot know the timing and the dates.

Unfortunately, that leaves us in a bit of a difficult situation. I think we can all agree that it is difficult to wait when we don’t know what to expect or when. Looking at the health crisis looming around us with the impact of COVID on our lives, we can know that eventually things will change. Eventually we will be able to move closer to the way things were before. But not knowing when is hard. Living in the uncertainty can cause quite a bit of anxiety.

Paul seems to recognize this, which is one reason our reading today doesn’t end on a note of uncertainty. Paul does go on a bit about our inability to know and about the dangers of assuming that we know when things will go a particular way. Because of this uncertainty, he urges us to remain alert.

But, while it takes him a little while to get there, he does eventually switch gears. Going back to the metaphor of the thief, he highlights that the thief comes in the night, in a time of darkness. But then he reminds us that we are not in darkness. As followers of Jesus, who is the light of the world, we ourselves are children of the light. Therefore we cannot be in darkness.

This is a theme that comes up again during the Advent and Christmas season. The first chapter of the Gospel of John, which is often read on Christmas Eve, talks about light coming into a world of darkness and identifies Jesus as that light. There is also an Advent song in the United Methodist Hymnal that you may be familiar with that goes “I want to walk as a child of the light/I want to follow Jesus” (The United Methodist Hymnal, 206). Jesus is light, and, as his followers, we have inherited a part of that light as well. 

This is the first bit of encouragement that Paul offers here. While the thief may come in darkness, we cannot be in darkness. We are children of the light, so we can see more clearly. Then Paul plays with this imagery of day and night for a bit, making some comparisons that sound almost odd to our ears. He moves from talking about light and dark to day and night to awake and asleep to sober and drunkenness. 

Some of this is likely coded language that may have been immediately obvious to people in the church at Thessalonica. “Children of the Night” may have referred to followers of the Greek god, Dionysis, who held wild, drunken celebrations in the night time (as highlighted here). So comparisons between the day and the night and soberness and drunkenness might make more sense in this setting.

But in our present world, as we think about the difference between being awake and asleep, we know that when we are awake, we are generally aware of what is going on around us. However, when we are asleep, we are oblivious to what is going on around us.  How many of you have had the experience of waking up in the morning to discover there had been a storm the night before that you had slept through?

Paul wants to be clear that we who follow Jesus live in the light. Because we are in the light, we are awake and aware. We will not be caught off guard, unlike those who dwell in night and darkness. Those who live in the night and darkness are asleep and therefore unaware. Therefore, we should not be afraid, though we should remain alert.

Of course, I think there are times when we hear things like this from Paul, and we may find them discouraging instead of encouraging. I don’t really want to speak for any of you, but sometimes I feel like I don’t quite measure up to the vision Paul has of what it means to be a follower of Christ. There are times that I do not feel enlightened. There are times that I do not feel awake. I read these words from Paul, and I feel like I am still floundering in darkness, asleep to the signs around me that I am supposed to recognize.

As I continue reading, I think that perhaps Paul knows that other followers reading his letters may feel the same way, for he does not leave us there. As we get close to the end of this reading, we find these words: “God didn’t intend for us to suffer his wrath but rather to possess salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ” (1 Thessalonians 5:9, CEB). God did not create us with the intention that we would suffer. That is not God’s will for us. Now this is a true note of encouragement. Do not be anxious, for God does not intend ill towards you.

Rather, God created us for life and for love. When we look to the life and ministry of Jesus, this is the message we see repeated over and over. His life, death, and resurrection when taken together prove God’s love for us. We are meant to love God and to love one another. That’s it. That’s how Jesus sums up the entirety of history.

Those are words that begin to fill me with encouragement, but then Paul takes it one step further. “Jesus died for us so that, whether we are awake or asleep, we will live together with him.” (1 Thessalonians 5:10, CEB). Did you catch that? Paul takes a bit of the sting out of his earlier statements. Recognizing that we all fall short, he does not wish those that do not feel up to the task, that do not feel perfect and awake, to be discouraged or fall into despair. Jesus came for all of us. Whether we are awake or asleep, whether we consider ourselves perfect already or still in need, whether we are already enlightened or still dwelling in darkness, Jesus came for us all.

“So continue encouraging each other and building each other up…” (5:11)

In the end, Paul comes to a place where he seems to feel it doesn’t entirely matter if you are already in the community or not. If Jesus came for us all, then the best thing we can do for ourselves and for our community is to continue to encourage one another.

As I consider the present world and our need to be a sign of encouragement for others, I was reminded of a movie I have seen a few times. It may seem like an odd choice at first, but I think “The Shawshank Redemption” offers us a pretty good model for what it is that Paul is talking to us about here. Maybe some of you have seen this movie or perhaps read the Stephen King story it is based on.

