Advent 1- I Thes. 3:9-13
Is God destructive or transformative?Will the Creator of the universe see it perish? does god have a commitment to this creation? In working with this I went back to the concluding section of .. The church does not subscribe to the doctrine of inevitable progress. How could it in the shadow of the 20th century and its bloodshed and potential for global nuclear annihilation? When we read Job we saw that god loves all of creation, not merely human beings.l I wonder then if apocalyptic readings need to include a cosmic transformation a change in all creation toward
God's continuing work toward perfecting a work in progress. Isn't that part of what evolution demonstrates, a move toward increasing complexity?Jürgen Moltmann- eschatological resurrection of Christ means that what has been cut short is gathered up into the eternal life of the new creation. .. It is the beginning of the gathering up of the mortality of all historical life into the immortal interplay of the eternal presence of God (pg. 243, The Way of Jesus Christ)”. Christ’s legacy is a future that gives hope, instills life in the present, and extends Christ’s future fulfillment to all who honor his name. gathers into his “newness of life” (Romans 6:4) experience a spiritual rebirth into “a living hope and participate in what Moltmann recognizes to be “the rebirth of the whole cosmos (pg. 263, The Way of Jesus Christ)”. This for Moltmann is “a personal happening with cosmic relevance”.this is a more rounded view of the biblical material than the placing together of a few passages and coming up with a precise plan.
I Thes. 3 Can we, may we, read God’s direct hand in bane or blessing?Wideness in god’s mercy and grace. If creation is an act of sharing grace, why not the end?
How literally do we take the physical descriptions of the new heavens and new earth? the Old Testament used a set of creation images to demonstrate a shaking of the foundations, a new world order, as President Bush (41) would say. At the same time, it usually also paired images of earthquake changes with image of restoration.
Do we co-operate with the kingdom or not? Is it solely conversionist?
In facing catastrophe, in facing death, resurrection is needed.apocalyptic thinking rises when people lose hope in their own agency and they give up. We see a hint of it in the throw the bums out search for a non-political savior to help our political squabbling and doldrums.
When do we need a new beginning and when reform or hold fast to the old ways? Romantic folks figure change will always be for the better and that things can’t possibly get worse. Oh yes they can.Jacobsen- "nearness," -the imperative of the gospel, its life-giving assurance -- the Kingdom is not far off; it is not waiting; it is not an undiscovered country; it is right here in Son of Man, and in his proclamation. ..:Be. patient.1 The Greek Philosopher Epictetus (55-135 CE) saying, "No great thing is created suddenly, any more than a bunch of grapes or a fig. If you tell me that you desire a fig, I answer you that there must be time. Let it first blossom, then bear fruit, then ripen."
God works within time. God works outside of our time. I do not cannot grasp what happens when eternity means a Ends can allow new beginning. They do not have to be final. In evolution we speak of punctuated equilibrium, where things move slowly even imperceptibly and then take a dramatic new turn. God doesn't seem all that interested in cycles or turning back to the beginning as much as new beginnings.
Carla Works (working preacher)Built on a hill, the slopes of the city extended down to the port. On a clear day from nearly any point in the old city one could see Mount Olympus towering over the horizon across the sea. Mount Olympus, the highest of the Greek mountains, was the legendary home of the Olympian gods and particularly Zeus, who is considered the All-Father. Furthermore, images of Roman power were everywhere, as represented by the adoption of Roma among the rest of Thessalonica’s ancient deities.
The city esteemed the emperor with honors usually reserved for the Olympian gods. From its coinage to its geographical situation, there were reminders of the divine everywhere. It is of little wonder why Paul would praise these believers for turning away from idols to serve the living and true God (1 Thessalonians 1:9).
With these daily reminders of ancient deities and Roman power, it is also easy to see why Paul might be worried about the welfare of the new church. If the account in Acts is correct, Paul was forced to flee Thessalonica by night to seek refuge in Beroea (Acts 17:10). The author of Acts records that some of the Jews caused an uproar in the city and accused Paul and all those affiliated with him of turning the world upside down, teaching against the decrees of Caesar, and proclaiming another king, Jesus (Acts 17:7).
Brown (Working Preacher)-The language here becomes very intense. “Night and day we pray most earnestly,” he says, “to see you face to face and restore whatever is lacking in your faith” (3:10). The Greek verb deomenoi, translated in the NRSV as “we pray,” is a gentler and more elegant rendition of the term than its potentially cruder translation, “begging.” It is the same verb found in Romans 1:10 used in a similar context. It conveys a sense of personal need.
The intensity of Paul’s statement is further illustrated by the phrase “night and day” and the adverb “earnestly.” Paul’s invocation of prayer language — his petition — is to see the Thessalonians and to complete what is lacking in their faith. Timothy’s visit stabilized them in their faith (3:3). Now Paul wants to visit them to augment it. He indicates there is some deficiency present. The meaning of the apostle’s statement has been made difficult because the verbs katartizein (“to restore”) and hysterēma (“whatever is lacking”) are infrequent. Moreover, it is a somewhat challenging to determine how these verbs are related to the Thessalonians’ faith.
The end of the passage gives us our hook for Advent’s new age. You may wish to use the well-worn trope of the already and not yet of Advent.
This could be a great opportunity to extend the Thanksgiving mix of secular and sacred from v. 9. One could look at the mental, emotional, and spiritual benefits of Thanksgiving. You could win brownie points in selecting people or activity in the congregation for which you are thankful.
Increase and overflow/abound in love (11) has the sense of making life a fit place for the new age to dwell. Notice the mutuality here. What are signs of that individually and socially? An interchange of the love of Christ, of Paul and the people occurs here.
Holiness is another religious word that gets pushed aside. Consider defining or redefining it, a la Tillich on justification as acceptance. In our tradition what are marks of holiness?
I Thes. 3-The letter may well be an early letter of Paul. maybe around 20 years after Jesus. The city was on the water along the main road between Macedonia in the north and /Thessaly region south of it, and was a major trading area. It apparently had a rich mixture of different faiths, including honoring emperors. It was founded by Alexander, named after his sister, and was under Roman rule since 167BCE.
Paul fits Advent as he too is an apocalyptic thinker. He does see a disjunction between the two ages, but her sees the old age in its death throes and the new age coming into being. So they are between the times.
No comments:
Post a Comment