The apostle Paul wrote this to the Thessalonians: “ . . .just as we
have been approved by God to be entrusted with the message of the gospel, even
so we speak, not to please mortals, but to please God who tests our hearts.”
St. Paul understood his vocation as spreading the meaning of Jesus'
live, death and resurrection to Gentiles. In his letters he sought to deal with
the issues of living out one's faith in the earliest Christian communities
around the Mediterranean. In the
passage from his first letter to the church at Thessalonica, Paul describes how
he had been—and would be—proclaiming the good news that God became one of
us. God did this to teach us how
we are to live in a right relationship with God. God also became human and died for us to cover our sins in
the sight of God. Indeed. Jesus
became our Savior and Redeemer.
If we are to follow Paul's example as a proclaimer of the good news
of God in Christ, then knowing how he understood his vocation may help us
understand ours. I think we can take apart the phrase I quoted at the beginning
of my sermon in order to figure this out.
First, Paul believed he was “approved by God.” I am reminded of a statement made by
the Scottish runner, Eric Liddel, in the movie, “Chariots of Fire.” He was discussing with his sister his
delay in beginning missionary work in China. His sister wanted him to stop wasting time training for the
Olympics. Eric replied that God
had made him “fast,” and that “when I run, I feel His pleasure.” God “approves” of us when we use the
gifts God gave us as fully as we are able for love of both God and neighbor.
What gift or gifts has God given you?
Have you felt God's pleasure when you were using these gifts?
Next, Paul was “entrusted” by God. We have a phrase on our currency—in God we trust. But how often do we think about God's
trusting us? How else would the
work of Christ in the world get accomplished, except through human beings? God does allow us the power to choose
to follow Jesus Christ or not. But
if we choose to follow, then God trusts us, as he did Paul, to be Christ's
heart, hands and feet in the world.
God depends on us to accomplish whatever we can to make a more just and
peaceful world—with God's support, of course. How have you experienced God's trust in you?
Then Paul calls what he is entrusted with, “the message of the
gospel.” The message of the life,
death, and resurrection of Jesus has power. This message accomplishes what it describes: how sinners are
saved from the power of sin and death and how new, resurrected life
begins. This message proclaims
salvation and new life for individuals, yes; but also and, perhaps more
importantly, for Christian communities. The German theologian, Dietrich
Bonhoeffer, a pastor and theologian martyred by the Nazi regime, described how
thoughtful living in Christian community can help us develop needed virtues,
including humility, patience, and forgiving others. How have you experienced the message of the gospel of Jesus
Christ, especially in our parish community?
Next, Paul refers to his particular mode of evangelism: “and so we speak.” Paul's gift for rhetoric and poetic
speech comes through very clearly in the letters he wrote to the churches. Some of us have this gift as well. But I am also reminded of St. Francis'
command for Christians to preach the gospel, but to use words only if one has
to. So how are we speaking or
acting out the message of God's loving-kindness to all?
Then Paul qualifies his style of evangelism as “not to please
mortals, but to please God.” Here
Paul is claiming an ethical standard that all us should find helpful. Of course, what a person may define as
“pleasing God” may not, in fact, please God. But through prayerful discernment with the exercise of
appropriate humility, we may venture to say what we understand as “pleasing
God.” How does each of us consider
whether a choice we are about to make pleases or does not please God? How do we do this as a Christian
community?
Finally, Paul concludes his sentence with the phrase describing God
as one who “tests our hearts.”
This testing helps us to remain authentic and faithful, being true to
the person God created us to be, while never forgetting the responsibility God
has entrusted to each of us. Yes,
there is grace freely offered by God.
But as Jesus told the Pharisees, God asks us to meet these
standards: loving God with all
that we have and all that we are and of loving our neighbors as we love
ourselves. That's the paradox of
God's testing of our hearts: we
are both judged as sinners for our inability as human beings always and faithfully to keep the two
great commandments and, yet, forgiven through the mediation of Jesus
Christ. Are we able to accept the
testing of our hearts by God, trusting in God's grace?
So as we continue our journey in Christ, let us with remember St.
Paul's understanding of his vocation: “ . . .just as we have been approved by
God to be entrusted with the message of the gospel, even so we speak, not to
please mortals, but to please God who tests our hearts.”
May we with confidence continue to respond to God’s call to each of
us—and to all of us as a parish—always aiming to please God.
No comments:
Post a Comment