The movie is set primarily at Shawshank prison. As the story opens, we are introduced first to a man who goes by the name Red as he recounts the first time he saw Andy Dufresne. Andy Dufresne is a new prisoner, convicted of killing his wife and her lover in a fit of jealous rage. But he proclaims his innocence the entire time. Trying not to give away too much of the plot of the movie, but, at least from Andy’s point of view, he knows that he is innocent. 

Throughout the story, we see a man that refuses to be beaten down by the horrors he encounters in prison. He does not know when or even if he will ever be set free, but rather than falling into despair, Andy becomes an encouraging presence for his fellow inmates. Through his words and actions, the other prisoners are encouraged to be better people. Andy helps them obtain a functional library. He teaches some of them to read. He even assists more than one of the men in earning his GED. Even locked up in prison, Andy’s presence and his actions give the other prisoners hope for the future.

As we look around at the place we currently find ourselves in the world, how are we finding encouragement? Where are the signs of hope for us? And, following along with Paul’s encouragement, how are we providing encouragement for others? How is our presence in this community a sign of hope? I look at things like the Thanksgiving meal boxes and the upcoming Christmas gifts that my local congregation is providing, and I see some of the ways in which we as the church offer hope and encouragement for others.

As we draw to a close today, there is a song I would like to share. It is not explicitly a religious song, but it is obviously a song about faith and hope. The song is called “Secure Yourself” by Atlanta-based duo, the Indigo Girls. They often write songs that wrestle with faith and our place in the world. And they have connections to the Methodist community, as one of them is the daughter of a Methodist minister and Candler professor.

This particular song has similar imagery to what we find in our scripture today. There is an interplay between awake and asleep, between night and day. Phrases like “eyes wide open but fast asleep” and “hold on tight the night has come” seem to fit exactly with the imagery that Paul is using. And as we hear the chorus, we hear the note of both longing and encouragement - secure yourself to heaven, hold on tight the night has come, fasten up your earthly burdens, you have just begun. Sometimes, when all we have to offer are broken words, what we really need is a bit of encouragement.

As we consider endings and beginnings and not knowing what is next, may we hear the encouragement in these words for us today.

Season of Creation: Forest Sunday

 This week begins the Season of Creation for 2020. This season began to be recommended by the World Council of Churches starting in 2008. It is an ecumenical celebration of God as creator, of this beautiful creation that God has made us a part of, and of our call as stewards of that creation.

On this first Sunday, we look at the second telling of the creation story.  In Genesis 2, we hear about the creation of the first human as well as the creation of the Garden in which the human was replaced (see Genesis 2:4b-9 and 15-17). In this Garden, God created trees of beauty and fruitfulness. 

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I am guessing that many of you may be familiar with the more traditional seasons of the church year. After all, I’ve noticed that your bulletins before I came here often included a short note about the liturgical seasons and colors. I would guess that most of you know at least something about Advent and Lent, our seasons of preparation for the big celebrations of Christmas and Easter. And, of course, everyone knows Christmas and Easter, though some may not know that they are seasons in the church year as well, extending beyond the single day celebrations our culture often suggests. The rest of the year is given over to Ordinary time, a season split in two that covers over half of the calendar year. Technically it is one big broken up season though it is sometimes treated as a season of Epiphany and a season of Pentecost.

If we were gathered together in person today, I would ask if anyone knows why it is called Ordinary time. I am certain that you have your own ideas and thoughts about the meaning of the word ordinary. Maybe you’re wondering what in the world that has to do with the church year.

As it turns out, the word ordinary originally meant ordered or numbered. If you’ve ever heard of ordinal numbers, it is the same root. Ordinary time gets its name from the way the Sundays are numbered in a series. Ironically, our current understanding of ordinary as commonplace or even uninteresting probably grows out of people’s experience of ordinary time in the church. 

But I digress just a little. You may have noticed that the Season of Creation was not named as one of the traditional seasons of the church year. That is because it is a relatively recent optional addition to the church year.

In the calendar of the saints that is followed by many Christians in the Western world, the feast day of St. Francis of Assissi falls on October 4 each year. Among other things, St. Francis is the patron saint of animals and ecology. Due to his purported love for nature and God's creatures, his feast day has been used as a time for the blessing of animals and to remember our call to care for all of creation.

In the Eastern Christian tradition, the church year begins on September 1 with a commemoration of God’s creation of the world. During the heightened awareness of our need to care for the environment in the late-80s, September 1 was also declared a day of prayer for the environment in the Eastern church.

In 2008, the World Council of Churches began to encourage all denominations to celebrate the period from September 1 to October 4 as a “Time for Creation.” During this season we focus on God as creator and on this wonderful world that God has created and made us a part of. We also consider our place in this world and our call to be stewards of all that God has created.

