December 17, 2023 homily on 1 Thessalonians 5:16-24 by Pastor Galen for the Third Sunday of Advent
“Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you” (1 Thess. 5:16-18).
Rejoice Always
“Fragile, beleaguered, anxious, and grieving.” This is how New Testament scholar Jennifer McNeel describes the community of new Christians to whom the Apostle Paul was writing in 1 Thessalonians.1
The Christians in Thessalonica were fragile and beleaguered because they were experiencing persecution for their faith in Christ. At the same time, they were mourning for members of their community who had recently passed away. And they were anxiously “[Wonder[ing] how in the world they are going to live out Jesus’s teachings in the midst of the forces of empire and oppression around them” (Dr. Jennifer McNeel).
“Fragile, beleaguered, anxious and grieving.” This could probably describe many of us today as well. And yet, to this fragile, beleaguered, anxious, and grieving community, the Apostle Paul writes these words: “Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, [and] give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you” (1 Thessalonians 5:16-18).
How could the Apostle expect the Thessalonians to rejoice in the midst of sorrow? And how could they possibly find the strength to give thanks, given the circumstances they were going through?
Joy is not the same as Happiness
Well, as we know, happiness and joy are not the same thing. You can have joy even if you’re not happy. Happiness, as someone said, is dependent on our circumstances, our physical health, and our brain chemistry. Joy, on the other hand, is a quality that comes from above. Joy is something that is God-given, and it is not dependent on our outward circumstances. As the old Gospel song says, “This joy that I have, the world didn’t give it to me, and the world can’t take it away”!
As we know, so many people in our world do indeed try to find joy in the outward circumstances and pleasures of this life. Why do you think shopping is a favorite pastime here in America? It’s because we so often buy into the idea that just one more thing will bring us joy. Of course, as we know, when we finally acquire that thing we’ve always wanted, it sometimes does bring happiness for a while. But eventually, it breaks or becomes obsolete, and we move on to wishing for the next thing that we think will bring us joy. And of course, the cycle continues, and we continually are dissatisfied.
Ignorance is Bliss?
And then there is all of the pain and suffering in the world around us that can be overwhelming at times. One way that many people try to cope with this is by ignoring what’s going on around them.
Recently my wife and I have been watching All Creatures Great and Small, a British television series set in Northern England in the 1930s and 40s, and based on a series of novels by James Herriot. The lead character, Siegfried Farnon, is a somewhat eccentric veterinary surgeon who raised his younger brother, Tristan, and hires him to work alongside him in his veterinary practice.
The two brothers are quite opposite in their personalities and their approach to life. Siegfried, the older brother, is often burdened by the enormous responsibilities of running a veterinary practice in a farming community that relies heavily upon the health of its animals. He carries the weight of providing for his household and family. And he’s concerned about the events going on in the world. Tristan, on the other hand, is younger and much more unburdened and carefree.
In one particularly poignant scene in season 3, Tristan notices that his older brother seems rather weighed down, even more than usual, and says to Siegfried, “I hope you don’t mind me asking, but are you all right?” Siegfried responds with, “That’s a stupid question. Of course, I’m not all right. None of us is. Nor should we be, with the state the world is in. There would be something wrong with us if we were!”
They banter back and forth for a bit since Tristan says that he is all right, and Siegfried acknowledges, jokingly, “Ignorance is bliss.”
Tristan’s strategy is the strategy employed by many people in our world today, who try to avoid pain and suffering by avoiding taking personal responsibility for anything. Of course, this strategy only lasts for so long, until life has a way of eventually barging in on us, and we’re forced to take responsibility.
Alternatively, some people like Tristan simply try to ignore the pain and suffering in the world around them. This is the path that is taught by many of the religions of the world. People who employ this strategy try to “transcend” or “rise above” the pain and suffering around them, so that it doesn’t affect them. Many religious teach that we simply need to tap into the “inner peace” inside of us, so that we can remain calm inside, no matter what we are going through externally.
The problem with this approach is that sometimes what’s going on “inside” us can feel just as tumultuous as the external world around us. Especially when we’re hurting and grieving, looking inside ourselves for peace will just leave us feeling even more upset.
