Scripture 1 Thessalonians 2:1-8
You yourselves know, brothers and sisters, that our coming to you was not in vain, but though we had already suffered and been shamefully mistreated at Philippi, as you know, we had courage in our God to declare to you the gospel of God in spite of great opposition. For our appeal does not spring from deceit or impure motives or trickery, but, just as we have been approved by God to be entrusted with the message of the gospel, even so we speak, not to please mortals but to please God, who tests our hearts. As you know and as God is our witness, we never came with words of flattery or with a pretext for greed, nor did we seek praise from mortals, whether from you or from others, though we might have made demands as apostles of Christ. But we were gentle among you, like a nurse tenderly caring for her own children. So deeply do we care for you that we are determined to share with you not only the gospel of God but also our own selves, because you have become very dear to us.
Response Holy Wisdom, Holy Word:
Thanks be to God!
Sermon “Faithfulness Across the Generations”
So, has anyone here sent away a little tube of their spit to Ancestry dot com, or Twenty-Three and Me? I did that. A few years back I gave all my closest loved ones Ancestry dot com kits. I sent mine in, and I have been receiving information about my genetic background ever since. Regularly updated, as the technology gets better, and they can discern my background more intricately.
As many of you know, I’m adopted, and I did get to know my birth mother beginning when I had my adoption records unsealed, at age 29. But I found some fascinating information—well, fascinating to me. In addition to some things I already knew—the Irish and German background I share with my birth mother—I learned that, in addition to the Portuguese heritage of my Brazilian birth father, I have small amounts—which is to say, distant ancestors—from places as diverse as indigenous South America, the Baltics, and Cameroon.
If I’m honest, though, my DNA results didn’t really give me what I wanted: I wanted to know about my birth father, who was and remains an elusive figure. And I wanted to know what parts of me come from him, the way I now know my musical ability, singing voice, and love of literature come from my birth mother. I wanted to know how I became the person I am, shaped by the generations of people who came before me. Now I know part of the story, but much of it will probably remain a mystery.
It’s important for us to understand how the generations that came before have shaped us, and that goes beyond our literal DNA. I have no doubt that the parents I knew and loved, who raised me, had a profound impact on who I am today. The same is true of the churches that formed throughout the years—the spiritual DNA they carried in them.
What’s the spiritual DNA of Union Presbyterian Church? I think we see living examples of it all around us. Claire comes from generations of music lovers and music makers who have shared their gifts to help to shape a church whose love of music goes deep. Jeff had a stern and loving mentor in Mabel Beach, who taught Sunday school and was another musician in our midst, and whose influence formed not one but two pastors, Jeff and Mabel’s daughter Janet—or is it three? Michelle? I even think there’s a chance Jeff’s lifelong love of biking might have something to do with the Beach family. And of course people who didn’t grow up in this church have added their spiritual DNA to the mix. UPC has always been a church that sought to serve its neighbors. But now I’m thinking of our Food Pantry managers Peg Williams and Sara Wokan, whose passion for hands-on service of our neighbors has become a driving force in our congregation. Every single one of you makes a difference in our congregational spiritual DNA. You each give who you are to this body, and we are all better, more loving servants of Jesus and his people for it.
