Your faith in God has become known

Scripture Lessons: Isaiah 45: 1-7 and 1 Thessalonians 1: 1-10 Sermon Title: Your faith in God has become known Preached on 10/22/17 I’ve just read the opening to a letter. That’s what 1st Thessalonians is, a letter, and letters are interesting things. I remember running out to the mailbox after elementary school, going through all the letters only to be disappointed because everything was addressed to my Dad. I didn’t know anything about bills back then, so only now do I see the benefit of mail that’s addressed to someone else, however, I wish this letter that I’ve just read were addressed to us. In a sense, it is. We believe that Paul wrote this letter that we call 1st Thessalonians to a church in Greece, in the city of Thessalonica, and like we often do when the letter is particularly meaningful, this church saved his letter. We know they did because we have it now and can read it as they once did. I think it would have been an honor to receive this letter, because Paul’s words here in the first chapter are so encouraging. It would have been extremely encouraging to read: “We always give thanks to God for all of you and mention you in our prayers,” and it would have been a matter of great pride to read “in every place your faith in God has become known, so that we have no need to speak about it.” Think about that. Paul wrote these words to the church in Thessalonica because the neighboring Christian communities would brag on them to Paul. We read there in verse 9: “The people of those regions report about us what kind of welcome we had among you, and how you turned to God from idols, to serve a living, and true God.” Two things then – hospitality, and idolatry. We can do that. But that requires knowing what idolatry is. What is idolatry? On the one hand, it’s obvious. It’s number one on the 10 Commandments, a copy of which is displayed right by our front doors that once hung in the Cobb County Court House: “You shalt have no other gods before me.” What’s idolatry then? It’s worshiping something else, somebody else, giving anything the kind of priority in your life that only God should have. A good example of idolatry from the Old Testament is the golden calf from the book of Exodus. You know the story well. Moses went up on a mountain to get the 10 Commandments and when he came back down, these people who had been without his supervision while he was up on Mount Horeb, had melted down their gold to make a calf that they worshiped. They shouldn’t have done that. That’s idolatry, and on the one had we don’t do that now. Paul might as well be proud of us just as he was of those members of the Thessalonian Church who had “turned to God from idols, to serve a living, and true God.” We don’t have any Golden Calves around. The closest thing to a golden calf around here that I could think of is that statue of Alexander Stephens Clay on Glover Square, which doesn’t count because a statue isn’t the same thing as an idol. We don’t worship Alexander Stephens Clay, but this statue, which I take a moment to look at every time I walk through the Square so I can check on this hornets’ nest that’s found shelter right under the front of his overcoat, does help to describe what idolatry is, because while I was checking on the hornets last Wednesday I finally read the inscription at the base of the statue: It reads “Alexander Stephens Clay – his life was largely given to the service of his people.” Idolatry. What is idolatry? One form of idolatry is selfishness, because the devotion that should only be given to God is given instead to self. The great preacher and theologian Fredrick Buechner describes idolatry as “the practice of ascribing absolute value to things of relative worth,” and in saying that selfishness is a form of idolatry I don’t mean that the self is worthless, but that plenty of people go around trying to make themselves happy by thinking only of themselves, and when that’s the case what happens is they make themselves miserable. I have this friend. His father spent all his money on this beautiful house in Montana. The scenery is absolutely magnificent, but his wife divorced him, his children never come to visit, so this friend of mine told me that his father’s home is basically a prison cell with the most beautiful view you’ve ever seen. Idolatry. Selfish idolatry, will leave you empty and alone. So, when Paul applauds the church at Thessalonica for turning away from idolatry, what we must see is that they turned from death to life. From giving devotion to the created to giving devotion to the creator. They turned away from chasing after all that will never lead to true fulfilment and towards the only thing that ever will. What they did was they turned away from idolatry, and we must do the same because we worship idols as well, and I know it not because we have graven images all over our houses that we need to get rid of, but because if you looked at our credit card statements you’d be able to tell what it is that we think is going to lead to abundant life. We live