1Ths. 2:1 You yourselves know, brothers and sisters, that our coming to you was not in vain, 2 but though we had already suffered and been shamefully mistreated at Philippi, as you know, we had courage in our God to declare to you the gospel of God in spite of great opposition. 3 For our appeal does not spring from deceit or impure motives or trickery, 4 but just as we have been approved by God to be entrusted with the message of the gospel, even so we speak, not to please mortals, but to please God who tests our hearts. 5 As you know and as God is our witness, we never came with words of flattery or with a pretext for greed; 6 nor did we seek praise from mortals, whether from you or from others, 7 though we might have made demands as apostles of Christ. But we were gentle among you, like a nurse tenderly caring for her own children. 8 So deeply do we care for you that we are determined to share with you not only the gospel of God but also our own selves, because you have become very dear to us.

1Ths. 2:9 You remember our labor and toil, brothers and sisters; we worked night and day, so that we might not burden any of you while we proclaimed to you the gospel of God. 10 You are witnesses, and God also, how pure, upright, and blameless our conduct was toward you believers. 11 As you know, we dealt with each one of you like a father with his children, 12 urging and encouraging you and pleading that you lead a life worthy of God, who calls you into his own kingdom and glory.

With elections last week I bet you thought campaign season was over, at least for a little bit. Alas, no. We will continue to hear of endorsements for Giuliani and Romney and campaign contributions made to Ron Paul (despite the fact that there ARE other contenders for the Republican nomination.) The Hillary/Obama war will continue (despite a wider field on the Democratic side as well.) It seems as though we’re doomed for another full year of campaign season…full of debates, countless newspaper articles, television ads, billboards and bumper stickers. And, of course, the yard sign battles waged in the medians of busy roads. Now, I am all for electing our leaders and becoming informed about the candidates, but so far rather than to inform me about substantive issues, I have found the campaigns to smack of political rhetoric and the latest poll results.

At least we can come to church, right? The last oasis from the campaign onslaught! I find with our text this week, I am wrong again. In our text this morning, it seems that Paul, too, is wrapped up in campaign season. Like our own government officials who rehearse to the voters their strong character and good deeds, in this letter Paul reminds the people in the church at Thessalonica of all his qualifications for ministry. I don’t want to draw the comparison too far because Paul certainly wasn’t an elected official and his mission as an apostle of Christ is at least slightly different than that of most modern day politicians. (He didn’t have filing deadlines and fundraising limits, after all!) But, Paul does tout the qualifications he and his fellow apostles demonstrate in their ministry with the Thessalonians. “We had courage,” he writes. “We did not act out of deceit or impure motives, we did not speak to please humans but to please God. We were not greedy. We did not flatter ourselves.” Paul shows some political savvy as he tells the Thessalonians of his upright character, his care and concern for their well-being, and the reminder that he didn’t make financial demands on them—even though he was entitled to do so. Paul sounds like quite the campaigner here, but I don’t think his tagline is “Vote for Paul in 2008!” So what is he doing?

It helps, I think, to have some context for this passage. Paul was a careful and intentional letter writer and we would be remiss not to understand how this particular piece fits into the larger whole of Paul’s message. Paul writes this letter to the church at Thessalonica, a church he started, and apparently a church with which he developed a rather strong, personal relationship. In short, Paul is writing to friends, to people he cares about! He’s writing to them because he has heard that the Thessalonian Christians are facing persecution from their pagan neighbors. And he has heard they are grieving because some members of their church have died. They are worried that those who have died prior to Christ’s return will not be welcomed into God’s kingdom. And so, Paul writes his friends a letter of pastoral care. A letter that encourages the community in its faith, even in the midst of opposition and grief.

In this section of the letter that we’ve just heard Paul reminds the church at Thessolonica of the ministry he and the apostles undertook there, reminding them that despite opposition, the apostles had courage to declare the gospel. He reminds them of the integrity of the ministry he carried out with them, implying also the integrity of the faith.

Paul uses two very powerful images of his ministry with them: the first of a nurse and the second of a father. Paul compares his ministry to that of a nurse gently caring for her children. In Greek culture the nurse is a beloved figure within the community, often a wet nurse who literally nurses the children. Here, Paul enhances this image saying that he acted as a nurse who cared for, not just any children, but her OWN children. By invoking the power of a mother’s love for her children to describe his actions, Paul shows here how deeply he cares for the Thessalonian Christians. Paul then compares himself to a father—another intimate relationship—this time one symbolizing instruction. As the father figure, Paul urged and encouraged and pleaded with the Thessalonians to live out their faith as they lead lives worthy of God. Both of these images attest to the intimacy Paul feels with the Thessalonians and to his idea of ministry—ministry that is intimate, gentle and encouraging.

