Thoughts for the Day

Paul, Silvanus, and Timothy, to the church of the Thessalonians in God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ: Grace to you and peace.

We always give thanks to God for all of you and mention you in our prayers, constantly remembering before our God and Father your work of faith and labour of love and steadfastness of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ. For we know, brothers and sisters beloved by God, that he has chosen you, because our message of the gospel came to you not in word only, but also in power and in the Holy Spirit and with full conviction; just as you know what kind of people we proved to be among you for your sake. And you became imitators of us and of the Lord, for in spite of persecution you received the word with joy inspired by the Holy Spirit, so that you became an example to all the believers in Macedonia and in Achaia.

For the word of the Lord has sounded forth from you not only in Macedonia and Achaia, but in every place where your faith in God has become known, so that we have no need to speak about it. For the people of those regions report about us what kind of welcome we had among you, and how you turned to God from idols, to serve a living and true God, and to wait for his Son from heaven, whom he raised from the dead—Jesus, who rescues us from the wrath that is coming.

(Lectionary, New Revised Standard Version)

Thoughts

Since we are going to look at the letter to the Thessalonians for a while it might be worth looking at the background to this Epistle. Paul, the Apostle, is on his Second Missionary journey accompanied by his companions Silas and Timothy. He has travelled through Asia, crossed the Aegean Sea to Philippi in Macedonia, and then eventually through to Thessalonica. The city was a hub of commerce and culture in the first century, and was significantly situated on an important east-west Roman road, notably the Via Egnatia which linked countries like Turkey, Greece, Macedonia, and Albania (and so across the sea to Rome!).

The story of his visit is told in Acts 17.1-10 where we learn he only stayed for about three or four weeks before opposition from die-hard Jews drove him out. Although he attracted some Jews, he had greater success with a large number of God-fearing Greeks and prominent women. Despite his short stay, Paul's ministry in Thessalonica was to lead to the establishment of a vibrant church. The Thessalonian believers became known for their faith and perseverance amidst persecution, for which Paul later commended them in his letters.

Paul was initially unsure whether such a short stay would have had any effect upon those to whom he had preached, and was to send Timothy back for a check. Would they be strong enough in their faith to withstand persecution for instance? Ultimately as we can see in this letter written probably around 52 CE, he placed his hopes in prayer and on the Holy Spirit who had been active amongst them whilst Paul had been present.

Holy Spirit,
wind of change,
Who stirred the hearts of those
in Thessalonica,
come this day and stir our flagging spirits.
May we put on one side our myriad concerns
and bring before You the things that really matter:
world peace,
the fight against poverty,
and action to stop global warming.
Amen.