Day 280: Advent in the First Churches THESSALONIKI

DAY 280

                              Faith in the Midst of a Pandemic                     

A series of daily reflections for people of faith

by Rev. Robert Bayley, Interim Pastor

Patuxent Presbyterian Church, California, Maryland

pastorrobert@paxpres.org

Week Forty   Saturday 19 December 2020

Advent in the First Churches: Thessaloniki

Seven churches – seven letters – seven days.  

2 Thessalonians 4:13-18

“Brothers and sisters, we do not want you to be uninformed about those who sleep in death, so that you do not grieve as the rest of mankind, who have no hope. For we believe that Jesus died and rose again, and so we believe that God will bring with Jesus those who have fallen asleep in him. According to the Lord’s word, we tell you that we who are still alive, who are left until the coming of the Lord, will certainly not precede those who have fallen asleep. For the Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord forever. Therefore encourage one another with these words.”   

Of all the letters written to the seven churches included in the canon of the Scripture, and we have taken them in order of appearance, this last description of the second coming of Christ is the most explicit and most detailed. Here those who do not know Christ and therefore “have no hope” are sitting across the table from those who “believe that Jesus died and rose again,” and more, that someday he “will come down from heaven.”  This end of time scenario inspires millions of Christians when it comes to evangelism and fuels the efforts of many missions around the world, with the goal of reaching as many people as possible for Christ, before He returns. 

At the end of the day, the reality that Jesus is coming again should be a source of encouragement for all believers: “Therefore encourage one another with these words.” The Greek root word used here is a compound: the preposition ‘para,’ meaning alongside, and the verb ‘kaleo’ meaning to call. An encourager is literally someone called to be alongside someone else - and stay there.    

Reflective question: Does the promise of the second advent of Christ encourage you? How?

Reflective hymn: “Lo! He Comes with Clouds Descending” – Charles Wesley (1707-1788)

A traditional First Sunday of Advent hymn

Lo, he comes with clouds descending, once for favored sinners slain;

Thousand, thousand saints attending swell the triumph of his train.

Alleluia! Alleluia! God appears on earth to reign.

Now Redemption, long expected, see in solemn pomp appear!

All his saints, by man rejected, now shall meet him in the air.

Alleluia! Alleluia! See the day of God appear!