And so, if we can’t find joy in things, and we can’t find lasting joy by ignoring the pain in the world around us or by looking within, then where we do find joy?
Rejoice, Pray, Give Thanks
Here we see that Paul’s advice to the church in Thessalonica is relevant to us even today, no matter what circumstances we may be going through. Paul’s advice is not to try to find satisfaction in things, nor to ignore the painful realities of life. Nor does he say that we should simply try to muster up joy by looking within ourselves. Rather he reminds the Thessalonians and us today as well that we need to look to God for our joy and our strength. Because, after he says to “rejoice always,” he goes on to say, “pray without ceasing.”
This means that we can and should bring everything before the Lord in prayer. Our hurt, and pain, our questions, even our anger. Something that encourages me throughout Scripture is that quite a few of the prophets spoke openly and forthrightly to God, even when they were angry. And God always met them right where they were. God didn’t smite them for being angry. But rather God absorbed their anger and their hurt and pain, and replaced it with joy.
That doesn’t mean that their outward circumstances immediately got better. But it means that God reminded them that they did not have to do this alone. That God was there with them. That God knew what they were going through, and that God would indeed work together with them to bring good out of whatever circumstances they were going through.
This is what happens when we pray. We bring our hurt and pain and anger and questions to the Lord, and God replaces it with joy by letting us know that we are not alone and that God is with us no matter what we are going through.
And then, Paul says to “give thanks in all circumstances” (1 Thess. 5:18a). When we bring our requests before the Lord, we can give thanks, because we know that one way or another, God will answer. God may not give us what we want, but God will give us what we need in order to get through whatever comes our way. Ultimately we know that there will come a day when God will bring an end to all suffering, heartache, and pain. And so we can give thanks to God, because we know that suffering and pain and injustice will not have the last word. One day, we will experience joy forevermore, where there will be no more heartache, pain, or grief.
Building up the Ancient Ruins
And this indeed is why Christ came. This is what we celebrate at Christmas—that Christ came into this world—a world filled with heartache, pain and suffering, not so that we could give each other a lot of Christmas presents that will only provide a temporary sort of happiness, nor to teach us to ignore the pain and suffering in the world around us. Rather, Christ came to demonstrate God’s presence with us no matter what we may face. He came to show us that God is actively working for good in the world, and he invited us to participate with him in bringing about Christ’s Kingdom. Not that we have to try to make everything right on our own, because we can’t. But rather we get to work in partnership with God. We get to bring our burdens before the Lord, trusting that God can indeed bring good out of any circumstance. And we get the joy of joining in on what God is doing to bring about good in the world.
As God’s people are described in Isaiah 61:4, “They shall build up the ancient ruins, they shall raise up the former devastations; they shall repair the ruined cities, the devastations of many generations.” Again, this doesn’t mean that we have to try to fix the world on our own strength, because we can’t. It’s that we get to join in on what God is doing.
I’m reminded of when I invite my 7-year-old to help me make muffins in the kitchen. Yes, I could make the muffins on our own, without my daughter’s help. But I know she enjoys helping, and I love having her help. And so I invite her to join me in making the muffins. Because of joy. This is what God does. God invites us to join in God’s work in restoring the world, in bringing about God’s Kingdom. Not because God can’t do it without us. But because we get to experience God’s joy as we work in partnership with God and with one another to bring about healing and restoration in this world.
The Will of God in Christ Jesus
This, I believe, is what Paul means when he says, “For this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you” (1 Thess. 5:18b). We were made to experience the joy of God’s presence. And indeed, it is a joy that the world did not give, and the world cannot take away.
And so let us rejoice, no matter what circumstances may come our way. Let us bring our needs and requests before the Lord, knowing that whatever we’re thinking or feeling, God can handle it. And let us give thanks in every circumstance, knowing that God can and will bring good out of whatever we may endure.
In closing, may the words that Paul wrote to the Thessalonians be true of us as well:
May the God of peace himself sanctify you entirely; and may your spirit and soul and body be kept sound and blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. The one who calls you is faithful, and he will do this (1 Thess. 5:23-24).
Amen!
Hampden United Methodist Church 