Sermon shared during Zoom worship for Nagoya All Saints International Church, Nagoya, Japan based on 1 Thessalonians 1-10.
When I began to learn Japanese, it seemed I heard “thank you” all the time. Perhaps because I was learning, or maybe because it was one of the first words I began to use on a regular basis. Regardless it seemed like I heard a variation of thank you everywhere from the formal “arigatou gozaimasu” to the more formal “doumo arigatou gozaimasu” to the informal “thanks” or either “arigatou” or “doumo.”
But there are some unique to Japanese for example there could be a situation, like someone holding open the door to an elevator, where I would hear “Sumimasen, arigatou gozaimasu” which translated into English sounded and still sounds a little strange, “I’m sorry, thank you.” And then there are some that are quite unique to Japanese as one can say, “osore irimasu” and “osewa ni narimashita” depending on the situation.
As I continued to live and learn more Japanese, I also found myself wondering are the words of appreciation I seemed to be hearing, everywhere were they because they were thankful or … just being polite? Were the expressions proforma said … just to be said. Can “thank you” become so repetitive or common that it loses its meaning? Overtime as my interactions in Japanese increased, or maybe because it was from my own maturity, or it could have been the novelty of living in Japan wore off, or a combination of all the above, I came to realize that just like in English words of appreciation do not always reflect a person’s feelings.
I remembered that experience, words of appreciation and their intention, when I considered the Apostle Paul's letters as we have them in the New Testament. In the letter-writing standards of Paul's day, it was common, even expected, to include an expression of thanksgiving in the opening section of letters. Paul did it in all his epistles to the churches, except for the one to the Galatians. In that single case, it is possible that he was so distressed about the problems in the Galatian church that he could not think of any basis for thanksgiving. But that single exception also suggests that when Paul did include a thanksgiving in a letter, he did not do it as a matter of courtesy or routine, but only when he believed it was warranted.
Paul's first letter to the Thessalonians, our second lesson, is an example the other way --- he is sincerely appreciative. In this letter, he not only included a thanksgiving for the Thessalonian church members at the beginning, he also thanks God again for them halfway through the second chapter and again in the third chapter, which is a lot, considering that there are only five chapters in the whole letter![1]
Why was Paul so appreciative? For one Paul had an interest in the church at Thessalonica, for he and Silas had planted it there on Paul's second missionary journey. In fact, in the letter, Apostle Paul compared his feelings for the Thessalonians to the compassion parents have for their children.[2] And Paul had reason to be proud of the Thessalonians. Paul and Silas had barely gotten the church off the ground before they had been run out of town by a mob.[3] Yet in those hostile surroundings, those with whom they had spent time continued growing.
Paul had much to thank God for on their behalf. Their persistence amid that hostile environment may be what Paul had in mind when he wrote in his thanksgiving, “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, so that you became an example to all the believers in Macedonia and in Achaia” (1:6-7).
As I continued to review the lesson, I realized there is more to Paul’s appreciation today that we can possibly learn from. First, notice that Paul's expressions of thanks are addressed not directly to the Thessalonians, to the people themselves, but to God on their behalf. Writing not only for himself, but also for Silas and Timothy, Paul says, “We always give thanks to God for all of you and mention you in our prayers, constantly remembering before our God and Father your work of faith and labor of love and steadfastness of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ.” Of course, the Thessalonians would have heard that as a thank you to them as well, yet it is to God that Paul is expressing thanksgiving.
Note that Paul is not saying he is thankful that the Thessalonians are nice people or give a nice donation; he's much more specific about his reasons for thanking God: He's thankful for their “work of faith and labor of love and steadfastness of hope.” If this sounds familiar it is because we know from 1 Corinthians 13, that Paul considers these the trifecta of discipleship, so we should not be surprised that he also refers to them here.
However, when Paul includes faith, love and hope in his thanksgiving for the Thessalonian Christians, he does not talk about them as virtues in isolation, but Paul gets specific: He's thankful for their work of faith and labor of love and steadfastness of hope. In other words, their faith is grounded in the salvation presented by Jesus, it is translated into their conduct, how they act toward one another, the way in which they face the challenges of life, and their attitude about how things will come out in the end. Based on Paul’s view, Christianity is not a static belief for these Thessalonians, but a dynamic force that permeates all they say and do.
There is second point for us from Paul’s sincere words of appreciation that we can learn from. Letting someone know you are thankful for something they have done or some attitude they exemplify has another effect as well: It encourages the person to continue in that way. That is what Paul has in mind as he lavishes praise on the Thessalonians; he wants them to keep on living this trifecta --- faith, hope, and love --- wholeheartedly.
But this encouragement is a two-way street for Paul himself is also a better person for his efforts to thank the Thessalonians. In expressing praise to God for them, he is recognizing the ways in which God is blessing his own faith, hope, and love.
There is a third component for us to understand in Paul’s words of appreciation that can help us. Back in the 1930s, the Jewish philosopher/theologian, Martin Buber, wrote a book in which he postulated that our human interactions are of two kinds.[4] Simply put, the first is called the “I-it” relationship. This is when we have no vital concern for other people; we are detached from them. We stop at a restaurant for lunch and a server takes our order. We do not know her. We do not know about her marriage or her concerns about her children or her sore feet. She is primarily a person who provides a service. Our relationship to her is essentially the same as to a robot who could deliver food to your table. This is a subject-to-object, “I-it” relationship.
The other way in which we relate to others, says Buber, is the “I-thou” relationship. This is when the other person ceases to be a “something” to us and becomes a “someone.” I-thou is where we view others not in terms of what they can do for us, but in terms of who we are as ourselves and who they are to us. Paul in his appreciation reminds us to see the other person as thou and not as it, and that changes both the other person and us.
We can give a token like a coin in gratitude. That is a subject to object, an “I-it” relationship as Jesus reminds us today in the Gospel.[5] Or we can live in relationship thankful to God who gives all.
In summary, Paul's practice in his letters and particularly today of thanking God for those among whom he worked was not just a habit, a common salutation in all but one of his letters, but a relationship. It encouraged the people in the churches and assisted Paul in his own life of faith. It affirmed their signs of faith, hope and love and their mutual foundation in God through Jesus Christ. More important in my view, it affirmed the sacredness of that person.
Through Christ authentic appreciation is an important lesson for us. We can help each other in faith and strengthen its vitality by first thanking God for the faith, hope, and love of our fellow worshipers and second, by thanking them directly as well. Furthermore, this life in appreciation is not limited but can be lived out beyond walls. In doing so we can build upon on our relationships with our family, friends, colleagues and acquaintances by thanking them not out of habit or custom, not in terms of what they can do for us, or out of expectation for what we have done for them, but in terms of who we are ourselves; loved, forgiven and in relationship with God through, with, and in Jesus Christ --- sacred.
In doing so, we build upon ALL our relationships and become more faithful, hopeful, and loving as well as catch a grateful glimpse of God through Jesus Christ. Thank you. Amen.
[1] 1:2-5, 2:13-16, 3:9-10
[2] see 2:7, 11
[3] Acts 17:5-9
[4] https://www.britannica.com/topic/I-Thou
[5] Matthew 22: 15-22
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