We have two passages of scripture that give us a taste of the deep spiritual DNA of the Church, capital C; spiritual DNA we share with all who call themselves followers of Jesus. Paul’s first letter to the Thessalonians is the most ancient writing we have of Jesus and the church that sprang up in his name. In our passage, we’re reading about a very particular kind of spiritual DNA: the kind left behind by church leaders. We don’t have to work hard to read between the lines. We can sense that some damage has been done. Paul, emphasizing his honesty, his faithfulness, the purity of his motives, and his lack of interest in material gain, is telling us that some leaders of that community have done damage by being false and tricky, having motivations of personal gain and elevated stature. There has been mischief afoot, or worse—theft? Absconding with the offering? It’s hard to say. Thieves can take more than tangible, physical property. But Paul is working hard to regain the trust of a church he already knows and loves. Hear again how he speaks to them:
As you know and as God is our witness, we never came with words of flattery or with a pretext for greed, nor did we seek praise from mortals, whether from you or from others… But we were gentle among you, like a nurse tenderly caring for her own children. So deeply do we care for you that we are determined to share with you not only the gospel of God but also our own selves, because you have become very dear to us. ~1 Thess. 2:5-8
Paul speaks of himself with a remarkable turn of phrase, comparing himself to a nurse tenderly caring for her own children—in other words, a nursemaid or wet nurse, whose job is to nurture other people’s children, when she is at last home with her very own flesh and blood. No guile. No deceit. No ulterior motives, only the motives of love and care. In speaking of himself in feminine terms, Paul takes a page from the prophet Isaiah, who gives us many examples of God’s motherly love for us, including this one:
Can a woman forget her nursing child
or show no compassion for the child of her womb?
Even these might forget,
yet I will not forget you, says the Lord. ~Isaiah 49:15
In this passage from first Thessalonians, a specific, personal experience—a former pastor trying to care for his hurting congregation—shows us a blueprint that has been passed on in church life ever since: we care for one another. We love one another. We bear one another’s burdens. We share each other’s joy. We are one body, more intimately connected than we realize. From generation to generation, the church has this kind of love in its spiritual DNA. Do we always do it perfectly? Of course not. But there is our blueprint, nevertheless.
The Psalm takes us even more explicitly into the realm of God’s faithfulness to us, and care for us, throughout the generations.
Lord, you have been our refuge
from one generation to another.
Before the mountains were brought forth,
or the land and the earth were born,
from age to age you are God. ~Psalm 90:1-2
We dwell in God. God has been our refuge, our home, since before the beginning. We, our fellowship, our faith community… all this has been a part of God’s plan for God’s world, always.
Imagine that.
For a thousand years in your sight
are like yesterday when it is past
and like a watch in the night… ~Psalm 90:4
God sees all time as if it were a few hours, a few moments.
Imagine that.
And now, a verse the lectionary skips, but I’m going to share it with you anyway.
So teach us to count our days
that we may gain a wise heart. ~Psalm 90:12
We know that, in the expanse of God’s view of all that exists, including time, we are a breath of God’s, here and gone. Humans have more awareness of our own death than most animals. But that doesn’t mean we have deep insight about our use of our time—if we did, we would not the level of addiction to smart phones that we do. A fictional shaman in a Carlos Castaneda book said, “The trouble is, you think you have time.” The writer of this psalm is under no such illusion, so much that they beg God to teach them the wisdom of cherishing the precious time we have been given. This psalm holds the omniscient lens of God’s holy eye in tension with the human struggle to spend our time well. But the psalm has already told us what is spending our time well: being aware, as fully as we can, that our home is in God. It isn’t a potential home. It isn’t a theoretical home. It isn’t a home we earn if we’re good enough. It is a home we already possess, one we are dwelling in, right here, right now. God is our dwelling place, and has been for every generation.
Imagine that.
Satisfy us with your steadfast love in the morning;
so we shall rejoice and be glad all our days. ~Psalm 90:14
Knowing that we are dwelling in God, we can awaken each day, upheld by the steadfast love of God, as has every generation has been before us, and as every generation will be after us. We can awaken each day in with joy in our hearts.
Imagine that.
May the graciousness of the Lord our God be upon us;
prosper the work of our hands;
prosper our handiwork! ~Psalm 90:17
The psalm ends with a prayer: prosper our handiwork. Let the work of our hands be pleasing to you O God. Let the work of our hearts be pleasing to you. Let the love we share give you joy. Let the service we give bless your people and your name.
We rest in God, who is our dwelling place. And within this space, our task is to count our days—to cherish the time we have been given—and to spend it in spending love. This is how we respond to the faithfulness of God, from generation to generation. This is the faithfulness we are called to show the generations to come.
Imagine that.
Thanks be to God.