1 Thessalonians 5:1-11 “You are all sons of the light and sons of the day. We are not of the night nor darkness.” With these simple words, St. Paul encapsulates the boundary between all human time: BC and AD – before Christ and anno Domini (in the year of our Lord.) One of the fundamental images of the Bible is the distinction between darkness and light, especially as light represents God and His Kingdom and darkness represents Satan and his... Read more
How I Became an Anglican The conversion narratives of people who have become Roman Catholics or Orthodox Christians are filled with people courageously and passionately seeking “The True Church.” I wish I could tell you such a glowing conversion narrative in telling you how I became an Anglican. I also wish I could tell you an exciting story about how I became a Christian. I was tempted for a moment to pass off as my own Mike Warnke’s bogus story... Read more
1 Thessalonians 4:13-18 St. Paul, as we have seen in 2 Corinthians, is a firm believer in dealing head on with the hardships of life. In fact, Paul is the one who, having suffered more than most others, can say that he takes pleasure in his infirmities. He has a doctrine that accepts suffering as a suffering with His Lord Jesus Christ and a suffering that is ultimately transformed into glory and joy – even in this life. So Paul... Read more
1 Thessalonians 4:1-12 Why is St. Paul so concerned about the “abundant life”? What is this abundant life of which he speaks? Some would have you believe that this “abundant life” is the same thing as material prosperity. If so, I think St. Paul would have been surprised that he wasn’t living a very abundant life after all! In 1 Thessalonians 4:1, Paul urges and exhorts the Thessalonians to “abound more and more,” and in verse 4:10 he urges them... Read more
1 Thessalonians 4:1-12 Why is St. Paul so concerned about the “abundant life”? What is this abundant life of which he speaks? Some would have you believe that this “abundant life” is the same thing as material prosperity. If so, I think St. Paul would have been surprised that he wasn’t living a very abundant life after all! In 1 Thessalonians 4:1, Paul urges and exhorts the Thessalonians to “abound more and more,” and in verse 4:10 he urges them... Read more
1 Thessalonians 2:17-3:13 There are a lot of myths that we receive in American culture that are not necessarily consistent with the life in Christ revealed in the Bible. One of these is what I call the Myth of Graduation. We like graduations, and with good reason. Graduations mark the times when we have graduated or progressed from one stage of life to another. So we graduate from high school or college, not only because we have survived a particular... Read more
1 Thessalonians 2:1-13 St. Paul’s ministry is both so fruitful and so apostolic that we might be tempted to think that such fruit is only for apostles, or bishops or pastors. Not so! While none of us will ever have the same apostolic ministry Paul had and very, very few will ever have the scope of his ministry (maybe if you’re a pope or a patriarch you might), we can all minister in the same way that St. Paul ministered.... Read more
1 Thessalonians 1 In 1 Thessalonians we are privileged to see the remarkable ministry of St. Paul in action in a different church, the Church at Thessalonica. While for so much of 2 Corinthians Paul’s focus was on his ministry and how he has served, needing to defend his apostolic ministry against those who would undermine his ministry, the focus on 1 Thessalonians 1 is equally on the Church at Thessalonica. Often, we have a tendency to read Paul’s epistles... Read more
2 Corinthians 13 In St. Paul’s final words of the two letters we have of his to the Corinthian church, Paul speaks of power and weakness in the Kingdom of God, especially as it relates to Christian ministry. For those who are familiar with St. Paul’s writings, it will come as no surprise (even if it remains somewhat strange and mysterious) that St. Paul so often speaks of his weakness and yet even 2000 years later manifests himself in his... Read more
2 Corinthians 12:14-21 Would you like to know the secret to being a successful minister of the Lord? Would you like to know the secret to being a successful church? I just underlined in red the relevant phrases in my Bible – something I never do anymore. It is all right there, in verses 14, 15, and 19. How much clearer could St. Paul make it? Verse 14: “for I do not seek yours, but you.” Verse 15: “I will... Read more
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