Thanksgiving to God

I Thessalonians 1:1-10, the Second Reading appointed for the 20th Sunday after Pentecost in the Year of Matthew, is a marvelous text to preach on in the harvest season.  This text, as scholar Beverly Roberts Gaventa has said, is 'a profusion of thanksgiving.'  But beware; thanksgivings here are not directed to the recipients of this letter, but to God. The preacher should take note, lest this text be seen as a vehicle for congregational self-congratulation.

(The following questions have been developed with an eye towards uncovering one of the fundamental questions for Law and Gospel preachers:  how does the Word function?  This question and related ones are central to Law and Gospel preaching. For more on this method and Law and Gospel preaching in general, see my brief guide, Afflicting the Comfortable, Comforting the Afflicted, available from wipfandstock.com and amazon.)

1.  How does the Word function in the text?  This text functions, almost completely, as Gospel, as a celebration of all that God is doing in and through the Thessalonians.  Notice the multiple points where God is given praise and thanks for what God is doing:  "We always give thanks to God for all of you..." (vs. 1); "[God] has chosen you" (vs. 4); "... you received the word with joy inspired by the Holy Spirit." (vs. 6); "... the word of the Lord has sounded forth from you" (vs. 8); "your faith in God has become known." (vs. 8).

2.  How is the Word not functioning in the text?  Any word of Law in this text is relegated to the very last phrase in the last verse:  "Jesus, who rescues us from the wrath that is coming." (vs. 10b).  There is no doubt that Paul is referring here to the judgment promised by God at the end of time, but this brief mention in no way overshadows the promises proclaimed here and earlier.

3.  With whom are you identifying in the text?  Since it is always appropriate to identify with those to whom the Word is addressed, we can comfortably hear these words as being addressed to us.  We are recipients of God's grace; we have been chosen by God; the Holy Spirit has inspired us; the word of the Lord has sounded forth from us.  Thanks be to God!

4.  What, if any, call to obedience is there in this text?  If the call to obedience is the invitation to live in response to God's work in Christ, clearly that call is not here.  What is also clear is that the Thessalonians have already responded to that call.

5.  What Law/Gospel couplet is suggested by this text?  Since the Law is in little evidence here, we will be a bit creative in coming up with couplets.  Using the language of the text, here are some ideas:  abandoned/chosen; despairing/believing; judged/rescued from the wrath to come.

6.  Exegetical work:  It is telling that scholars down through the ages have identified God as the primary focus of this text.  One could get the impression that Paul is praising the Thessalonians here, but upon further inspection it is clear that Paul is praising God.  Ancient and modern scholars alike concur.  St. Chrysostom:  "Paul thanks God for them, as though God himself had accomplished everything...all but saying that all their growth is from the power of God."  (Ancient Christian Commentary on Scripture, NT, vol. IX, p. 60).  John Calvin:  "...instead of congratulations, he makes use of thanksgivings, that he may put them in mind, that everything in them that he declares to be worthy of praise, is a kindness of God."  (Reformation Commentary on Scripture, NT, vol. XII, p. 5).  Scottish Reformer, David Dickson:  "[Faith, love, and hope]... he calls them the virtues of Christ, because they sprang from Christ, and tend to him."  (Ibid., p. 7).   Modern scholar, Beverly Roberts Gaventa:  "God and Jesus Christ are the primary agents in the Thessalonian church."  "Whatever Paul, Silvanus,and Timothy began, whatever the Thessalonians have accomplished, it is God who is to be thanked (1:2), God who directs and strengthens the Church (3:11-13), God who is and will remain faithful (5:24)."  (Interpretation series, First and Second Thessalonians, p. 12).  

7.  Consider the insights of the pioneers of the New Homiletic?  When there is celebrating to be done, one thinks immediately of Henry Mitchell, who advised that no sermon end without some celebration.  In this text, there is ample opportunity to celebrate; Mitchell would advise the preacher to do so with gusto!

Blessings on your proclamation!