Paul’s missionary activity and letter to Thessaloniki
Imagine people living in Thessaloniki, a prosperous port city in Greece. There are Jews living there under the Roman Empire. They believe in one God, and that there is a messianic promise of a king that will come to rule in righteousness, and to usher in the kingdom of God.
Paul came to Thessaloniki with a message that the Jewish messiah has already come and began to rule on earth. This messiah rules not a nation, but the “Kingdom of God.” This rule was threatening to some people, to parts of the established political and religious orders. So Jesus was crucified. But three days later he rose from the dead. He sent the Holy Spirit to give power to all those who put their faith in him. What is more, he promised to come back to rule forever a kingdom of justice and peace.
Why would this message be attractive to people living in Thessaloniki in the year 49 of the current era? Christianity spread not in the center of either the Roman Empire, nor the center of Judaism. Christianity spread along the seams and edges between these and other groups. There were God fearers who were interested in Judaism: the rich prophecy, wisdom, and law therewithin. These God fearers who were previously on the edge of Jewish life found a warm and inviting place with the message being preached by Paul’s missionary team.
The fact of the matter was that the prevailing political and religious orders didn’t work for everybody. The tremendous wealth and power of the Roman Empire, as impressive as it was, wasn’t accessible to many people. The Roman Empire was built around the cult of the emperor, that is, a state mandated religion in which the emperor was worshipped. His titles included: Christ, messiah, son of God, prince of peace, and everlasting savior. While on the surface everyone had to participate in worship rituals to the emperor, in their hearts many people questioned whether the emperor was as good and powerful as he claimed to be. Was he really divine?
Judaism already had a tenuous place in this society, because they maintained an unwavering commitment to worship only the invisible God of all the universe. Specifically Jews were not compliant in worshipping the emperor or venerating statues made in his image. These were idols. Non-jewish people throughout the Roman empire and the world found Judaism both attractive or threatening. So when word of Jesus spread, it spread like wildfire.
Imagine the power of the Holy Spirit moving through the ancient Roman Empire by the words of the gospel. Not only was there an invisible God that was greater than the Roman Caesar, and transcended all empires and nations, but this same God sent his one and only son Jesus, God born as a human being, to begin a new kingdom of justice and peace. Now the lie at the heart of the Roman Empire, the lie that the emperor was a god, would be irrefutably exposed. The oppression of the Roman empire would be broken, and a new order of justice would be ushered into all of the land, and for all people.
Paul, Silvanus, and Timothy, share these words with power from the Holy Spirit, and people believe them. They hear in the words a message of hope, and they see in the character and life of the missionaries something beautiful, that they would like to experience too. People are baptized and confess that Jesus Christ is their Lord and Savior. In doing so these converts to Christianity disrupt the established orders. They are persecuted for being different and some thought that they were bizarre. Yet the Christians tolerate the persecution, not fighting back, and continue to grow because when Jesus Christ comes back in his glory, they want to be found faithful and ready.
When Jesus comes he will root out the hurtful and shameful things that are done. When Jesus comes he will overturn offices of power that have grown corrupt. Jesus will put an end to criminal, and dishonest behavior that robs people of what is rightly theirs. He will receive offerings of abundance from those who have been blessed with plenty. And these offerings will be more than enough for everyone to finally have justice and peace. Until Jesus comes back his followers covenant with one another to abide by three principles: Faith, Hope, and Love. Faith in Jesus Christ. Hope that he will come back to rule in righteousness. Love for God, self, and others even one’s own enemies.
This is the first letter to the Thesselonians, and it is really a shame that it has nothing to do at all with the world we are currently living in. Amen.
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