Homily on 1 Thessalonians

This is a homily I gave last week in my preaching class on a reading from 1 Thessalonians.  The intended audience is the members of the class, all seminarians.


A Reading from Paul’s first letter to the Thessalonians

Now concerning the times and the seasons, brothers and sisters, you do not need to have anything written to you.  For you yourselves know very well that the day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night.  When they say, “There is peace and security,” then sudden destruction will come upon them, as labor pains come upon a pregnant woman, and there will be no escape! But you, beloved, are not in darkness, for that day to surprise you like a thief; for you are all children of light and children of the day; we are not of the night or of darkness. So then let us not fall asleep as others do, but let us keep awake and be sober; for those who sleep sleep at night, and those who are drunk get drunk at night. But since we belong to the day, let us be sober, and put on the breastplate of faith and love, and for a helmet the hope of salvation. For God has destined us not for wrath but for obtaining salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ, who died for us, so that whether we are awake or asleep we may live with him. Therefore encourage one another and build up each other, as indeed you are doing.

“In the depth a light will grow, A silver shine no shadows know, Like wings unfolding in the sky, That circle 'round a gleaming eye, Turning darkness all away, Even depths will know their day, For every shadow has its end, In light! Life will return again!”

Robert Fanney, an author of Science Fiction novels.

In the reading from Paul’s letter to the Thessalonian’s, as well as in the poem I just read, light conquers darkness.  In both cases the darkness is overcome by light, which in turn brings life.  For all of us, as seminarians and future priests, it is this light that we are called to bring into the world. In a few short years, we will be tasked with offering the light of Jesus Christ to the people of our parishes.  During these years of formation at seminary, we are filling our toolboxes with the tools we need to carry out our future mission.  Every class we take affords us the opportunity to gain yet another tool for that mission.

In my personal toolbox, one of the most useful tools is a flashlight, given to me after successfully completing Clinical pastoral education also known as CPE this past summer.  It was during CPE that I honed my skills helping people explore their own darkness, and allowing them to find the light within themselves.    During one patient visit, I was sitting with a mother whose child was hours away from dying of cancer.  She was only able to see the darkness of losing her son.   After talking with her about the love and compassion she felt towards him and the pain her son was experiencing, she realized that while it was difficult for her to let go of him in this life, she would see her son again in Heaven.  During our conversation, she found the light and love of Christ.  It was through me walking with this mother in her darkness that she could find and accept the light of Christ.

In his letter, Paul challenges the Thessalonians “to put on the breastplate of faith and love, and for a helmet the hope of salvation and encourage one another and build up each other.” Similar to the Thessalonians, we also strap on our tools.  It is through the breastplate of faith and love and the helmet of salvation that we begin our work.  From the tools given to us by Christ Jesus and the other tools we collect and learn to use while at seminary, we begin our ministry helping people become children of the light.  For as Paul writes, children of the light will not be surprised by the thief in the night but rather be ready for the thief’s arrival.  We do not want our parishioner’s to be left sleeping in the dark instead we want them to be awake and vigilant, ready for the time to come.

It is our calling as future priests to fill our toolboxes with everything necessary to walk with people in the darkness and guide them to the light.  Now is our time to ensure that we have fitted our breastplates and secured our helmets.  It is also time to inventory our own toolboxes.

Thus far in our seminary career, what tools do we already have in our toolbox and what tools are we missing for our work ahead?