Thursday, October 19, 2023

Imitate, Image, Importance

 

God’s grace, peace and mercy be with you. … My sermon is entitled Imitate, Image, Importance, and my focus is our Epistle (1st Thessalonians 1:1-10). Let us pray. Heavenly Father, the psalmist wrote, “I rejoiced when they said to me, ‘Let us go to the house of the Lord.’” Now that our feet are within your gates, we rejoice to hear your Word. As we listen, may your Spirit enlighten our minds and move our hearts to love deeply as Jesus loved. This we pray to you, Most Holy Trinity. Amen.

My sermon has three I’s, but nothing to do with new age thinking. The first I is from Thessalonians – Imitate. The second I from Matthew – Image. The third I from experience – Importance.

First, imitate. I once heard a podcast that challenged pastors to echo Paul when he exhorted Christians to “imitate me.” The speaker’s point was simple. If pastors do not encourage their congregants to imitate them, whom should they imitate? Athletes? Actors? Reality TV personalities? Politicians? So, imitate me. How? I will save that for my third I.

To imitate means to try to follow the manner, style or character of someone. Many writers imitated the language and style of Shakespeare. It means to mimic, duplicate or counterfeit, or to resemble or simulate. Roger Staubach’s and Mike Ditka’s achievements in business imitated their earlier successes in football.

What does imitate mean in regards to 1st Thessalonians? After all, this is the oldest Christian document, written about 50 AD. If we walked into a meeting of Paul’s converts in Thessalonica when this letter was being read to them for the first time, would we recognize that we were among Christians who had the same faith that we have? Would we know that we were not in a Jewish synagogue or a pagan meeting place but in a Christian church? It would take two minutes to decide, for in the first verses there is mention of God the Father, the Lord Jesus Christ, the Holy Spirit, the work of faith, the labor of love and endurance in hope. Basic catechism material.

1st Thessalonians is Christianity 101. Paul reminded his converts to recall what he taught them. Acts 17 offers us a view of what else occurred in Thessalonica. Paul walked into a city that enjoyed peace. He taught in the synagogue that Jesus is the Christ. He converted Jews and Greeks. Paul claimed that Jesus, not Caesar, was king, and drew the attention of city leaders who did not want Caesar’s troops to visit them.

Thessalonica’s neophytes, those new to the faith, needed to be encouraged because the people who persecuted Paul, Silas, and their gracious host, Jason, were now persecuting them. Hence, the letter’s aim reminded the audience much of what they already knew.

To enhance their knowledge and understanding, Paul used a method we use today. We call it memory work. Others call it epideictic oratory. This is how the teachers of Greece and Rome taught their students. It’s how Augustine learned and taught philosophy and theology. It’s how Martin Luther taught the faith through his Small Catechism. Memory work is a proven method helps people remember, understand and learn.[1]

Paul wanted the Thessalonians to embrace the truth – that the Gospel that came to them in word, power, the Holy Spirit and with full conviction. He taught what the Scriptures revealed about Jesus, and exhorted them to commit it to memory.

Because the city leaders incited goons and thugs to harass and attack Thessalonian Christians, Paul was gentle with his new members. Yet, he reminded them to turn from idols, even if it meant turning away from family, friends, festivals and fun – like organized sporting events – and even if it meant losing business clients.

Let’s face it, God’s call to the Thessalonians demanded they turn from their former ways of life to one ruled by God. To be holy is to be different. … To be holy is to be different. And so, Paul stressed that Christians work, and not be a burden to society. As a model, he set up his tent-making business in the open market so he could work and teach simultaneously.

Finally, Paul stressed that persecuted Christians establish their hope in the Lord Jesus, for Christian hope is a personal living relationship with someone who will come to vindicate you.[2] … A personal living relationship with someone who will come to vindicate you … because to be holy is to be different … and if you believe, as Paul did, that your call is from God, people will persecute you, even if they are members of the Church.

From imitate to image, from Thessalonians to Matthew. The definition of image is a reproduction of a form, person or object. In the Gospel, we find Jesus fending off a ruse concocted by the Pharisees and Herodians regarding payment of taxes. Jesus met their question, prefaced by feigned admiration – “We know you are true and teach the way of God truthfully. You do not care about opinions and are not swayed by appearances” – with disdain – “Hypocrites, show me the coin.”

Regarding this passage, my New Testament professor, Bonaventure Hayes, would cut to the chase. Caesar had more rights and powers than any US President. He could mint coins imprinted with Mickey Mouse or Donald Duck. That’s executive power.

