Isaiah 12:1-6 • Isaiah 65:17–25 • 2 Thessalonians 3:6–13 • Luke 21:5–19

This week’s theme is the Lord’s work. Our call to worship response is taken from Isaiah 12 where we join in giving thanks to the Lord and making known his works among the nations. The Old Testament text continues in Isaiah 65 with a vivid description of the new heavens and new earth the Lord is about to create. Our New Testament reading from 2 Thessalonians recounts Paul’s address on the problem of those living irresponsibly and meddling in the affairs of others. The Gospel text from Luke presents Jesus’ discourse concerning the end of Jerusalem and the temple along with the coming of the Son of Man.

Reminder: This introductory paragraph is intended to show how the four RCL selections for this week are connected and to assist the preacher prepare the sermon. It is not intended to be included in the sermon.

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Grace that Works

2 Thessalonians 3:6–13 ESV

Today we reach the end of the season of Ordinary Time which will be capped off next week with the special day known as Reign of Christ Sunday. Then we gear back up with Advent to repeat the liturgical cycle. We are also at the end of our time in 2 Thessalonians, which visits a short passage that is only three verses shy of the end of the letter. Either way you slice it, we are nearing the end. Which is fitting, seeing that our passage has running in the background some distorted views on the “end times” which have created some destructive patterns in the Thessalonian church.

If you remember from the last two sermons from 2 Thessalonians, Paul is addressing new Gentile believers who have been experiencing persecution. They have also had to contend with some people who have been speaking in Paul’s name, claiming that Jesus has already returned. Paul aims to encourage the believers on the first point, and he aims to set the record straight on the second point. However, Paul had a third issue he wants to revisit from his first letter to the Thessalonian church that apparently went unheeded. There are some believers who are not willing to work. They are also meddling in affairs that do not pertain to them, becoming “busybodies,” in Paul’s words. It is this third concern that Paul addresses in our short passage today. Seeing that he has already addressed this issue in his first letter, you will notice that Paul is taking a stronger stance on the issue.

Just for some background, let’s read how Paul first addressed this issue in 1 Thessalonians 4:9–12:

Now concerning brotherly love you have no need for anyone to write to you, for you yourselves have been taught by God to love one another, for that indeed is what you are doing to all the brothers throughout Macedonia. But we urge you, brothers, to do this more and more, and to aspire to live quietly, and to mind your own affairs, and to work with your hands, as we instructed you, so that you may walk properly before outsiders and be dependent on no one. 1 Thessalonians 4:9–12 ESV

Now that is certainly a gentle correction wrapped in a compliment. Compare that to our text today:

Now we command you, brothers, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that you keep away from any brother who is walking in idleness and not in accord with the tradition that you received from us. For you yourselves know how you ought to imitate us, because we were not idle when we were with you, nor did we eat anyone’s bread without paying for it, but with toil and labor we worked night and day, that we might not be a burden to any of you. It was not because we do not have that right, but to give you in ourselves an example to imitate. For even when we were with you, we would give you this command: If anyone is not willing to work, let him not eat. For we hear that some among you walk in idleness, not busy at work, but busybodies. Now such persons we command and encourage in the Lord Jesus Christ to do their work quietly and to earn their own living. As for you, brothers, do not grow weary in doing good. 2 Thessalonians 3:6–13 ESV

It’s pretty evident that Paul has escalated his clear command on this issue. Before we get into the text, it may be good to make an observation on these two styles of correction contrasted in each letter. Has Paul lost his cool? Is he now being mean because they didn’t respond the way he wanted? Or can we say that both responses are a response of grace? A proper understanding of “grace” will help us see that in both letters Paul was being full of grace towards these new believers. He has not lost his cool or turned up the heat as an overaction. Paul is holding the new believers, which he insists on calling “brothers,” to grace.

That may sound like an odd assessment in our culture today where extending “grace” is often understood as giving someone a pass on a wrongdoing or misdeed. But this is not the biblical understanding of grace. Grace is better understood as God’s unwavering gift to us, where he refuses to leave us in our sins, but commits himself to our becoming what he created us to be.

God’s grace is not an overlooking of our sins as if they don’t really matter. If that was the case, then we could rightly say that he doesn’t really love us. In fact, he would be quite indifferent towards us altogether. But he is not indifferent, he is implacably for us, more than we are for ourselves. He will never cease working for our good, and that means he will never settle for anything that harms or interferes with who he created us to be. Paul’s strong return to the same issue in this second letter reflects the same committed love and grace of the Father. Paul will not let the issue go. Paul is trying to call forth a fitting response of faith from those who are new followers of Christ. So, as we read through the text, don’t confuse the tone of the passage as something other than God’s grace spoken to us through Paul’s response to these idle “busybodies.”

Now, let’s go back through the passage to see how Paul’s words may also speak a word of grace to us as well.