As we begin our conversation about creation, there is no better place to start than the book of Genesis. In our reading today from the second telling of the creation of the world, God creates the first human.  God formed the human from the fertile land and breathed life into him. Then God planted a garden full of every beautiful tree with edible fruit. Afterward, God placed the man in the garden to both farm it and to take care of it.

Even though we read only a few verses, there is much here to draw on. Our theme for this first week is the forests, and there are a few obvious connections here to the trees that God planted and made to grow. God created a garden full of trees, beautiful trees, fruitful trees, trees full of edible fruit.

From the very beginning, God has provided for us. God has surrounded us with plenty. God fills the garden with edible fruit, and when God places the man in the garden, the man is commanded to “eat your fill from all the garden’s trees” except for the one that is forbidden. Humanity is surrounded by trees full of edible fruit.

But our verses show us that God cares about more than mere sustenance. God filled the garden with beautiful trees. Have you ever taken time to simply wander through a forest? This weekend, my family and I have been staying in a cabin up in the mountains. The cabin is surrounded by trees, and everyday we pick a different mountain trail to follow. Sometimes on the trail, I simply stop and stare around at the beauty around us.

Now even though this reference to the trees in the garden is the most obvious connection between today’s scripture and our creation theme today, there is another connection that we might easily miss. After God formed the first human, God “blew life’s breath into his nostrils” (Genesis 2:7, CEB). It is the granting of God’s breath that creates life. God has breathed into us the breath of life. In ancient Hebrew, the word for breath and the word for Spirit are the same. It is the blessing of God’s Spirit breathed into us that grants us life.

In a similar way, we rely on our forests today for the air that we breathe. The earth’s forests have been referred to as the planet’s lungs. The forests of the world take in carbon dioxide and release the oxygen that animals need to survive back into the atmosphere. God gave humanity a start with the life-giving breath in our nostrils, and the forests of our world continue to provide us with the life-giving air that we breathe and need to survive.

Through forests, God grants us beauty and food and even the breath of life. In return, God tells us to farm the land and take care of it. For some of us, we may literally farm the land around us. From small raised-bed gardens to multi-acre plantings, we are familiar with the notion of farming the land around us. And those that live close to the land know all about caring for the soil and the plants that they grow. But we also know that our care for God’s creation doesn’t end at the edge of our crop-producing plot of land.

Back in the middle of the twentieth century, the US Forest Service began to take a greater interest in forest fires. They had seen the devastation to life and property that could be caused by a bit of carelessness. After the success of Disney’s Bambi and the portrayal of the fire in that movie, the Forest Service developed their own cartoon character. Smokey Bear has been an institution for over 70 years. All of us know the slogan by heart. “Only you can prevent forest fires.” It’s a catchy reminder that we are the ones called to care for the forests that surround us.

For those of us who are Christian, we shouldn’t need the extra reminder. It doesn’t hurt, but we have our reminder right here in Genesis. God settled us in the garden and told us to farm it and to take care of it. Perhaps the place we find ourselves today is not the literal Eden. But we are still surrounded by God’s beauty. We are still surrounded by the abundance of God’s creation. Whether it is the literal Eden or not, we have an obligation to care for it.

As we go forward into this season of creation, a season in which we honor the creator of all that exists and remember our connection to all that God has created, I am reminded of the places in Scripture where we are told that all of creation glorifies God. Sometimes when we hear this, we think of the beauty and majesty of creation as an example of God’s magnificence. At other times, Scripture tells us that all of creation literally sings praise to God. In Isaiah 44 we read, “Sing, heavens, for the Lord has acted; shout, depths of the earth! Burst out with a ringing cry, you mountains, forest, and every tree in it.” In Isaiah 55 we read, “all the trees of the field will clap their hands.” Perhaps today we can think of ourselves as worshiping our Creator alongside the rest of creation. Like the forests we can burst out with a ringing cry. Like the trees, we can clap our hands with joy. We can join together with all that has been created in honoring our God, for God created the rest of creation as surely as God created us.

But we must also remember that God created all of humanity as well. In the beginning, we were created, and God blew the breath of life into us. Then God placed us in a garden surrounded by beauty and plenty to eat.  From that first human, all of us are descended, not just those of us here in this place. Not just those that look and think and believe as we do. God created all that is, and it is our place in creation that unites us all to one another. We all live under the same sky, drink the same water, enjoy the same beauty and resources that God has provided. This world is our home, the garden that God has placed us in. God has provided all of this to feed us and nurture us. And God has asked us to both enjoy it and to care for it.

While it doesn’t exactly speak of forests, one of my favorite hymns speaks to our place in God’s creation. It speaks of our connection to what God has created as well as our connection to each other. “This Is My Song” is found in The United Methodist Hymnal, and it is one I have loved for years. As we listen to this song today, I want us to be reminded of the beauty and plenty that God has surrounded us with, I want us to be reminded of our connection to one another, and I want us to remember our call to care for all that God has created.