These foolish conspirators totally missed the point. First, no Jew carried anything bearing the image of a god, including Caesar, for the Law prohibited them. This particular coin was imprinted with the image of Caesar and the words: Tiberius Caesar, Son of the Divine Augustus. Yet, the First Commandment stated, “You shall not make for yourself a carved image, or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth.” (Ex 20:4). The coin the Pharisees and Herodians produced attributed divinity to Augustus or Tiberius; and when they identified the image of coin as Caesar’s, Jesus said, “Give to the emperor the things that are the emperor’s, and to God the things that are God’s.”

What things are God’s? Let me direct your attention to Genesis 1:27. “God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them.” God’s image is imprinted on you … on me … on every one of us. We owe taxes to our government, but our lives to our God. I am sure you have paid Uncle Sam what is rightfully due him. That is not my concern. Have you paid God what is rightfully due Him? As pastor, that is my concern. Hence, my 3rd point, importance.

Importance is defined as the quality or state of being important. It comes to us from the Latin importare meaning to bring in, convey, bring in from abroad. When we import, we carry something from the outside into our lives.

A synonym of importance is consequence. Consequence generally implies importance because of probable or possible effects. Since consequence is a deduction or conclusion. The news of the untimely deaths of musicians, athletes and other celebrities remind us that drug use, smoking and drinking to excess over a long period of time has consequences, that is, an early death. On the other hand, if you eat fresh fruits and vegetables, have faith, socialize and don’t stress, as well as other healthy habits, that will lead to longevity.

Now, form a mental picture and imagine meeting yourself in 20 years. If you don’t already, you will have naturally gray hair and crow’s feet. You lost a step and gained a pound. That is not my concern. I’ve been there for a while. My concern is your relationship with God, the depth of your spirituality, your personal living relationship with Christ who will vindicate you for being persecuted for your faith. In 20 years, will your faith life be any deeper than it is now?

So, let me return to my first I – Imitate me. When I say, “Imitate me,” I am not asking you to enjoy everything I do. I enjoy vegetable gardening, roasting coffee, and playing fetch with Travis and Maggie (our Golden Retrievers), but I am not asking you to plant a garden, buy a coffee roaster or adopt a pet. Our Father in heaven has no need of zucchini or caffeine and already has a Golden Retriever.

I want you to imitate my prayer life. I want you to pray daily. I want you to read Scripture and think about the passage. I want you to recall or record your thoughts and feelings when you reflect on Scripture. I want you to imagine meeting yourself in 20 years, and thanking yourself for praying daily over two decades. In short, your prayer life today is of great importance for it has consequences later.

Will you be a different person in 20 years if you pray daily? Will prayer change you? Will you better reflect the image of God? My experience tells me, yes, especially if you expect to encounter any hardship or heartache in life.

When faced with adversity – religious harassment, ethnic persecution, war, death, divorce, faithless family and friends, unemployment, poverty, sickness, incurable disease and impending death – we have the opportunity to witness for Christ, our Master and Teacher. In order to do so, we need to develop a regular prayer life. We need to set aside as much time for prayer, Bible reading and study as we do for any other activity – eating, exercising, watching TV, surfing the web and so on.

Martin Luther saw prayer as crucial to human life, a life created by the relationship to God. In this relationship God starts a conversation, communicating His words of law and promise. Prayer is a part of the human response to God’s speaking, a response shaped by the words of command and promise. Luther thought that God’s promise to hear prayer defined both the nature of God and the nature of the human relationship to God, as well as the human approach to life. Luther’s comments and instructions on prayer permeated his work. Luther sought to build an evangelical prayer practice that reflected the key insights of his theology. Just as God redeems the unworthy human, so God promises to hear and respond to the one praying, despite his or her unworthiness. Humans respond to God’s actions in law and promise when they pray regularly, forthrightly, honestly, and frequently. Freedom in Christ sets humans free to use prayer practices that help them to do this.

If you need a prayer guide, you can find plenty on the web regarding Luther and prayer. If you are looking for something more contemporary, I encourage you to pick up a copy of Portals of Prayer. If you prefer websites, apps or podcasts, I encourage you to go to the LWML (www.lwml.org) or Missouri Synod websites (www.lcms.org). There you will find plenty of resources. You can also adopt the Five P’s of Prayer that I have previously mentioned (Passage, Place, Posture, Presence and Passage). Whatever practice you use, imitate me as I imitate Paul who imitated Christ by praying daily.

Because God has stamped His divine image on you, spend time in prayer daily for the rest of your life. Develop that deeper relationship with our Triune God, and when you do, may the peace of God that surpasses all understanding, will keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Amen.



[1] Ben Witherington III, 1 and 2 Thessalonians: A Socio-Rhetorical Commentary. Grand Rapids: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company (2006), 21.

[2] Ibid, 59.

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