“Visitation rights”
By Rev. Michael Stonhouse
Meditation – Friday, April 26, 2024
1 Thessalonians 3:1-13 (Forward, p. 88) CEV p. 1238
The church in Thessalonica, in northern Greece, was one of the apostle Paul’s ‘church plants’, and so it was especially near and dear to him. And perhaps, it was even more so, because, even from its earliest years, it had suffered opposition and persecution (see Acts 17:1-9). In fact, the trouble there, the opposition, was so determined that its ringleaders even bothered to go elsewhere, to Berea, to stir up trouble there as well.
And given that Paul himself continued to face suffering on behalf of the gospel, he was concerned that the believers in Thessalonica might become discouraged (see verse 3). And so, seeing as he himself had been prevented in coming in person to visit them (see 2:17-18), he has sent Timothy to them as his personal delegate to strengthen them in the faith, and to encourage them, and also to report back on their progress in the faith.
And so, even though Paul still yeans to see them, he is now greatly encouraged by Timothy’s reports about their faith and love. Here’s what he has to say about their faith:
“Timothy has come back from his visit with you and has told us about your faith and love” (verse 6a).
“My friends, even though we have a lot of trouble and suffering, your faith makes us feel better about you. Your strong faith in the Lord is like a breath of new life” (verses 7-8).
“Day and night we sincerely pray that we will see you again and help you to have an even stronger faith” (verse 10).
And, in Paul’s thoughts and prayers, love is right up there as well:
“May the Lord make your love for each other and for everyone else grow by leaps and bounds. That’s how our love for you has grown” (verse 12).
And so, in Paul’s thinking and prayers their relationships with God and with each other are intimately and organically intertwined. Faith and trust in God go hand in hand with love for other people. One of them cannot exist without the other. That is an important concept for all of us to understand—and to adopt. And this is so important to Paul, that while he can’t visit them in person, he sends someone else to them to help them in this. So be it.
Forward notes: “And may the Lord make you increase and abound in love for one another and for al” (verse 12).
“As part of our mission to serve others, our church has a shuttle ministry to provide rides for the homeless population to job interviews, medical appointments, and a day centre. I signed on as a rider for the bus to check people in and communicate as we travel.
“The routes require driving a van in heavy traffic and turning at the correct places from the appropriate lane. The passengers learned after we had made several wrong turns to shout out necessary lane changes well before we needed to turn. Another layer of support came from their conversations: which businesses and non-profits were hiring, when and why to go to our county public health service for medical support, and how to cut through the red tape at Social Security. One morning, we picked up a passenger at a grocery store who presented the driver and me with a large fresh melon as a gift.
“Our passengers on the homeless shelter shuttle graciously offer an ongoing class in ‘Increasing and Abounding in Love for One Another and for All.’”
Moving Forward: “How do you give and receive support as a volunteer?”