in a culture of idolatry I believe. We worship fun and entertainment. We spend our money on toys that we think will make us happy, but you know what they say, the two happiest days for a boat owner are the day that he bought it and the day that he sold it. Why would we spend our money on what won’t make us happy? Why would we go into debt for things that won’t make us happy? I don’t know, but I’m good at doing it. Before I checked on the hornets’ nest I spent $20.00 on a salad. And I was hungry again about 15 minutes later. What will fill us up? What will lead to fulfilment, satisfaction, and joy? It’s there on the statue: A life largely given to the service of his people. A life largely given to the service of his God. To some degree I learned that a long time ago. My parents taught Sunday School here. They modeled for my brother, sister, and me what it means to give yourself to something larger than yourself, so it seemed only natural to go with the group on the Mexico Mission Trip following my Freshman year of High School. I remember being intimidated by the days of travel, in an old bus, that was reported to have air conditioning. My shirt would stick to the red vinyl seats. We’d spend the night in cheap hotels. And then when we finally made it to the border we’d get stuck for hours because Rev. Robert Hay refused to bribe the customs officials. All this we’d go through, and why? Because there were families down there who needed houses, and back home I would have spent that week sleeping late and watching TV but down there we were stacking cinderblocks and mixing cement and nothing could have made me happier. Selfishness is idolatry you see, because the cult of selfishness tells you to treat yourself, to buy your way to happiness, but devotion to such an idol will only lead to the same emptiness you felt before – only this time you’ll be surrounded by a bunch of stuff you don’t need. You want to talk about joy. You want to talk about abundant life. Then you have to talk about living your life for a higher purpose. Turning away from the cult of self-centered idolatry that permeates everything in our culture from the merchandise at Target to the Storage Unit where that merchandise will eventually be stored. We must turn from idolagry so that we can live the kind of abundant life that Jesus talked about, of loving your neighbor as yourself. Of living a life largely given to the service of our people. Of being a part of the good that our God is doing in the world. And when we turn away from all the false gods of our 21st century culture – the gods of war who promise peace but only give more violence – the gods of greed that keep our eyes searching for pleasure around every corner while keeping satisfaction ever out of reach – the gods of self-interest, self-love, and self consumption who worship at the temple of narcissism and whose priests deliver their message on your televisions, phones, and computers calling you to fame and fortune – when we turn to God from these idols, to serve a living and true God, then we are a part of the great act of salvation that our creator is enacting in our world. We read there in Isaiah: I am the Lord, and there is no one besides me; I am the Lord, and there is no other. I form light and create darkness, I make weal and create woe; I the Lord do all these things – and is his presence not among us now? Like the vibrations of the train, does God’s presence not resonate through these walls? Resound from our roof top? So why would we worship in the temple of self-interest, bowing before the American Idols, chasing after the dreams of the soulless, when we have been invited to proclaim the Gospel of the Living God? Stewardship Season begins today, and as a guiding phrase this year’s committee adopted 2nd Corinthians 9: 8, “Share abundantly in every good work.” It’s not just that we want you to share what you have, and we do, it’s that we want you to share in the work that the God of Creation is doing here in this place. We have been invited participate in the redeeming work of our lord Jesus Christ. We have been invited to serve the living and true God. We have been invited to give our time, our treasure, our pigs, and our hearts so that the Kingdom would be advanced and so our joy would be complete. Yesterday at a Presbytery Meeting they took up an offering. I didn’t have any cash, and I was embarrassed. Martie Moore could tell, so she gave me a dollar. Denise Lobadinski did the same. It felt good to put money in the plate. Mike Velardi told me that a chicken brought a basket of eggs to the farmhouse, proud of her contribution, until she saw the pig, who stood before the smokehouse prepared to make a real commitment and while we want real commitments, let me say this – Stewardship isn’t about giving until it hurts. Stewardship is about giving until it feels so good you can’t imagine not doing it. Share abundantly in every good work. Share abundantly in all the good work that we are already doing. Share abundantly in all the good that we will be doing with your help. Amen.