ANXIOUS TIMES

 










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1 Thessalonians 5:1-11

Matthew 25:14-30

 

Both our passages for today have a common purpose:  to instruct followers of Christ to endure through difficult times and to live in anticipation of the Lord’s return.  Paul also offers encouragement and words of comfort to his readers.  Are Paul’s teachings relevant to us today in how we endure in our current anxious times?

 

“A talent, a whole talent?!?  My master entrusted me with a whole talent!  What am I going to do?  I don’t know anything about investing money or making a profit?  What if I get swindled?  What if a thief sneaks into my room at night and steals it?  What if I lose it somewhere?

I’m in for a world of hurt if I fail!!  Think, think, think… I know!  I’ll bury it in a deep hole and return it to my Master when he returns.”

 The servant acted out of anxiety and fear.  He was afraid of his master who was known to be “a harsh man” profiting off the hard work and efforts of others.

 

It’s implied that the Thessalonians were having some of their own anxieties.  Paul reminded them that they were children of light and lived in the day and not in the night.  The darkness of the night was not only filled with temptation and sin, but it was also the dwelling place of fear, uncertainty and insecurity. 

 For them, even in troubling times, there was peace and security.  Because of Christ’s life, death and resurrection they were not destined to experience the wrath of God and the destruction for those living in darkness upon the Lord’s return. 

Paul advised them to put on the breastplate of faith and love to protect them from fear and anxiety.  By wearing the helmet of the hope of salvation, their thoughts and actions would be guided by Christ.  In short, live in the light of Christ and not in the darkness of the world as they waited in joyful expectation for the return of Jesus.

 

We live in anxious times.  So many things are happening that threaten our peace and security.  But are the things of this world really the source of freedom from fear and uncertainty. 

Karoline Lewis wrote in “Working Preacher,” 2014, “Maybe, where, how or in what we have peace and security is not the best question – it is in whom.

 It is in Christ Jesus, our Lord.  In these times, we need to remember who we are.  We are the children of light.  We have been entrusted with God’s mission to bring the light of Christ into the night of the world – to share, to invite, to proclaim, “the Kingdom of heaven is near!”

Because we are not destined for destruction but for life and life eternal because of our faith in God through Christ, we don’t have to be afraid.  We can dare to love without expectation of any return.  We can take the risk to invest, through our God-given gifts and talents, Christ’s love in the lives of our neighbors, our community, and our world.  We can thrive and be fruitful.

 

So, as Paul said, “Put on the breastplate of faith and love, and for a helmet the hope of salvation…Encourage one another and build each other as, indeed you are doing.”

Keep on keeping on.


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