So how does Paul’s description of his own actions serve as a message of care and encouragement? Clearly, part of Paul’s agenda is to remind the Thessalonians of his credibility as a pastor and an apostle. But, I think the bulk of the answer lies outside our text for today. Later in this letter Paul tells the Thessalonians to “encourage one another and build each other up” (5:11). Paul’s image of the father that urges and encourages and pleads with the Thessalonians to lead a life worthy of God foreshadows his later, explicit exhortation.

Paul also writes in this letter, “we ask and urge you in the Lord Jesus that, as you learned from us how you ought to live and to please God you should do so more and more” (4:1). Perhaps Paul uses his own ministry as an example to remind the Thessalonians of this life they are called to lead.

In another statement, later in the letter, Paul writes encouraging words to them: “Do not grieve as those who have no hope” (4:13). It is important to note here that Paul does not tell them not to grieve, but rather not to grieve as those who have no hope. In the midst of persecution and concern for those who have died, Paul suggests, maintain hope in your faithful God, just as Paul and the apostles did after being faced with shameful treatment in Phillipi.

Paul is writing to remind the Thessalonians how they are to live, how they might lead a life that is worthy of God. He invites them to follow in the footsteps of the apostles, taking cues from the ministry he himself carried out with them: have courage to proclaim the gospel, toil diligently, speak honestly, labor in gentleness as a mother, offer encouragement like a father. Join in ministry in which you give of your very selves. His desire for the Christians in this early church is that living in this way they might build one another up, forming genuine community. Paul hopes the Thessalonians will carry out this life ministry even in the midst of opposition, always in the hope of the good news of Christ who died and rose again from the dead.

The cultural context for Paul’s letter to the Thessalonians is so different from our own setting, that it’s not immediately clear how to bridge the gap between Thessalonica and Fairfax, VA. Despite the claims of some Christians who call for Ten Commandments to be posted on walls and public school holidays to be renamed “Christmas Break” from “Winter Break”, the reality is we don’t face persecution as the result of our faith in today’s world. And we no longer hold the belief that Paul did that Christ’s second coming will be in our own immediate future. We don’t share the specific grief the Thessalonians had for their loved ones who passed away before Christ’s return.

But, perhaps we share some of the context of the Thessalonians without sharing the specifics.

Most of us, at least in this country, haven’t experienced violence or persecution as a result of Christian beliefs. But we do encounter, on a daily basis, a world that does not hold the values that we profess as Christians. In very few areas of our society do we see people doing justice, loving kindness, and walking humbly with God as we are called to do. Very rarely do we see the average person feeding the hungry, clothing the naked, visiting the imprisoned, or welcoming the stranger. In fact, we, ourselves, who hear such exhortation every Sunday, have trouble knowing what these commands really mean for today’s world, let alone how to live these values out. Even the values that Paul demonstrates in his ministry: honesty and pure motives, seeking to please God rather than humans, living and speaking with integrity, practicing generosity rather than greed, treating one another gently and giving of our very selves—do we see these characteristics in our world? Certainly we do in some occasions and those occasions should be noted and celebrated! I’m not convinced these values truly ground the way we live our lives.

Some of you know that my dad serves as a member of the school board in Charlotte. His tenure there has given my family a glimpse of politics behind the scenes. Perhaps it is my own naïveté, but I am continually surprised by how many decisions get made for political reasons rather then the merits or integrity of policy, how much it seems people are willing to stretch the truth toward their own ends, how compelling the power of money, how quickly we demonize one another in pursuit of personal gain, and how much the children in the school system in Charlotte suffer as a result of a political process that works this way. It has been hard for my dad, and for me, to see where these values that Paul touts might have a place in our political process.

In Northern Virginia as we’re watching immigrants (legal and not) be dehumanized based on little more than fear, where are these values? In a nation where we see yellow ribbon after yellow ribbon reading, “support our troops” but pay little attention to the adequacy of mental healthcare these troops receive upon returning from war, where are these values? In a world where children cannot attend school if they don’t have the proper uniforms and don’t have the money to buy these uniforms, where are these values? In a world where monks engaging in peaceful protest are beaten, where are these values?

I know that I am oversimplifying all of these situations, but I want to point out that as a culture, these values that Paul highlights are not at the top of our list. And so, I do often feel as though we are living in a world of opposition to our faith. When you add to this list natural disasters…tornados, earthquakes, droughts. The amount and depth of suffering in our world quickly becomes overwhelming. And I find myself sharing in the Thessalonians’ grief—not only because of the death of loved ones, but because of the many death-dealing forces in our world.