Now we command you, brothers, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that you keep away from any brother who is walking in idleness and not in accord with the tradition that you received from us. 2 Thessalonians 3:6 ESV

Notice how Paul addresses the issue within the context of community. The idleness that Paul is addressing is not just an individualistic problem, but it is one that presents a danger to the community. So, Paul enlists the community of believers to be part of the solution. In fact, his first command is directed, not at those being idle, but to the other believers in community with them. Paul commands, “keep away from any brother who is walking in idleness.” Wow, that sounds harsh. But let’s not miss a couple of key details.

First, Paul is still referring to those being idle as “brother.” He has not commanded that they be removed from the church. But there is to be some form of “keeping away.” How this is worked out we are not told. But it seems the intent is to place the burden that the idle ones were bringing to the community, back on themselves. And it will help to define a little better the word being translated as “idle.” The word in Greek is ataktos, which is an odd little adverb that is only found in this passage. The word means “disorderly or irregularly” and has also been translated as “unruly” in other translations. “Unruly” gets more to the point that Paul is addressing. Later we see that they are also referred to as being busybodies. However, as this is being played out, these “unruly” ones are not contributing to the community by pulling their own weight but instead are likely staying busy by wasting their time poking their nose in matters that don’t concern them. It is also possible that they are a burden on others in the community. By telling the other believers to “keep away,” Paul intends they will in effect prevent further enabling of the idle brothers’ unruly ways. These busybodies will have to bear the burden of their own choices.

In this way, Paul is giving them the chance to learn by experiencing the consequences of their own actions, since they were not willing to listen to Paul’s instructions. We might say, “Ok then, you will need to learn this the hard way.” It would have been easier had they just listened to Paul in the first place. In fact, Paul goes on to show that he and his partners not only told them not to be idle but showed them by their own example a life that was diligent in service and obedience to the Lord.

For you yourselves know how you ought to imitate us, because we were not idle when we were with you, nor did we eat anyone’s bread without paying for it, but with toil and labor we worked night and day, that we might not be a burden to any of you. It was not because we do not have that right, but to give you in ourselves an example to imitate. For even when we were with you, we would give you this command: If anyone is not willing to work, let him not eat. 2 Thessalonians 3:7–10 ESV

Paul and his co-workers could have demanded pay for their services, but they were more concerned about the community than their rights. Paul may also be putting distance between himself and the common practice of some traveling philosophers who would wheel into town with their ideas and demand money for their teaching. Paul did not want to be mistaken as just another windbag looking for a payoff. He wasn’t spouting off his own ideas; he was proclaiming the truth of the gospel he had received by direct revelation from Christ (Galatians 1:11-12). Now that Paul has addressed the community on how to deal with the unruly ones, he will conclude by once again commanding those who are idle to change their ways.

For we hear that some among you walk in idleness, not busy at work, but busybodies. Now such persons we command and encourage in the Lord Jesus Christ to do their work quietly and to earn their own living. As for you, brothers, do not grow weary in doing good. 2 Thessalonians 3:11–13 ESV

Paul now pulls together more succinctly the issue at hand. These people are being idle, meaning unruly, while at the same time meddling in other peoples’ affairs. So, they are busy with the wrong things. Paul not only commands them but encourages them “to do their work quietly and to earn their own living.” That would be a blessing to them as well as the community of believers they belong to.

Paul’s final exhortation is for the brothers to “not grow weary in doing good.” This is the proper orientation; it does not allow room for being unruly and not working in a way that contributes to the community. If our focus is on “doing good” then we will not be insisting on our rights or taking advantage of others. Perhaps these unruly ones have grown weary in doing good after they heard the false rumor that Jesus had already returned. We know this rumor created alarm, and they were shaken. If they believed that Jesus had returned and forgotten them, it’s understandable that they felt hopeless. And hopelessness leads to weariness and despondence.

“Doing good” will be one of the things that will be characteristic of the new heaven and earth Jesus establishes upon his return. We will never outgrow “doing good” to others and acting in a way that benefits the community. The kingdom of God is not a place for unruly busybodies, but the place where we live truly as humans who live out the love Jesus showed toward us by giving his own life to save us.

Perhaps the challenge that confronts many of us in this passage is learning how to live with the unruly busybodies in our community. The approach Paul takes amounts to grace. We will need to be for those who have yet to learn how to be for others. It will be a struggle to patiently and consistently be an example and a corrective to behaviors that are not fitting for the kingdom of God. In our sure hope of the coming of the fullness of the kingdom, we live out now what we look forward to enjoying then. And we seek to help others grow in the same direction — namely, peace with God and man; a peace that means we are fully for one another in the same way God is fully for us. That’s a kingdom of grace. Not a grace that permits behaviors that run against the kingdom, but a grace that will not settle for anything less than God’s best. In that sure hope, may we too “not grow weary in doing good.” Amen!

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