Monday 6th October
Read 2 Thessalonians 2:1-2
“Concerning the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our being gathered to him, we ask you, brothers and sisters, 2 not to become easily unsettled or alarmed by the teaching allegedly from us – whether by a prophecy or by word of mouth or by letter – asserting that the day of the Lord has already come.” (NIVUK)
Paul, Silas and Timothy now address the purpose of their correspondence. The first thing they seek to do is calm the Thessalonian church down. Perhaps interlopers, masquerading with apostolic authority, had declared that the day of the Lord has already come. Or they may have misunderstood Paul’s own words. But the effect of this is that the Thessalonian church believes they have either missed it, or that it has begun and Jesus will return very soon. Their unease has prompted this letter.
Two thousand years on we are not as concerned that we will miss the coming of Jesus to gather His people. Our hearts are more troubled by His absence than by His imminent arrival. Most people read the expectations of the early church in the letters and wonder where their Lord is. The expectation that we will wait, eager and ready for our Lord, flows from many of Jesus’ own parables. Parables that Paul, Timothy and Silas likely shared with the Thessalonians.
There is a right way to wait and we will learn what it looks like this week. At least part of that waiting involves calmness and patience.
