Time to Rejoice - Lectionary Reflection for Advent 3B (1 Thessalonians 5)
1 Thessalonians 5:16-24 New Revised Standard Version
16 Rejoice always, 17 pray without ceasing, 18 give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you. 19 Do not quench the Spirit. 20 Do not despise the words of prophets, 21 but test everything; hold fast to what is good; 22 abstain from every form of evil.
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It’s
the third Sunday of Advent and it’s time to light the Joy Candle. That’s the
rose-colored one. This reading is fitting for this Sunday, if for no other
reason that the word rejoice is present in it. We hear the word from Paul’s
first letter to the Thessalonians, which is also by most estimates the earliest
Pauline letter. That would make it the oldest document in the New Testament. In
this reading, Paul brings the letter to the Thessalonian congregation to a
close. The lectionary cuts things off a bit early (there are another four
verses to go), but we get the idea. “Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, and
give thanks in all things.” Again, these words make for a reading fit for Gaudete
Sunday as we light the Joy candle.
As I
write this reflection on the reading from the Epistles for the Third Sunday of
Advent, the world is anything but joyful. We’re beginning the tenth month of
this COVID-inspired exile that continues to surge, at least in the Northern
Hemisphere as we head into the winter months. So where is the reason for joy? There
is a reason for hope, of course. We just have to survive the next few months before
a vaccine is readily available for the bulk of the population. In the meantime,
we’re tired and lonely and frustrated and anxious. We might even be a bit
fearful. If the pandemic weren’t enough to take make us all Grinches, we’re
also dealing with political turmoil in the United States. An election has been
held and the votes counted. We know who won, at least if you accept the
certification of votes by the states. Unfortunately, a large swath of the
population hasn’t accepted the results, at least when it comes to the
presidential results. So, perhaps it’s a bit premature or maybe naïve to talk
about joy, even if the season is supposed to be filled with joy.
All of the above may be true, but Paul won’t
let us off the hook. Remember he doesn’t tell us to rejoice only when things
are going well or when it feels good. No, he tells us to rejoice always.
I will confess that I find this a hard directive to live into. Nevertheless,
the directive is there for us to ponder. Now, Paul doesn’t just tell us to
rejoice, he also calls on us to pray unceasingly (and by that Paul isn’t
suggesting that we all go off into the mountains and spend every waking hour on
our knees talking to God). When Paul talks about praying unceasingly, he’s encouraging
us to live with God in our hearts always. In this, we will find joy. Then Paul
adds gratitude to the list. As William Brosend notes, the focus here is on wholeness.
This is, Brosend suggests “at the foundation of Paul’s understanding of the
Good Life.” He adds: “The shape of the Christian life is not contoured in
measured apportionment—one part work to one part prayer, or some other recipe
for spiritual fulfillment—but in unreserved and all-consuming self-giving” [Feasting on the Word, p. 64]. Thus, joy,
prayer, and gratitude all go together as a sign of wholeness.
That
sounds like a good place to stop, but Paul isn’t finished. He has a lot on his
mind as he brings this letter to a close. What we’ve heard so far might suffice
for the third Sunday of Advent that is focused on Joy, but Paul has practical
concerns to deal with before he seals the letter. He wants to address the role
of the Spirit in the community. Paul tells the Thessalonians not to quench the
Spirit or despise the words of the prophets in their midst. We moderns tend to think
in institutional terms when it comes to church. We have our constitutions and
by-laws. We have governing boards. Everything is done decently and in order (at
least if we follow the rules). As for the Spirit, well, what does the Spirit have
to do with church? In these early days of the church, the Spirit was moving and
that led to the prophetic. While Paul was open to the work of the Spirit, and
even encouraged prophetic ministry. He understood the need for boundaries. This
word may concern a problem in the community. There is a sense that under the
guise of prophecy some may have confused the congregation concerning the coming
Parousia (the return of Christ) so that many in the church were
suspicious of those claiming to speak for God. That’s understandable. Paul
doesn’t want to quench the Spirit, but he understands the challenge posed by
rogue prophets. So, he encourages the congregation to test what they were hearing.
Only embrace what is good and stay away from what is evil. If we turn to 1 Corinthians,
we find guidance there concerning the proper place of prophetic ministry within
the church. He even gives guidance to how women who are gifted in this way
should comport themselves, which I find intriguing since a few chapters later Paul tells women not to speak. So, which is it? (1 Cor. 11:5). Nevertheless, he tells the Corinthian church
that the purpose of prophecy is to build up, encourage, and console (1 Cor.14:3). Therefore, they should listen to the prophets with great discernment. In
fact, some of them should pray to receive the gift of discernment. The point
here, in the Corinthian letter, is guidance for orderly worship (1 Cor.14:26-33). Paul gives this word of guidance in the Thessalonian letter because he
knew that not everyone claiming to have a word from God was a true prophet. After
all, there were plenty of false prophets making the rounds, as we can see not
only in the Corinthian letter but also in 2 Peter and 1 John.
Although
not directly related to the word about prophecy, the encouragement to test what
we hear speaks to concerns of the moment in our world. We are living at a time
that has come to be known as a “post-truth” era. Both religious and political
leaders spout “alternative truth” as if it is fact. With the expansion of
24-hour news channels and social media, we are bombarded by messages, all
claiming to represent truth, but often it is nothing more than rumor, innuendo,
or speculation. So, how do we know what is true and what is not? This might not be the kind of topic that is
welcome on Joy Sunday in the season of Advent, but it is timely, nonetheless. It
is therefore important that we heed this word to us, that we hold fast to what
is good and resist evil, wherever we encounter it.
All of
this is couched in a larger conversation about the future. The message Paul has
preached to this community suggests that Jesus would be returning soon to
inaugurate the second Advent. It’s possible that the false prophets have been
upsetting the people with claims that contradict what Paul has been teaching.
We know that some in the community were worried about whether those who died
before the Parousia would be included in the great gathering up of the
people at Jesus’ return. Paul had given them assurances that the dead in Christ
would rise first (1 Thess. 4:13-18). In these concluding verses, Paul reaffirms
that premise, encouraging them to remain faithful, because the “God of peace”
would sanctify them, making them holy and therefore be blameless when Jesus
returned.
This is
the word of joy we hear on this third Sunday of Advent. Rejoice, pray, give
thanks, because this is the will of God for us. It is worth remembering that
when Paul writes these words he addresses not just individuals, but a
community. It is in the community that we can stand for what is right and
resist evil so that we might rejoice in the Lord always! We can also rejoice in the knowledge that “the
one who calls you is faithful, and he will do this.” That is a message that is
deeply rooted in the biblical story. God’s steadfast love will endure forever!
There is joy in that word.
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