2 Thessalonians 2:1-5, 13-17 As to the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our being gathered together to him, we beg you, brothers and sisters, 2 not to be quickly shaken in mind or alarmed, either by spirit or by word or by letter, as though from us, to the effect that the day of the Lord is already here. 3 Let no one deceive you in any way; for that day will not come unless the rebellion comes first and the lawless one is revealed, the one destined for destruction. 4 He opposes and exalts himself above every so-called god or object of worship, so that he takes his seat in the temple of God, declaring himself to be God. 5 Do you not remember that I told you these things when I was still with you? ... But we must always give thanks to God for you, brothers and sisters beloved by the Lord, because God chose you as the first fruits for salvation through sanctification by the Spirit and through belief in the truth. 14 For this purpose he called you through our proclamation of the good news, so that you may obtain the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ. 15 So then, brothers and sisters, stand firm and hold fast to the traditions that you were taught by us, either by word of mouth or by our letter. 16 Now may our Lord Jesus Christ himself and God our Father, who loved us and through grace gave us eternal comfort and good hope, 17 comfort your hearts and strengthen them in every good work and word.
“We’ve never done it that way.” It’s a threat, or so it feels to many church leaders. Or not a threat so much as a warning. Or an incantation against change of any sort. Some have said they are the last words of the institutional church. We’ve never done it that way.
Yet, it not hard to imagine that sentiment. The desire to cling to what has always been, there is security in sameness. There is comfort in familiarity. Indeed, there seems to be an inherent good in preservation. Paul tells the Thessalonians to “hold fast to the traditions.” That seems to be a call to resist change. To keep doing the same things over and over. We like our traditions, they define us. We’ve been doing them since day one, we say, since the very beginning.
But what are those traditions to which Paul calls us to cling? Are they indeed the practices that we have been doing since day one? Are the traditions that Paul tells us to stand firm upon the behaviors and the actions, indeed even the words, the familiar words that we have spouted since we learned the faith? Well, maybe. In part. Ritual is important even in our day. Repeated actions can give us a sense of belonging, of connection and even of understanding. We partake of the holy meal again and again, and sometimes something shines through.
Perhaps, however, what Paul is really trying to get the Thessalonians to consider is not so much the doing, but the foundation. The tradition is the love that fosters the behaviors. That’s what Paul wants them and us to stand firm on. Actions change by necessity. Words evolve new meanings and understandings. But the love that gives birth to words and action remains the same. Stand firm on that love. That’s what has been with you since day one. Hold fast to that.
Loving God, teach us to love, even when it is hard, even when it takes effort. Let us hold fast to what makes us your church. Amen.
That’s our prayer and our hope. That’s what has defined us since day one, that love. Love of God and love of neighbor, Jesus said that they are the same. You can’t have the one without the other. In Revelation, John the Evangelist tells the church of Ephesus that they may be doing some good things, they may have an understanding of the law and want to drive out evil-doers, but that their biggest problem is that they forgot their first love.
Revelation 2:1-4 "To the angel of the church in Ephesus write: These are the words of him who holds the seven stars in his right hand, who walks among the seven golden lampstands: 2 "I know your works, your toil and your patient endurance. I know that you cannot tolerate evildoers; you have tested those who claim to be apostles but are not, and have found them to be false. 3 I also know that you are enduring patiently and bearing up for the sake of my name, and that you have not grown weary. 4 But I have this against you, that you have abandoned the love you had at first.
The letter goes on to say that unless they reclaim that love, unless they stand firm on that tradition, that their lampstand will be taken away. In other words they won’t be the church any more. If what you are doing as the church, if what drives you is not love, love of God and love of neighbor, then you aren’t the church anymore. You are something else, maybe doing something good, maybe causing more harm, but you aren’t the church. You aren’t the representative of God’s grace and glory in the world. Because that is what defines us.
Make all the law based arguments you want. Go back and cherry pick exclusionary behaviors scattered throughout the scriptures. And there are plenty to choose from. But if you aren’t starting from a position of loving neighbor ... And don’t try that tough love thing, that hides a deep disgust and animosity toward those who are different. Don’t try that the most loving thing to do is to force them into obedience, condemn them into transformation. That simply hides an Ephesus-like loss of love. If you aren’t starting from a position of love, you aren’t the church. You aren’t a follower of Jesus Christ. Because that is the foundation of what we do, that is the tradition upon which we stand. Rituals won’t matter a lick if we aren’t doing them out of love, love of God and love of neighbor. Tradition won’t matter at all if we aren’t doing them out of love, love of God and love of neighbor.
We’ve never done it that way before. Well, maybe that is our problem. It was G. K. Chesterton who said “The Christian ideal has not been tried and found wanting. It has been found difficult; and left untried.” Even though our foundation, our tradition from day one has been one of love, maybe we’ve never really tried it. Maybe it is time for a new day one.
Shalom,
Derek
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