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1 Thessalonians 3:9-13
Advent 1C
This Sunday’s Epistolary Lesson speaks about waiting during an Advent season that’s largely devoted to waiting. However, it addresses the kind of waiting that runs largely counter to our culture (and at least some of the Church’s) waiting. 1 Thessalonians 3 doesn’t describe, after all, how to wait for our celebration of Christ’s first coming….
1 Thessalonians 5:16-24
Advent 3B
Paul certainly had lofty ideals for the Christian Church. At the beginning of his first letter to Thessalonica’s Christians, he describes the Church as a community loved and chosen by God. That community, the apostle adds, draws its life from God and lives that life with faith, love and hope. When Paul concludes this letter…
I Thessalonians 5:1-11
Proper 28A
At the end of the fourth chapter of his letter to the Thessalonians Paul addresses the issue of what happens to people after we die. Now, at the beginning of his fifth chapter, he addresses the issue of the fate of those who are still alive at when Christ returns. Apparently during his visit to…
1 Thessalonians 4:13-18
Proper 27A
It started out as words of comfort. Paul’s intention was to soothe anxieties, tamp down sorrows, answer some hard questions that the Thessalonians were asking. That’s how it started. Over time, though, these words in 1 Thessalonians 4—coupled with some further talk on similar themes in the next chapter—have become a source of unending speculation,…
1 Thessalonians 2:9-13
Proper 26A
We preachers need to be careful. When someone catches us at the church door to disagree with our sermon some Sunday, it is tempting to say “Hey, your quarrel is not with me but with God. I was just preaching God’s Word so . . .” Of course, sometimes that really may be the case. …
1 Thessalonians 2:1-8
Proper 25A
All of us likely have a vision of the ideal pastor, missionary or other church leaders. Yet our visions probably also vary widely. Some, after all, think of the ideal pastor as a terrific preacher. Others believe pastors should be able to minister to a variety of people. Many think good leaders have some combination…
1 Thessalonians 1:1-10
Proper 24A
In this season that lies between the Canadian and American Thanksgiving Days, 2020, this Sunday’s Epistolary Lesson seems highly appropriate. After all, it’s not just that we’re “surrounded” by holidays on which we at least ostensibly give thanks. It’s also that so many things threaten a spirit of thanksgiving right now. Our world continues to…
1 Thessalonians 3:9-13
Advent 1C
This first Sunday in the season of Advent liturgically marks the beginning of a season of waiting. Not just of waiting to celebrate Jesus’ first coming. Advent is also the season in which God’s adopted sons and daughters at least try to concentrate on waiting for Jesus’ second coming. We’ve had 2,000 years of practice…
1 Thessalonians 5:16-24
Advent 3B
After the heavy duty apocalyptic warnings and the stern commands of II Peter 3:8-15a, our reading for this third Sunday of Advent feels a bit lightweight, like a snow flurry of commands that don’t really fit the Advent season, except that our reading ends with Paul’s final reference in this letter to “the Parousia of…
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