Advent 2016 (2nd Sunday Before)

6 November 2016

As I sit here now, I realise that I haven’t done this for a while.  For one reason or another, it’s been a good few weeks.  I wonder if I can remember what to do or have any idea what to say? I guess you will let me know somehow, either at the end of the sermon or after Mass whether any of it made sense or not. Oh well – off we go.

It’s just a thought but hard as it is, let us think about ourselves for a moment, and about how we react in a given set of circumstances, about whether we are good at making up our minds to do something and then seeing it through to the end.

I’m sure that at some point in our lives, most of us here this morning have experienced that horrible situation where we set our minds on doing something, we convince ourselves it is the right thing to do and we are totally committed.

Then, for whatever reason, something happens before we get the chance to carry out whatever it was. We change our minds and are stopped in our tracks.

It may be that we ourselves have had second thoughts.  There is the possibility that another person or group of people have said something to us which may have sown doubt in our minds.

It may be that something we have read ends up putting doubt in our minds.  There are so many possibilities that it’s little wonder we may feel uncertain at times.

It’s at times like this when we would do well to recall the old saying of “stick to your guns.”  I know it might sound like an old cliché, but stick with me a little longer, and hopefully you will see why I have used it as an analogy.

If we believe that what we are doing is right, then we should not lose heart and become distracted or put off by what other people say or do, or by events going on around us.

In our reading this morning from the Epistle to the Thessolonians, there seems to be a similar message being given to the people.  They are complimented on the strength of their faith and reminded that they are brought together as brothers and sisters in Christ.

The message for them would, at least in modern language, seem to be “stick to your guns.”  They should not allow their confidence in their faith to be shaken either in spirit or by the words of others which are spoken to them.  We hear this:

“We beg you brothers and sisters, not to be quickly shaken in mind or alarmed either by spirit or by letter”

Then later in the passage, we hear:

“So then, brothers and sisters, stand firm and hold fast to the traditions you were taught by us”

We are not told what it is that the people have heard or witnessed that may give them cause to have doubt or to question their belief, but whatever it is, they are encouraged that they should not be put off, and not be distracted by anything they have heard from others. Instead, they should hold fast to what they have been taught, what they believe is right and what is the truth.

Does what we hear in our passage this morning ring true for us with anything in our lives? Have we found ourselves in that very situation where, for whatever reason, having once been fully committed to something and believing in it totally, doubt is suddenly cast upon it?

If so, then it may do us good to reflect on the message of it a little further.

This is because at times we find ourselves in situations and circumstances we may not expect. Unexpected shocks, surprises or events may give us cause to either have doubts or be shaken in what we believe to be right. 

It is a sad fact of life that it does not always run smoothly and we will all at some point or another come up against obstacles and challenges which we will find hard to overcome.  That is just the way of human nature, though it must be said that life can be very difficult when these circumstances arise.

The message given to the people though is as valid for us today as it was at the time it was delivered, and as such, it has the capability to be just as powerful and just as life changing.  We need to have the courage to open our minds to listen to it and consider how it affects us in our everyday lives.

If we believe what we are doing is right, and if we truly believe in the strength of our faith, we too should stick to our guns.  We too must not be put off by what we hear, see or read.

We should remember that, just as with the people we hear about in our Epistle, we too are gathered together as brothers and sisters in Christ in this place.

We too are charged with the task of proclaiming the good news of His word, works and kingdom to the community which we serve.

It is a community which is diverse, with people from many diffent backgrounds and circumstances.  Different needs and problems, different priorities and different things which are of fundamental importance to us.

The one thing we can say is that we are all human, and we all need the same love, care and concern. I know it is something I have mentioned before, but it does no harm to remind ourselves of it every now and again.

No matter what our background, in the eyes of our Lord who made us, we are all equal.  As such, may we be bold instead of shaken, with a strengthened commitment to our faith. May we go out into the world and show the true love of God to all around us.

AMEN