2 Thess. 2:1-5, 13-17.    Hope for the future - despite!        10/11/13

 {1)  Concerning the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our being gathered to him, we ask you, brothers, {2} not to become easily unsettled or alarmed by some prophecy, report or letter supposed to have come from us, saying that the day of the Lord has already come. {3} Don't let anyone deceive you in any way, for that day will not come until the rebellion occurs and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the man doomed to destruction. {4} He will oppose and will exalt himself over everything that is called God or is worshiped, so that he sets himself up in God's temple, proclaiming himself to be God. {5} Don't you remember that when I was with you I used to tell you these things?

{13} But we ought always to thank God for you, brothers loved by the Lord, because from the beginning God chose you to be saved through the sanctifying work of the Spirit and through belief in the truth. {14} He called you to this through our gospel, that you might share in the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ. {15} So then, brothers, stand firm and hold to the teachings we passed on to you, whether by word of mouth or by letter. {16} May our Lord Jesus Christ himself and God our Father, who loved us and by his grace gave us eternal encouragement and good hope, {17} encourage your hearts and strengthen you in every good deed and word.

 What a positive and encouraging message we have here in this reading: A message of hope, for people who are facing uncertainty and difficulty. Something that is able to help us forward, even though we may have much to be concerned about. Despite the presence of many dangers, we are pointed to that which is good and important and which is truly helpful and lasting.

 I believe that at this time for us, this is so important for us all to hear this message. There is pressure coming to bear on us from all directions: Things that we have come to rely on in the past are beginning to collapse around us: the attitudes and morals of our society; global warming???; corruption in financial structures; and perhaps the most difficult of all, the changing emphases in the Christian church; even too often, our own Lutheran church, where less important issues are being stressed as all important and it would seem some basic teachings are being ignored.

 There is the desire for something more than what we have already been given: The proclamation of something other than Jesus Christ and his death on the cross; as that which will give us the true blessing and certainty that we need. All of this is shaking the faith of many, many people: Causing many to become disillusioned and to pull back. We only have to look at the decline in membership in many churches to see that many are falling by the wayside as a result. Not to mention the growing disillusionment in our society as a whole.

 Now this was much the same sort of situation that faced the congregation at Thessalonica. They were facing trials and persecutions from the government of the day;  ridicule from the society around them; the  morality of their day was something quite shocking; and to top it all off, there were people within the church who were encouraging them to follow issues that were not so important and which were taking their focus off of the real issues of the Christian life. They were being shaken from every direction. The devil was getting at them.

 To all of this Paul writes, that they: that is those very people who were being shaken by all of these troubles, were loved by the Lord. They were chosen to be saved and to believe. They were called through the Gospel – the Good News of what Jesus has done for us through his death and resurrection, so that they might share in and with the glory of the Lord Jesus Christ, here as well as for the rest of eternity. So they have every reason to hang in there - to hold on in the face of adversity.

 He there, turns their attention away from themselves; their problems and the distractions that they were facing, and points them to that which really counts. He points out to them and to us, that the persecutions, wrong teaching with regard to the end of the world; the problems with false teachers and the work of the devil; the moral decline in society; nothing is as important as Jesus Christ and the salvation that he brings.

 After all he is the one who truly does love us; has chosen us; saved us; who through the Spirit helps us to believe; and who wants us to be with him and share in his glory in eternity. Having done all of that for us, he is not going to let these other things shake us into unbelief. As long as we trust him - look to him for help - nothing will cause us to fall. When he is the source and focus of life, hope and all the rest, we are safe. It is only when we look here - at ourselves – or the world around us; that we are in danger.

 This reminds me of a time as a young lad when I was asked to climb a high windmill tower on our farm and do some running repairs. The wind was blowing and the tower waving about somewhat. From halfway up, it did not look at all that stable and the platform up on the top, where I was to work from seemed so small and unsafe. It was quite scary – I can remember that my knees were shaking - shaking quite badly. How was I going to be able to go on! How was I going to be able to do the work up there that I had to do. I wanted to climb back down. It was all too much. That was when this old guy – a neighbour - said up to me; Just keep looking up - keep your mind on what you up there for. And whatever you do don't look down and you'll be right. And he was right.

  So it is with the Christian life.  If we keep looking up to our Lord, we can be sure it will all work out: we can then stand firm and confident; we can go forward and know that it will all work out for good. Because with the Lord as the source and centre of our focus everything else will be seen in its proper perspective; including any hardships, problems, or false and misleading doctrines will all be seen in the light of that which is truly important. They will be seen for what they really are; distractions.

 We are reminded that our God has already given us all that is important in and through Jesus’ death on the cross and resurrection. Through our baptism we were joined to him and all that he has done for us so that we can be sure that we have forgiveness of sins, life and salvation. He week by week gives us his Word and his body and blood in the Lord’s Supper so that we can be constantly reassured that these wonderful gifts are for us, for sure.

He has thereby given and gives us all the encouragement and strength that we need to withstand the stresses and difficulties that we face in life. We do not need something more. In fact that something more will only distract and lead us astray. It will lead us to place our trust in something other than what he has given us already: which is again, forgiveness of sins, life and salvation.

 Paul goes on to tell us here that God is the one who encourages our hearts when we are feeling faint and feel like giving it in. We don’t need to look for something more, elsewhere. Our God in and through Jesus Christ is the one who strengthens us and gives us the ability to stand up and do what needs to be done in order to be the people that God wants us be. Our Lord is faithful to his people and will not let them be shaken to unbelief. Because he loves us and chose us and called us and wants us to share in his glory, we can look to him and trust. We don’t need something more and something extra.

At the same time as we look to him and his Word we find all kinds of help and instructions that truly helps us to make sense of this life and be able to have a good moral compass in the face of a society that has lost its way. So instead of blindly following the crowd in doing what we deep down know is not quite right, we now can know what is good and important. We can find that which truly does give meaning and purpose to each day of our lives.

 So with all of this, let us have confidence as we go forward - whatever is in front us: Confidence however in our Lord Jesus Christ. He is faithful - he is true. He is the only God and Saviour. So let us get on with our life as Christians standing firm and strong, ready to face whatever it is that is in front of us. Not focussing on our own problems and our own and our worlds desires; or giving way to the current trends and fettishes of an ego-centric society.

  But prepared to stand by the truth of God  and his Word; prepared to share the Good News of Jesus Christ and the forgiveness and salvation that he brings; prepared to gather in worship on a regular basis in order to be strengthened and encouraged by him through Word and Sacrament; prepared to help, support and pray for each other as God's people.

 Knowing all the while that this is our Lord's call for each and every one of us. And to do it because we know that our God is faithful and true: that he is what is all important in a world that has lost its way. He is the Almighty Lord of all, so our future is certain; we have every reason to go forward with confidence; knowing however that it will not always be easy. This is the encouragement that our God gives to us here today.

 And my prayer is that you will always keep Jesus Christ and his work of salvation through his death on the cross central to all that you are and do. Along with that to share that Good News with others around us. Trust in him alone and you will not go wrong. The Lord will bless you and keep you. He will make his face shine on you and be gracious to you. He will look on you with favour and grant you his peace. So to him again then be all glory and honour, now and always. AMEN.

 Pastor Roger Atze

Glandore/Underdale Lutheran Parish