A text – 1 Thessalonians 1:1-10
1:1 Paul, Silvanus, and Timothy, To the church of the Thessalonians in God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ: Grace to you and peace.
1:2 We always give thanks to God for all of you and mention you in our prayers, constantly
1:3 remembering before our God and Father your work of faith and labor of love and steadfastness of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ.
1:4 For we know, brothers and sisters beloved by God, that he has chosen you,
1:5 because our message of the gospel came to you not in word only, but also in power and in the Holy Spirit and with full conviction; just as you know what kind of persons we proved to be among you for your sake.
1:6 And you became imitators of us and of the Lord, for in spite of persecution you received the word with joy inspired by the Holy Spirit,
1:7 so that you became an example to all the believers in Macedonia and in Achaia.
1:8 For the word of the Lord has sounded forth from you not only in Macedonia and Achaia, but in every place your faith in God has become known, so that we have no need to speak about it.
1:9 For the people of those regions report about us what kind of welcome we had among you, and how you turned to God from idols, to serve a living and true God,
1:10 and to wait for his Son from heaven, whom he raised from the dead–Jesus, who rescues us from the wrath that is coming.
A reflection:
Once, long ago, I lived and taught English in Thessaloniki, the northern capital of modern Greece, and even in Paul’s day an huge port in Macedonia that Alexander the Great named for his sister. It is a marvelous place. You stand at the edge of the sea downtown, restaurants and shops beside and behind you, and you look straight across the bay to behold Mt Olympus. I have returned many times. I wish it had been such a marvelous place for Paul.
In this letter he praises the believers in Thessaloniki: a few Jews and quite a few Greeks. But the rest of the Jews in the city did not like what Paul was preaching. The few believers had to hide Paul and his assistants and spirit them out after nightfall to an inland city about an hour away today by car, called Verea, or as 1st century Greek is translated, Berea. There his message was extremely well-received. But some of the Jews from Thessaloniki, who had turned on their own brothers and sisters in town who believed Paul’s message, travelled to Berea to get Paul once and for all. The Bereans foiled them and got Paul back to the coast and helped him reach Athens.
So when Paul speaks to the believers in Thessaloniki about being chosen by God and remaining faithful even in the face of persecution, it is most likely persecution by their own friends and neighbors he is talking about. When the faith spread in the first century, it really did divide households and pit brother against brother. Of course when that happens and the church grows anyway, despite persecution, it becomes legendary, and that in itself attracts and inspires other followers. Paul is crediting the small number of believers in the great city of Thessaloniki for remaining true and finding their faith in the one true God through Jesus Christ.
Little did those folks in Thessaloniki know that, when Paul came to them, their world would be upended. What would happen to us if we were persecuted for our faith today? What would happen to me? To you? Would eternal life in Christ Jesus be worth persecution for you and those you know and love in the faith?
A prayer:
Lord God, Thank you for loving us. Thank you for the witness of the brave followers of Jesus, taught by Paul, in the wonderful city of Thessaloniki. Thank you for their steadfast example to us. Help us to live a little more like them, being a little more open about our faith to a watching world. Amen.
Short Dwellings in the Word by Dr. Pat Taylor Ellison 