It seems to me that we respond to this sense of opposition and grief in several ways. Some people choose to ignore it—to live in a Pollyanna-like world that focuses only on good and pretends the bad doesn’t exist. On the other end of the spectrum, there are those who are so faced with reality that they become cynical, perpetual “Debbie Downers,” always lamenting the state of the world. On an entirely different plane lie those whose example I find particularly compelling…those who I believe are following Paul’s model for ministry and discipleship to the Thessalonians. These are the people who have faced brokenness in the world, who have experienced, or at least acknowledged, hell here on earth, and yet find ways to live in hope and to build one another up.

This is not an easy path to follow. Paul asks us to have courage in the face of opposition, to build one another up, and in the midst of grief, to hope. It is powerful to be in the presence of those who have learned this kind of hope. I was humbled by it as I stood at the Coventry Cathedral in England. It is perhaps the boldest statement of hope I have seen in my lifetime. There are actually two cathedrals in Coventry, built right next to one another. The Old Cathedral consists only of the shell; it was bombed during WWII. And right next to this charred skeleton is the New Coventry Cathedral, a splendid stone building, simple and reverent. Walking through the shell of the old cathedral, stained glass fragments still cling to the window frames, a jarring sign of desolation. The cross in the front of this cathedral hall is constructed from two charred timbers of the burned roof. And behind the cross there is a simple sign that reads, “Father, Forgive.” As I stand there, in the open-air cathedral, in the midst of the memory of a devastating war, the bells of the new cathedral chime crisply through the morning. As I turn to face the stone walls and the glass doors of the new cathedral, the reflection of the remnants of the old cathedral glimmers back at me in the glass, a powerful image of hope in the face of grief. There is a plaque at the cathedral site that reads, “The latter glory of this house shall be greater than the former, said the Lord of Hosts, and in this place I will give peace.”

It is life built on hope that Paul encourages in the Thessalonians and in us. A hope that recognizes the grief and opposition in the world, and still clings to hope in the God who continually calls us into God’s kingdom and glory. In this text Paul gives us a model. Lead your lives in this model of integrity. Minister to one another. And do it all in hope. Perhaps most of us will never be capable of the heroic hope that led the people of Coventry to build their new cathedral. But all of us face moments (even days, or years) of despair in our lives. And thus we all have moments that tip between despair and hope.

Henry Nouwen, a Catholic priest, shares the story of his own tipping point. He writes of a period of anguish in his life in which “very old places of pain that had been hidden to [him] were opened up, and fearful experiences from [his] early years were brought to consciousness.” He was forced, he writes, “to enter the basement of my soul and to look directly at what was hidden there, to choose, in the face of it all, not death, but life.” We, too, will experience times when we enter the basement of our souls. Additionally, though, Nouwen expresses thanks to those around him who ministered to him during this time of anguish. They were gentle with him, while also urging and encouraging his journey to hope. Very similar to the ministry Paul describes with the Thessalonians, isn’t it? And Paul urges the Thessalonians to live in just this way. To follow his own model of ministry, to be gentle with one another, to encourage one another, and to seek together to find hope in the face of despair. Sometimes it is our fellow believers who carry us because our faith is weak. Sometimes we are the ones who carry others. But, as we do so, as we seek to minister to one another in courage, in honesty, in generosity, I believe we are living into a life worthy of God.

Many of the actions of this congregation are acts of encouragement and hope in a broken world. Even in the short time I’ve been here I’ve seen the ways you care for one another and enjoy fellowship with one another. I’ve seen the remarkable dedication of Sunday school teachers and your care for the children you see each Sunday. I’ve seen the youth of this church wrestle with growing up, care for those beyond themselves, and lead this congregation in worship. I’ve watched you teach and learn and struggle together in Sunday school classes and circle meetings. I’ve had the privilege to watch the session wrestle with decisions and seek to set a vision for this community of faith. I watch as you graciously allow others a turn to host the Hypothermia Project. I am humbled as you seek to learn about cultures other than your own through mission in Honduras, or commitments to projects in South Africa, or getting to know the homeless in Philadelphia.

Even as we carry out these ministries in our own congregation, we see that the world is full of grief and opposition. Sometimes, it is even so within our church. But, in the midst of this brokenness, let us as a community of believers, have courage to enter a campaign of ministry with and to one another. Let us join a campaign of ministry with and to the world outside these church doors. Let us be, in all our actions, as gentle as a mother caring for her children and as encouraging as a father pleading with his. Let us offer a campaign of ministry with integrity and diligent toil—ministry that gives of our very selves in order to build one another up. And may all our rhetoric be that of the hope of the good news of the gospel of God that our lives may be worthy of the God who continually calls us into God’s kingdom and glory.

Nouwen, Henry. The Inner Voice of Love. New York: Doubleday, xvii.