In the Name of God:  Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.  Amen.

This may be one of those sermons that I'm really preaching to myself.  I've heard some people say that ALL sermons are really just the preacher talking to him or herself . . . simply saying what he or she really needs to hear . . . I don't know if this is true . . . but it may be in this case.

I'll tell you why I say this . . . you may or may not have realized this . . . but I'm a bit of the impatient sort.  I like things to happen NOW.  Waiting for things to happen in God's good time . . . which sometimes seems to be VERY slow . . . is not always easy for me.  As you know, we've worked for several years now to build up this parish.  We successfully created and have essentially completed a five-year strategic plan.  Some exciting ministries - such as our pastoral care team, the contemplative prayer group, parish retreats and quiet days - have come into existence and/or grown.  Physically, the church and grounds are in good shape and look the best that they've looked since I arrived here almost seven years ago.

However, the pews are not as filled as I'd like them to be.  Nor is our financial position as secure as it should be.  I worry that we're not being the evangelists we should be, spreading the Good News of Christ.  And when I think about THESE things, I begin to fret . . . and worry . . . and I become VERY impatient.

I'm continually hatching schemes and coming up with plans . . . about how to make things happen NOW . . . about how to turn us all into eloquent evangelists . . . and fill the pews . . . and the coffers.  And, as I scheme and plan, it's easy for me to become a kind of cheerleader of sorts . . . persuading and cajoling . . . urging us on.  It's been pointed out to me that when I'm in my cheerleading mode I can begin to push too hard, expect too much, go too fast.  Impatient, indeed.

I thought about all of this while I was on my sabbatical . . . and I continue to mull it over.  And I've begun to wonder if I've been misdirecting my attention, just a bit.  It's so easy to get caught up in membership numbers and budget issues . . . heaven knows, they ARE important . . . but, on the other hand, these issues are not our primary business as Christians, are they?  In my fretting, and worry, and impatience, I've begun to wonder if I'm emphasizing the wrong things.  It is SO easy to get caught up in our worship of "achievement."

How lucky then to receive a gift from the lectionary.  I discovered as a pleasant surprise that the beginning of Paul's second letter to the Thessalonians is appointed for today.  I read with joy these words:  "We must always give thanks to God for you, brothers and sisters, as is right, because your faith is growing abundantly, and the love of everyone of you for one another is increasing."  What a joy it is to be reminded what our REAL business as Christians is . . . love!

And as those verses from Paul's letter gave me such pleasure this week, let me give you a little background about the Thessalonians and their city.  Thessalonica was the capital of the Roman province of Macedonia, and was important because of its location on both sea and land routes of travel.  Paul founded the church at Thessalonica shortly after he left Philippi, on his second missionary journey.  It sounds like Paul didn't stay in Thessalonica for very long, however . . . some of the Jews in the city were upset by Paul's teaching and, as the book of Acts says, "with the help of some of the ruffians in the marketplaces they formed a mob and set the city in an uproar" (Acts 17:5).  Jason, Paul's host, was arrested.  And Paul's followers sent Paul away secretly in the night.

But it seems that things didn't quiet down in Thessalonica even after Paul left . . . in fact, some of the angry Thessalonians pursued him to the next city he went to . . . and so, unable to return right away, Paul wrote to his followers in Thessalonica to encourage them.  His first letter to the Thessalonians is agreed by scholars to be earliest of all the New Testament writings.  The Thessalonian Christians remained strong in the faith . . . even though it sounds like they endured some serious persecution.  Paul was proud of them.  And as we heard this morning, at the beginning of his second letter to them, Paul writes:  "we ourselves boast of you among the churches of God for your steadfastness and faith during all your persecutions and the afflictions that you are enduring" (II Thes. 1:4).

Now we're very fortunate not to be persecuted, here at Grace.  (We may feel a little beleaguered from time to time as a tiny outpost of Anglo-Catholic worship in this diocese . . . but we are NOT persecuted.)  Life could be a LOT worse for us as a parish . . . but we do face some challenges . . . and I'm not talking about budget and membership numbers.  Perhaps I should say that we face a single, multi-faceted challenge that ALL Christians today face, which is the challenge of figuring out how to LIVE as Christians in a society that increasingly finds Christianity to be irrelevant.  How do we stay steadfast in the faith, and then carry our faith out into the world?  How are we to carry healing and love - the Good News of Christ - out into the world?

There are so MANY people yearning to believe that they are loved and cherished by God . . . people who are excluded from or ignored by mainstream society . . . people who feel excluded from or ignored by the CHURCH.  How are they to hear and believe the healing message of God's love in the Good News except through us?  WE are the bearers of the Good News, my friends.   WE are the Body of Christ in this world.  WE are the eyes and ears, the hands and feet of Christ.  WE are Christ's tongue, speaking words of truth and justice with love.  I know I've said this to you before . . . more than once . . . but I never tire of reminding us . . . because it's true.  We're it!

But how?  How are we to do this?  As I said just a moment ago, that's our challenge.  And it's a daunting challenge, isn't it?  It may seem far beyond what we feel able or called to do.  Because, before we even begin to address our roles as evangelists of the Good News, we have to admit that so many of US, right here, need consolation and solace.  We all need healing ourselves.  WE need to hear words of comfort.  WE need to be reassured of God's love.  There's nothing wrong with this.  It's simply true.  But it's also true of Christians everywhere . . . it's true of everyone.

So then, it's a conundrum:  how do we share with others what we ourselves feel we need, and do not have enough of?  If we are going to share the Good News of Christ with others, we need to be certain that we've heard it.  So how are we to receive the reassurance we need?  How do we come to experience the healing we yearn for?  How do we then gain the strength to do the work we are called to do in the world?  Through each other, my friends.  By turning to each other . . . by forgiving and loving . . . each other.  We are not called to be solitary monads, isolated from each other, doing our so-called ministries all by ourselves.  We are not 40 or 50 individual bodies of Christ.  We are each a tiny part of ONE body . . . the one Body of Christ made up of ALL the Christians throughout the world.  Through God's grace, we receive the Good News and share the Good News through and with each other.  This is what the Incarnation is all about.

We receive comfort and solace and healing through each other.  That's how we endure.  That's how we remain steadfast in the faith.  That's how our faith grows and deepens . . . through the love of everyone of us for one another.  And THAT'S how we spread the Good News of Christ to the world outside these doors:  together!

Thank God for Paul's second letter to the Thessalonians!

What I am personally resolving to do is to be a little less worried about attendance numbers and budgets - about "achievements" - and remember that first and foremost our job to worship God . . . TOGETHER! . . . to grow in faith and love . . . TOGETHER!  How beautiful you all are!  How lucky we are to have this little church . . . and to have each other . . . that we may worship and praise the Lord together.  Let us be like that little, struggling church in Thessalonica . . . let us be able to boast about our steadfastness in faith.  Let us be able to give thanks for each other, because our faith is growing abundantly and our love for each other is increasing.

Now, don't get me wrong . . . I can't change my spots completely.  We still need to grow in numbers and in giving.  I will continue to have ideas and develop all sorts of plans and schemes.  I'll undoubtedly resort to cheerleading from time to time . . . hectoring and cajoling you about one thing or another.  I'll still be impatient.  BUT, let's together try to remember that the root of all we do . . .  the foundation of all life and growth and achievement . . . is LOVE.  Let us trust that as we grow in love for God and in love for one another . . . the other growth will follow.

Let us sing praises to God for the many gifts we have been given . . . most especially the gift of one another.

Amen.

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